Tricia's Sermon, 9/21/08

Proper 20A
September 21, 2008
St. Dunstan’s
The Rev. Patricia Templeton

The Reluctant Prophet

Several years ago a band called The Crashtest Dummies had a hit song entitled “God Shuffled His Feet.” In the song, it’s the Sabbath Day, and God has decided to enjoy the day of rest by taking some people on a picnic.

The people and God are kicking back, sitting on a blanket, drinking wine and chatting. After God tells a rather bizarre story, someone asks this question:

“I beg your pardon, God: I’m not sure what you just spoke –

“Was that a parable, or a very subtle joke?”

That question could be asked about the Book of Jonah, a bizarre little story, the ending of which we heard this morning.

The story of Jonah is a parable, a simple story used to illustrate a religious message, but it also a subtle joke, using humor to convey some very serious lessons.

My guess is that what most of us remember about Jonah is that he was swallowed by a big fish. It’s a favorite children’s Bible story, but there is much more to Jonah than that fanciful tale of being swallowed by a whale.

The story begins with God appearing to Jonah and ordering him to go to the great city of Nineveh to warn the people there that if they do not repent of their wicked ways, God will destroy them.

But Jonah doesn’t want to go to Nineveh, and so instead he hops on a boat, planning to sail across the sea to a place where he can escape from God’s presence.

Of course, that is impossible to do. God knows that Jonah is on the boat, and sends a huge storm that batters the ship across the sea.

While Jonah is asleep, the sailors struggle against the storm, praying to their gods for help. But no help comes, and finally the ship’s captain goes to Jonah.

“What are you doing sound asleep?” he asks. “Get up, call on your god! Perhaps your god will spare us a thought so that we will not perish.”

Jonah admits that his god is probably angry at him for running away, and suggests that the sailors throw him overboard to appease his god and stop the storm.

Reluctantly, they do so, and the storm stops. Then God sends the big fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah stays in its belly for three days and nights.

Apparently, a sojourn in a fish’s stomach is enough to humble even the most rebellious prophet, and Jonah prays to God for forgiveness and deliverance. God directs the fish to spit Jonah out on dry land.

One would think after this kind of experience Jonah would have learned his lesson. And indeed, when God appears to Jonah again with the order to go warn the people of Nineveh, Jonah obeys.
Now remember that Jonah is a Hebrew, one of God’s chosen people of Israel. Nineveh is the capitol of Assyria, the historic enemies and enslavers of the Hebrew people.

The people of Nineveh are notoriously evil and wicked. Good Israelites have nothing to do with them.

But Jonah, fresh from the belly of the whale, sets out for Nineveh. He walks through the city, crying out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

And then an amazing thing happens. The Ninevites, those notoriously evil people, repent.

“The people of Nineveh believed God,” the story says. “They proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.”

When the king of Nineveh hears Jonah’s warning, he orders everyone to “turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands.”

“Who knows?” the king says. “God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”

And indeed, when God sees that the people of Nineveh have repented, have turned from their evil ways and begged forgiveness, God does relent, the divine mind is changed, and the people of Nineveh are spared.

One would think that Jonah would be delighted. He has done what God has asked him to do. He has been successful. People have listened to him. He has saved an entire city!
But Jonah is not happy. He is angry – furious at God.

“I knew this is what would happen,” he whines. “That’s why I ran away in the first place. I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.”

Jonah does not mean those words as a compliment.

Jonah believes that God has wasted his time and put him through quite a lot – the stormy sea, the belly of the fish, the long trek to Nineveh, and the difficult task of preaching repentance.
Jonah doesn’t want God to be gracious and merciful, slow to anger and ready to relent from punishing. Jonah doesn’t want the Ninevites to be saved. He wants God to let them have it. They deserve to be destroyed, not forgiven.

Jonah is so angry that God has had compassion on his enemies that he wishes God would kill him. He goes to sit outside the city to pout and watch, on the slim hope that God might destroy Nineveh after all.

While Jonah is sitting there sulking in the hot sun, God appoints a bush to grow over his head and shade him. The bush makes Jonah happy.

But the next day, God sends a worm to attack the bush and kill it, leaving the sun to beat down on Jonah’s head. Once again, he is angry at God.

God asks Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush.”

“Yes,” Jonah retorts. “Angry enough to die.”

God responds, “You are concerned about the bush for which you did not labor, and which you did not grow. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

With that question, the funny little book of Jonah, this parable with its subtle jokes, comes to an end.

But beneath the humor of this story of the rebellious prophet pouting because he has saved a city from destruction are some serious lessons.

First, we learn about the expansiveness of God’s caring, juxtaposed against the pettiness of Jonah, and ourselves. If we’re honest, how many of us really want good things to happen to our enemies?

How many of us really want to help save our foes? How many of us would react with delight to learn that the group of people we hated the most, that we looked upon with scorn and disgust, that we held up as the paragons, or axis, of evil – had suddenly changed their ways, become the good guys, were looked on with favor by God?

We’re really not that different from Jonah.

And yet, in contrast there is God – a God who cares about all of creation. A God who truly wants to see all of creation prosper.

A God who cares for creation this much is a God who is flexible in mind and heart.

God’s mind can and does change. God’s heart is moved by pity and compassion. One can imagine God sighing with relief when the people of Nineveh repent, allowing God to scrap the plan of destruction.

God’s ability to be moved by compassion, to be slow to anger and quick to forgive, is what makes Jonah angry.

Jonah has fallen into one of the most prevalent sins of those who believe they are part of a special, elite group. In fact, Jonah is one of God’s chosen people, the Israelites.

But Jonah has forgotten what it means to be chosen by God. God chooses people not for special privileges, but for special responsibilities. The special responsibility of the people of Israel is to be a blessing for all the peoples of the earth.

By going to warn the people of Nineveh, Jonah is doing just that. But he doesn’t like it. He doesn’t want them to be blessed; he wants them to be destroyed.

The story of Jonah reminds us that no person or place is outside of God’s care and concern. Israel, and Jonah, have a special covenant with God, but the divine loves extends beyond any covenant. We should never begrudge the divine generosity.

The story of Jonah also reminds us that anyone or anything can be used for a divine purpose.
Even though Jonah doesn’t really like being a prophet, we can imagine that at times he may feel a little smug about being called by God for this important task, just as Israel at times feels smug about being God’s chosen people – just as we at times may feel smug about our own importance and usefulness.

But when we start feeling too smug, remember the story of Jonah. When important work is to be done, God calls on a fish, a storm, a bush – and even a worm – to aid in the divinely appointed task.

And conversely, when we’re feeling small and inconsequential, when we feel like nothing we can do will make a difference, when we think there is no use in even trying – remember that the God who appointed a worm to a divine task can surely make use of us.

Amen.