Jonah 3:10-4:11
The human spirit is a wonderful gift. But sometimes our heart will only allow us to go as far as our mind can imagine. Intellectually we have been trained to accept particular information as true and we base the path of our daily life on that evidence. A basic truth of the ancients declared the world was flat. This limited any imagination concerning the vastness of the universe. Because the world was flat, the sun revolved around the earth. Because the world was flat, exploration of the great seas was forbidden. Because the world was flat, even the reign of God was limited to a particular locale. Little was imagined beyond what one could see or experience.
After spending two generations in Babylon, the sons and daughters of Abraham returned to Jerusalem. For many, The Captivity had been quite a revelation. Before Babylon the Hebrew people depended on an oral tradition. Stories were passed from one generation to the next by word of mouth. The Babylonians stored their memories in manuscripts. Written documents preserved the history, the beliefs, the laws, and even the legends. In Babylon the Rabbis began to write down their ancient stories of faith. What we call the Old Testament made the transformation from campfires to scrolls. A tribal faith became a national institution making the chief priest as influential as the king.
When you are a tribal faith, the realm of God is never imagined beyond the landscape of the naked eye. When faith expands beyond the campfire, the shackles on one’s imagination are challenged.
Yahweh was the God of Israel. Baal was the God of the Philistines. Zeus was the God of the Greeks. Marduk was the God of the Babylonian. Each geographic territory had a god and each god was only as powerful as the people who claimed him. When the Hebrew people restored Jerusalem and began to rebuild the Temple, the question arose, “Was not Yahweh with us in Babylon?” That was a radical idea. It caused great consternation among both priests and scholars. A second question followed. “If Yahweh was not with us, why were we allowed to come home?” This caused an even greater stir in the theological community. The facts were the Persians defeated the Babylonians and Cyrus released the Hebrews. The prevailing belief was Yahweh inspired Cyrus to instigate this act of liberation. If this was true, then how far did the reign of Yahweh extend? Even more important, how far did the love and mercy of God extend? These questions challenged the shackled imaginations of a newly liberated people. Only a story could challenge truths they believed to be self-evident.
Most of us were introduced to the story of Jonah when we were children. Well, that’s not quite true. We were introduced to the whale. As children we learned God gave Jonah a task to perform and Jonah ran away. He leapt into the ocean to escape God only to be swallowed by a large fish. Inside the belly of the monster Jonah came to his senses and begged to be released from his watery prison. The whale spit Jonah out on dry land and Jonah hopped on the first bus to Nineveh. After telling the story Mrs. Cartledge looked down at me and said, “When God calls you had better listen. There might be a giant fish lurking in the darkness.” She told a wonderful story but not the one wedged between the Obadiah and Micah. The real story began with a not so simple request, “Jonah, go to Nineveh and tell the Assyrians Yahweh demands repentance.” Jonah replied, “Not in a thousand lifetimes.”
The Assyrians were ISIS on steroids. The Assyrians were murderous brutes who smashed villages and burned cities just for sport. The ten tribes of Israel were swept from the face of the earth by the Assyrians. To go to Nineveh meant certain death but that is not why Jonah ran away. He defied God by declaring the obvious. “You are merciful, gracious, and filled with steadfast love. If Assyria agrees to repent, you will forgive them. I want no part of your act of mercy.” Jonah turned and caught the first boat out of town.
Are there limits to God’s mercy? Jonah feared there were not. He refused to be the vehicle that brought salvation of his enemy. First, they did not deserve God’s mercy. Second, the idea that God’s love transcended geographical and religious boundaries was heretical. The Hebrews were the children of Abraham. They were the Chosen Ones. They alone were the recipients of God’s grace. Not Nineveh!
So God put Jonah into time out. Jonah’s disposition was so sour even the whale couldn’t stand it. The fish finally spit the repugnant missionary onto dry ground. On clearing the water from his ears Jonah now heard, “Go to Nineveh.”
What choice did he have? Jonah went and reluctantly delivered the word of the Lord. And Nineveh repented.
Jonah was outraged. He screamed at God, “I knew this would happen. They do not deserve mercy. Do you really think they have the capacity to change? You watch, tomorrow they will be up to their old tricks. You are such a sentimental old fool. Will you never learn?”
Jonah stormed out into the desert. He sat under the shade of a solitary plant and sulked. God, displaying omnipotent annoyance, killed the plant. Exposed and disgraced Jonah cried, “Why don’t you just let me die!” God responded, “Is the life of a bush more important to you than the fate of 120,000 people?” There was no response from Jonah and the story abruptly ended.
Only the story never ends. We have been living it for over 2600 years. Like Jonah, how often do we run away when the light of God exposes our limited vision?
Is my God the God of my enemy?
Does my God’s mercy extend to my enemy?
Are we allowed to consider such sacrilege? As stated earlier we have been trained to accept particular information as truth. Our imagination is shackled by the scope of our knowledge and experience leaving our worldview flat. But don’t despair. God continues to spit us up from the belly of deception. God continues to round out our flat edges. God continues to say to us, “The way to a new community begins with the courage to reimagine what we always believed to be absolutely true.” Amen.
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