During the season of Lent, we are all called to repentance, to stay away from sin, and to come back to God. And it is not because the Church tells us to convert, not because the pope, bishops, or priests, but Jesus Himself is repeatedly calling us to repentance. And even if you think that you are a good and faithful Christian, there is always something you can improve, change, and make better. However, most of us don’t take these words seriously, and so we live our lives pretty much the same as before. How many times have you heard those calls to repent before? Too many! But what is always interesting is the fact that many of us would follow the advice of earthly idols but not Jesus Christ’s. Think about that. Perhaps you have your favorite singer that you love to listen to, or political leader, or some other celebrity. Nothing wrong with that. But then you may blindly believe in everything they tell you or even follow their advice -- just because you like them. Jesus reminds us today that we have something much more than that -- we have the Son of God present with us, in the scripture, and in the sacraments. Thus, we should first of all listen to His advice because that is the best advice we can receive: “because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here"- Christ is here.
