Letters From Home Wednesday of the First Week of Lent - Dr. John Bergsma
Feb 25, 2026
A lively walk through Lenten readings with a focus on Jonah and radical repentance. Discussion of Jonah’s mission to Nineveh and the surprising power of a short warning. Exploration of Hebrew nuance about God relenting and how Jonah’s three-day motif points toward Christ. Practical talk about balanced Lenten practices and why repentance is more accessible today with Eucharist and Scripture.
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Choose A Lenten Practice In The Goldilocks Zone
- Do choose Lenten practices that are challenging but sustainable to foster growth in virtue.
- John Bergsma recommends the Goldilocks zone: not too soft, not too hard, engaging the will without causing discouragement.
Jonah's Reluctant Obedience After The Fish
- Jonah initially refused to go to Nineveh but, after being swallowed and released, obeyed God and traveled into the city to prophesy.
- Bergsma frames this as a personal turnaround: Jonah's failure followed by obedience after his ordeal.
Brevity Can Trigger Radical Repentance
- A very short warning can provoke profound repentance: Jonah's one-line sermon 'Forty days and Nineveh shall be destroyed' spurred the city's full conversion.
- Bergsma notes the sermon’s extreme brevity yet extraordinary effectiveness.