The first reading today is from the Book of the Prophet Jonah. I think that most people know something about this story. I have a mental image of Jonah either in the mouth or in the belly of a whale. I probably saw this in a Bible story book that my parents gave to me in church as a young boy hoping to keep me quiet.

Today we heard just a short snippet from the Book of Jonah, which is only two pages long in my Bible. The whole story is very interesting. God told Jonah to go preach to the Ninevites, people who were despised by the Hebrews. But, instead of going east to where Nineveh was, Jonah went west. I'm sure we can all connect with this part of the story. God tells us to go one direction, so we go another.

Running out of land as he headed away from Nineveh, Jonah next took a boat out into the Mediterranean Sea. To stop a severe storm, Jonah jumped overboard and a large "fish" swallowed him and spit him back on the shore after three days. Here again, we can connect with the story since many of us wander away from God for much longer than three days.

Finally deciding that he better do what God told him, Jonah goes to Nineveh and the people repent before Jonah can walk through the whole city. This really made Jonah mad because he still hated the Ninevites.

This story had a moral for the Hebrew people and it has one for us today. God wants all people, no matter what we personally think about them. The Hebrew people waffled back and forth about this, as we do today.

My wife, Karen, was leading Breaking Open the Word with an RCIA class one Sunday when her co-facilitator told the class that only Catholics can go to heaven. The question immediately came up about the status of other Christians as well as non-Christians who haven't even heard of Christ.

Karen knew that God's salvation is much wider than just Catholics, but didn't have enough information at the time to discuss the issue. She came home and went straight to the Catechism so that she could set things right in the next RCIA class. Other Christians are considered in communion with the Catholic Church, but in an imperfect way. They too can achieve heaven.

So, then, what about non-Christians? This is part of what Paragraph 847 says:

"Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience -- those too may achieve eternal salvation."

All of this seems to be quite a challenge to some Catholics. Paragraph 847 means that non-Christians, living even in the farthest recesses of our globe, can achieve eternal salvation if they live a moral life according to what they have learned. If they have not heard about Christ, it's because we 2 billion Christians who have not yet brought them the Good News. The Catholic Church is very inclusive, not exclusive as are some other Christian denominations.

We must be careful not to judge people, but to leave judging up to God. Only God can see into people's hearts. God made all people in his image and he wants everyone of us.

In today's gospel, Jesus tells us, "The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel." The kingdom of God is still at hand and we are living in its midst. We must change our ways and bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to all peoples.