Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Epiphany 3 - Year B
Good old second-chance Jonah held true to his belief and intention even though he changed his behavior. An abused dog can learn to jump away with the merest glance. Jonah jumped away to be on his way with a second command even though his heart wasn't in it. Does this remind you of someone you know or even yourself? May our insides catch up with our outsides.
This also gives insight into those folks in the church who have a narrow judgmental picture of G*D and find themselves in the minority. They go along, but don't believe the larger forgiving picture of G*D and look for ways to sabotage what they believe to be wrong-hearted and soft-headed.
"Jonah has nothing to say except to the humble, penitent, and stricken heart, the man who is not satisfied to remain a sinner and who does not seek justification but pardon. To this man alone does the sharp and cutting dialogue between God and Jonah carry a truth. It tells this man that God knows the totality of man, that he knows with whom he is dealing, that he is not surprised even after revelation and pardon have been granted to find a man who is angry and disputatious again, that this does not exhaust God's love and patience, that he continues to take this rebellious child by the hand until he falls on his knees: My Lord and my God! This will be repeated throughout the life of this man as often as is necessary, since there are no limits to the love of God which forgives seventy times seven, that is, infinitely. But this has nothing to say and has no truth except for the man who does not try to treat this love and forgiveness as a source of personal profit. May Jonah's sin be an aid to our repentance and not a justification in our pride!" [The Judgment of Jonah by Jacques Ellul]
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Jeff (Reader)
It occurs to me that Jonah's concern about the possibility of the Ninevites changing is similar to the concern of some in our time that the Iraqis might actually comply with the UN resolution and cooperate with the weapons inspectors, which would remove the rationale for military action against them.
http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2003/january2003.html
Good old G*D, making redecisions according to the actions of the folks. Talk about your process G*D-ology. Sure is a good thing that G*D waited long enough for this response. Imagine G*D's deadline for Ninevah being a day earlier.
Of course a case can be made for an predetermined God who knew the folks would turn as soon as Jonah opened his mouth. Life can be seen as but a row of dominoes to be toppled in an exact sequence of moves. Ultimately this is rather boring.
There is a line from Edward Albee's The Zoo Story, that is apropos here -- "sometimes you have to go a long way out of your way to come back a short distance correctly." Sometimes our waiting takes the form of a long way of activity in one direction to get a gravity slingshot's worth of energy to actually arrive at a place of success beyond one's greatest fears.
I suspect we all have similar stories to tell. It is amazing how short the "correct" distance is. It could certainly be longer in physical measurement but experienced as being a short way. When in the groove distance is a non-barrier.
http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2006/january2006.html
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Psalm 62:5-12
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Mark 1:14-20
There are many great balancing acts where we are not shaken, where we rest. Among the greatest is that of "none."
Are you seen, do you see yourself, as being of little value, of great value? The difference is smaller than a jot or tittle. It takes nothing to push a balanced scale, an empty scale. Let it go.
Fisher of fish or fisher of folk? Net leaver or family leaver? First journey or second journey to Tarshish or Nineveh? We tell ourselves stories that one is better than the other.
In a time of fulfillment "all" and "nothing" lose significance.
Let me have all things, let me having nothing, I freely and heartily yield.
Let me have repentance, let me have good news, I freely and heartily yield.
Let me have mourning, let me have rejoicing, I freely and heartily yield.
Let me have prison, let me have Galilee, I freely and heartily yield.
What has been the tension you have been holding on to to define your present time here? Might this be a time of fulfillment where you can yield to both rather than wait for one to knock off the other?
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rock against rock
devil against sea
addiction against addiction
we set our dilemmas
wavering between them
holding both so precious
we could never put one down
time against space
matter against energy
galaxy against quark
we set our paradoxes
choosing one and then
favoring the other
once, twice, and thrice
doctrine against doctrine
hymn against praise
faith against hope
we set our institutions
burning with passion
burning each heretic
loving sets more than love itself
http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html
I just saw a sermon for this coming Sunday that posited WalMart (called Mall Marty World in the sermon and VoldeMart by others) as Ninevah. That may trigger other arenas for you where this tale might well be told. The message Jonah brought in the sermon is: "It's not keeping the customers happy that I'm most concerned about; it's the way you treat your employees. They have nowhere else to work and you don't pay them a living wage. When their children are sick, they have no health insurance to pay for their medical care. When they are too old to work, there are no pension funds to help them maintain their mortgage and car payments. It's not right. Your managers and executives live very comfortably." [Found on Midrash posting from John Sumwalt]
Instead of just a generic "Repent" it is helpful to be specific about what is needed. When you find your Ninevah you will also find your voice and it will thrive on detail, not generality.
Behind every prophecy is an understanding that the future stands open, G*D is open. An important corollary is that G*D is not fate, but life. Change is at the heart of life. Responding to new situations with new responses is crucial to healthy living. When one part of the equation changes, the whole situation can be rethought. To change the present is to change the future. However you cast it, smile, a Living G*D is at work and a Living Image of G*D can do no less.
http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html
Change is a consistent part of life. The only thing that doesn’t change is change.
Change comes to Jonah, to the citizens of Nineveh, to G*D.
There is an old story about the 36 hidden saints in the world (Tzadikim Nistarim or Lamed Vav Tzadikim). No one knows who they are, including themselves, but without them the world would grind to a halt. They are seedbeds of change - not in terms of technical innovation, but for how we treat one another. Repentance and forgiveness are great change agents.
Since you may be one of the anonymous saints, what change needs to be made in you to live a whole and mature life that others might experience you and the hope you carry within?
Since your neighbor, or even enemy, may be one of the anonymous saints, what change needs to be made in you for them to be more whole and mature?
http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2012/01/jonah-31-5-10.html