Jonah was fleeing from God’s command to preach to Nineveh. Rather than obeying, he boards a ship in the opposite direction, only to be swallowed by a great fish after a storm threatens the vessel. From the belly of the fish, Jonah prays—a desperate cry of repentance and recognition of God’s mercy. Despite Jonah’s rebellion, God listens and delivers him. This reading shows how God pursues us even when we disobey and offers redemption when we turn back to him. In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells a parable which shatters social and religious boundaries, illustrating that true neighborly love is shown through compassion and action, not position or piety. The Samaritan, considered an outsider, is the one who models God’s love by tending to the wounded man. Both readings reveal God’s heart: merciful toward the lost, and compassionate toward the hurting. We are called not only to receive God’s mercy, like Jonah, but also to extend it to others, like the Good Samaritan.

PRAYER: Abba Father, teach us to walk in obedience and to love others as you love us. Amen.