Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. Jesus knew the story of his people and drew from that history to help understand the significance of what was occurring during his life. It is the past that informs and shapes the present. That truth must be recovered in our time. The people of the United States find it difficult to acknowledge that our history includes centuries long racism against people of color. We do not understand how that history continues to shape contemporary events. Jesus used the history of Israel to prod his contemporaries — and us — into conversion. As one philosopher put it “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
