Sunday, January 21, 2018

God Sticks with Those God is Stuck With


Jonah 3:1-10; Mark 1:14-20

 

        When describing the attributes of God various lists have been complied.  The great minds of the Reformation referred to God as Omniscient, Omnipresent and a whole lot of other Omni words that I have long ago forgotten. Those linking God to empires like to talk about God as all-powerful, all-knowing and again a lot of other “all-something” words. The Old Testament, a source certainly worth considering, consistently refers to God as, “gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and steadfast in love.” I would like to suggest there is one attribute consistently left off most lists and it deserves to be considered. God can work with anyone, regardless.

        Imagine you are God. From the beginning of time you have watched the evolution of humankind. There is great dissatisfaction as you watch endless wars and rumors of wars. You have had a hand in each culture developing a code of moral behavior that promises to assist in their relationship with others. Each list contains some pretty common sense stuff. Take care of your elders. Get enough rest. Don’t murder or steal. Keep your eyes off your neighbors stuff and spouse. And whatever you do, don’t lie about it. But the deceit continues and humans spend more time talking about the commandments than following them. So you come up with a marvelous plan. You will place perfection among creation. You will offer an example of how life together is possible if we just try a little harder.

        So Jesus arrived and quickly assessed the situation. He decided it was not a job he wanted to undertake by himself. His first action was to pick his twelve go to guys. Now if anyone today was going to engage in a life changing opportunity, the first people picked would be expected to know something about public relations and finances. They would be among the best and brightest.   Since this was a religious movement, leaders from local Synagogues would be called upon. And just to make the movement sparkle, someone like Oprah would publicly endorse the group. But what did Jesus do? He gathered a bunch of fishermen, an out of work tax collector and a religious zealot to spark what was to become the most important spiritual revolution the world had encountered. Can you imagine what God must have thought when looking down on this turn of events? Was God appalled? Believe it or not, I suspect God laughed. After all, God has a history of picking strange characters to introduce the idea of a new heaven and earth.

        Jacob was a liar and a cheat. Moses was a convicted murderer. Sampson was a selfish womanizer. David was a child who played with sheep.  And then there was Jonah.

        Remember him. Let me refresh your memory. The book of Jonah begins, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai saying, ‘Arise and go tell Nineveh I am aware of her great evil.’ And Jonah fled.”

        Who was Jonah? We have no idea. Why did God call him? On the surface he seems like a bad choice. Who was Nineveh? It was the capital of the cruelest nation imaginable. Think Uganda under Idi Amin.   To be fair, who in their right mind would want to go to Nineveh? All that awaited Jonah was a public execution. So what did God see in this man? Usually when we think of Jonah our minds go quickly to the encounter with the Great Whale. But this story is more than a fishing exhibition. It is an impossible task given to an improbable man who did not lack the courage to have a tempestuous conversation with God.

        I am always amazed when people claim Jonah was afraid of dying. Truth is, the only thing Jonah feared was God’s mercy toward folks Jonah happen to hate. As many of you are aware I believe God’s grace is gift given to each of us based not on our actions or belief but on God’s universal love. What a glorious thought until I realized this presents a huge downside. It used to be if I despised someone I would think, “At least when I get to heaven I’ll never run into him.” That is not because heaven is a big place. It is because I assumed if I hated someone, God was smart enough to see my enemy for their real worth and would make sure my adversary spent eternity in a place where warmth would never be a problem. But if I believe condemnation is not part of God’s final plan, eternity isn’t looking as rosy as I once imagined. Suddenly forever becomes a very, very, long time.

        Jonah does not want to go to Nineveh because he knows God is merciful, gracious, slow to anger and steadfast in love. Jonah doesn’t want to go to Nineveh because he knows there is nothing redeemable about those people and he doesn’t want to be the one who offers them a chance at redemption.

        So Jonah runs away. Then Jonah jumps into the ocean and is swallowed by a fish. For three days Jonah stews within the stomach of the great monster. Jonah’s disposition is so bad he gives the fish indigestion. Finally the fish throws up and Jonah once again finds himself face to face with God. There is no conversation only an invitation. And with that Jonah starts walking toward Nineveh.

        There was no joy in Jonah’s heart. He was a condemned man preparing to preach to enemies he did not care to have as neighbors. With the enthusiasm of a child who hates to sit through worship, Jonah began to speak. His voice resembled mine at the end of a sentence. The fact that the people of Nineveh heard him is in itself a miracle. It was the shortest and quietest sermon in the history of sermonology. Jonah said, “God knows you are evil, so repent.”

        AND THEY DID! AND JONAH WAS LIVID! He retreated from the city and screamed from the very bottom of his soul, “I knew you would forgive them. As soon as we leave they will be the same old mean, evil people. They don’t believe in you; they don’t believe in anything. How could you be such a fool? For the sake of all of us kind and loving people strike them down. Make them an example. Use your power to show the rest of the world you will not tolerate wickedness. Destroy them now.”

        When he finished lecturing God, Jonah went out into the desert where he spied a small tree. Jonah sat under the tree hoping to rest in its shade. While he slept, the tree died, leaving Jonah exposed to the sun. Jonah then screamed at God for killing the plant. And God responded, “Why do you show more love toward a plant that gives only temporary shade than to those who are my children?”

        I don’t know which is harder to understand. The idea that God loves the world or the idea that God wants us to preach this message to folks we have decided are unredeemable. Why am I supposed to care for my enemy? How can I be expected to share good news with someone I know is bad news? They are never going to change. I know it and I bet God knows it. And yet the message any disciple is sworn to preach, be it Matthew, or Peter, or John, or Jonah, or you, or me, is God loves and God forgives all of us.

        Perhaps if we preach this long enough …….. and loud enough …….. WE might actually come to believe it.     Amen.

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