Begging For Mercy: Ba’utha of the Ninevites
by: Fr. Andrew Younan
The three-day penitential season of Ba’utha d-Ninwaye, or the “Supplication of the Ninevites,” commemorates the visit of the prophet Jonah to the city of Nineveh and that city’s repentance before God, as related in the book of Jonah. The regional connection between our Church and that story is a real one: the ancient city of Nineveh was near to the current city of Mosul, around which many Chaldean villages are situated.
But deeper than the regional connection between us and the people described in that story is the spiritual connection which is universal: it was not only the people of Nineveh who needed to repent of their sins, it is all of us, all of mankind. The similarity continues, since the people of Nineveh in this story were so engulfed with sin that they became blinded to it – they no longer realized what they were doing was wrong. This is one of sin’s darkest fruits: spiritual blindness. It is almost always the case that the saints were the first to admit that they were sinners; sadly, it is almost always the case that those who describe themselves as “good people” are the darkest sinners. Those who see their faults and humbly admit them are, in their honesty, so much closer to God than those who ignore, or even blind themselves, to their faults and pretend they are flawless. It is always a saint who says simply “I am a sinner in need of God’s mercy.” It is always a sinner who begins, “I’m a good person, and so what if…”
Forgiveness
This is the time for true repentance; not simply the empty repetition of words, but a real new awareness of our weakness and our utter dependence upon God. We deserve nothing from him, and he owes us nothing, because he has already given us everything. He certainly does not owe us forgiveness for even the smallest of our faults. But because of his mercy, not our deserving, he loves us and chooses again and again to forgive us our sins through the precious Blood of his Son.
Among the most ridiculous questions that can be asked is, “why do we have to go to Confession?” The sacrament of Confession is, first of all, given by Christ for the good of the Church (John 20:23); it is odd to think that Christ would give us something we do not need. But even more to the point is that Confession is one of the greatest favors that God has given us! What a sublime, beautiful way to express our repentance in a human yet sacramental way! What an opportunity to grow closer to God! The question that any wise person would ask is not “why do I have to go to confession?” but “how could I not?” How could we not take advantage of this enormous grace? How could we slap away God’s hand when he reaches down to help us so mercifully?
Begging for Mercy
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week (January 14-16), we are asked to fast from all food until noon and then from meat for the rest of the day. This is an act of penance, of humility, of obedience and of solidarity with the rest of the Chaldean Church around the world, but it is not an end in itself. The purpose of fasting outwardly is to repent inwardly by the grace of God given through this act. Enough of our hardness of heart and our self-isolation; let us all, together like the people of Nineveh, begin to see the depth of our flaws, and with tears and humbleness, turn back to God with all our heart:
Who is patient enough to speak of your patience with our sins?
If we sin, we become filled with wickedness,
if we do good, we become filled with pride;
and toward one another, we are cruel and merciless:
we are jealous of one who succeeds, we rejoice over one who falls.
And though our life is short, the list of our sins is long.
(Madrasha from Monday of Ba’utha)
