January 24, 2021
3 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2 “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. 8 Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.
When I say Jonah, you say …Whale! But really Jonah is swallowed by a big fish as a way of saving him from drowning after he was thrown overboard. (Did you like my big fish?) But there is so much more to this brief action-packed story, we did not even hear today. Jonah was a well-known prophet and God called on him to reform Nineveh, a large, wicked, Gentile city. We are not told what evil things they did, but the Book of Nahum is an oracle against Nineveh (1:1). You remember the story, right? God told Jonah to cry out against Nineveh, but he ran in the opposite direction! He boards a boat to Tarshish to flee “the presence of the Lord.”
He tries to run away from God, and he is a prophet!
His plan is revealed when a storm thrashes the boat to and fro and the crew casts lots to see who had angered God. The lot falls to Jonah, so he confessed his Lord, and his plot is exposed.
The sea was growing more tempestuous, the men are fearing for their lives, so they ask what to do to with him? Jonah says throw him overboard, but at first, they resist not wanting to be guilty of his death. Eventually, they cast him over the side and immediately the sea stops raging.
That’s where the big fish comes in, swallowing Jonah and saving him from the vast and powerful sea. After three days and nights, Jonah prays to God lamenting his predicament, regretting his behavior, declaring “deliverance belongs to the Lord!” (2:9)
Then we start again, as you heard this morning. God calls Jonah to prophesy against Nineveh and this time he goes! He then becomes the best preacher ever! He proclaims a 5-word sermon, and an entire city changes their ways!!! I am so jealous of Jonah. He cries out, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” OK five words in Hebrew and eight in English, but still!!!
One sermon and the whole city, and the king, repent! That is some good preaching!!!
Before we unpack this more, I want to explain why Jonah ran. In his prophetic career, Jonah was an unconditional Israelite nationalist. He was calling the Hebrews to repent and follow God, like most of the prophets. But now God was asking him to go to the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and that was a huge ask. These were bloodthirsty, powerful people who destroyed Israel and became a brutal occupying force to his people. They were cruel to the kingdom of Israel. Why in the world should he ask them to repent and turn to God? It was unthinkable. Moreover, Jonah knows who God is and what if they do repent?
Should these people be given mercy?
Jonah thinks not, and he gets angry. Jonah wants to die, asks to die, when mercy is given. God shows true colors- which Jonah recites, “you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishment” (4:3). Jonah knew that is who God is and he did not want to offer the Assyrians such forgiveness, that is why he ran. Then God extends mercy to Jonah in a bush offering shade, then takes it away to remind him that God gives us so many things, God truly is gracious and merciful, and it is not for us to question God’s ways. Our gracious God shares mercy and grace with people who had been violent, who had destroyed Israel. This same God teaches Jonah that God’s mercy is wider and deeper and more inclusive than he knows.
The story of Jonah is more than a story about a fish or a whale. It is an epic tale about redemption and God’s character. It is one that speaks to us today in powerful ways about lament, repentance and faith.
Jonah called out to God from his distress and prayed fervently. He turned to God and offered a lament for his predicament. In our Bible study on Lamentations, we are learning that laments can be personal or communal, They have four parts to them.
They address God,
share the hurt or difficulty,
ask God to act,
and then praise God for the ways God has faithfully responded.
Jonah does that in his prayer, and God acts by returning him to dry land. At the Inauguration, Amanda Gorman, the poet laureate, offered a lyrical lament for our nation while reimagining what we are called to be! She spoke of a belly, stormy seas and shade, redemption and democracy. She declared,
“Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious”
She offered hope for our nation as we start on a new path with a new administration.
Another lesson from Jonah is the power of repentance.
After that great sermon, “Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and everyone great and small, put on sackcloth” (3:5). The king and even the animals put on sackcloth and sat in ashes. Merriam Webster tells us this means, “to publicly express or show sorrow or regret for having done something wrong.” Everyone repented. Wearing sackcloth can also be a sign of submission (1 Kgs. 20:31-32). The entire nation repented and submitted to God! With all our division right now, maybe there is wisdom here.
Can we all submit to our democracy, to our constitution?
Can we see that we have ALL done something wrong?
We all get into our own echo chambers of news, of our own idea for our country.
We all need redemption, no matter what side we are on.
Remember the only way that God changed God’s mind is when everyone repented. Some say that is why the animals were included in the sackcloth wearing to make a glaring point about everyone. Imagining animals in sackcloth is kind of humorous. But God’s mercy is no laughing matter. If we continue to think it is the other side that needs to change then we will never rise above this chaos.
In addition to wearing sackcloth they fasted, seeking God. I hope we can fast of our constant consumption of one side of the news or the other. I pray we can achieve with God’s help what President Biden suggested, an end to “uncivil war.” Let us fast from our hostility and from our self-righteous positions, to return to a civil discourse, ending our uncivil war.
One commentator wrote, “The closing verse of our reading for this week is a word of hope if we have ears to hear it. When God saw how the people of Nineveh turned from their evil ways, God also turned from the evil that God had planned. Even to those Assyrians who were primarily known throughout history for their abject cruelty and wanton violence, God sends messengers telling of consequences and inviting them to a better way. The book of Jonah proclaims that even a warlike people, such as the Assyrians, were able to repent. If bloodthirsty folks whose society is built on violence are able to passionately repent and move God’s heart, how much more should God’s beloved community, the people of God’s pasture, avail themselves of God’s abundant mercy by turning from evil ways that hurt and harm others?” (Corey Driver, Working Preacher)
The whole story of Jonah started because he wanted to flee from the presence of the Lord.
Sometimes it feels like our nation is running away from the presence of the Lord with all our division and animosity.
But we know how that turned out for Jonah.
My hope is that we can all move into our faith more deeply, admit our own part in the division and seek God’s mercy. Let us affirm like so many believers before us, Our God is “a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishment.” The fullest measure of God is revealed in the person of Christ. Let us lament, fast, and lean into our faith!
Amen.
Thank you for your continued support of St. Andrew Church. Your generosity is deeply appreciated, and we now lift our voices in praise to our Lord to all the blessing God has shown!
