For the most partFor the most part you’ve probably heard the story of Jonah. And while I have few insightful parallels or anything of that sort about it I hope to enlighten you with a bit of a retelling.

The first part is pretty straightforward really. God tells Jonah to go to Ninevah but it freaks him out because he knows Ninevah has a history of screw-up. He escapes his burden by boat, and God’s evident disapproval rocks the ship side to side in an unpredicted storm. The crew freaks out when they realize Jonah’s the one to blame,and fearing the God who sends storms they try to get back to land, but fail. So, kerplop, Jonah gets what’s coming to him and finds himself at God’s mercy in the sea. And God has mercy! A gigantic fish swallows Jonah up and he manages to survive three days and three nights of dark, seaweed covered, fish-belly repentance until God sends the fish to spit him up on a beach somewhere. Jonah presumably takes a quick rinse and heads directly to that evil city. 

 

And cut, the Sunday school version ends here right? Perhaps, but the story’s not half over.

Jonah arrives in Ninevah. The bible says 110,000 people lived there so imagine the Kitchener downtown area with a couple of the suburbs attached. In a seemingly obnoxious display, Jonah started preaching destruction. 

 

“Forty-days from now…”

 

He probably felt like a fool, got pretty odds stares and was uncomfortable being judged so hardcore. But at the same time the people walking by him, staring at the ground, unadmittably to their friends at first, heard him and their hearts’ raced with conviction. In fact, the King caught wind of the situation and took it seriously. God softened him to believe, and he passed bylaw amendment # 379b:

 

Section 1:

NOBODY, NOT EVEN YOUR ANIMALS CAN EAT OR DRINK UNTIL WE GET THIS MESS WITH GOD SORTED OUT

 

Section 2:

PRAYLIKE YOU’VE NEVER PRAYED BEFORE TO JONAH’S GOD

 

Section 3:

WEAR BURLAP AND SIT IN ASH

 

And so the city geared up for this desperate attempt to change their lives, committed themselves to righteousness and in a grand display of grace, God, “Changed His mind.” 

 

Meanwhile Jonah doesn’t want to be demolished in God’s anticipated wrath so he climbs up some hill where he can see Ninevah. Nothing happens, because God was merciful, and Jonah gets peeved. It’s absurd, but I can kind of see where he was coming from. He spent a month promising the end of the world and then December 22nd 2012 rolls along like any other day and it’s quite evident that he was mistaken. So he was sitting in a little lean-to he built himself on this hill with his pride burning and a black-eyed ego. Remiscent of Jack and the magic beanstalk God makes a leafy plant sprout up to give Jonah shade. Jonah’s real happy about it too. But then, God sends a worm to destroy the plant and between the hot front rolling in from the East and the sun Jonah is one sun-burnt, miserable mess. 

 

Enter our illogical human sense of entitlement.

 

“Oh, kill me now,” he petitions God furious at the death of his shelter.

 

Then God just says something like: 

“You really care so much about this plant that was only around for a few days? How much more do I care about the 110,000 people of Ninevah, that I would show them mercy. 

 

And voila, that’s it, a bit of a cliffhanger for a final verse.

In the post-Sunday School chapter of this prophet’s memoir we see an absurd display of indifference for the people of Ninevah. But let me ask you, how often does our pride eclipse our compassion? Or our desire for earthly dignity scores against our logical response to an unfathomable grace in the first period?

In the post-Sunday School chapter of this prophet’s memoir we see an absurd display of indifference for the people of Ninevah. But let me ask you, how often does our pride eclipse our compassion? Or our desire for earthly dignity scores against our logical response to an unfathomable grace in the first period? you’ve probably heard the story of Jonah. And while I have few insightful parallels or anything of that sort about it I hope to enlighten you with a bit of a retelling.

The first part is pretty straightforward really. God tells Jonah to go to Ninevah but it freaks him out because he knows Ninevah has a history of screw-up. He escapes his burden by boat, and God’s evident disapproval rocks the ship side to side in an unpredicted storm. The crew freaks out when they realize Jonah’s the one to blame,and fearing the God who sends storms they try to get back to land, but fail. So, kerplop, Jonah gets what’s coming to him and finds himself at God’s mercy in the sea. And God has mercy! A gigantic fish swallows Jonah up and he manages to survive three days and three nights of dark, seaweed covered, fish-belly repentance until God sends the fish to spit him up on a beach somewhere. Jonah presumably takes a quick rinse and heads directly to that evil city. 

And cut, the Sunday school version ends here right? Perhaps, but the story’s not half over.

Jonah arrives in Ninevah. The bible says 110,000 people lived there so imagine the Kitchener downtown area with a couple of the suburbs attached. In a seemingly obnoxious display, Jonah started preaching destruction. 

“Forty-days from now…”

He probably felt like a fool, got pretty odds stares and was uncomfortable being judged so hardcore. But at the same time the people walking by him, staring at the ground, unadmittably to their friends at first, heard him and their hearts’ raced with conviction. In fact, the King caught wind of the situation and took it seriously. God softened him to believe, and he passed bylaw amendment # 379b:

Section 1:

NOBODY, NOT EVEN YOUR ANIMALS CAN EAT OR DRINK UNTIL WE GET THIS MESS WITH GOD SORTED OUT

Section 2:

PRAYLIKE YOU’VE NEVER PRAYED BEFORE TO JONAH’S GOD

Section 3:

WEAR BURLAP AND SIT IN ASH

 

And so the city geared up for this desperate attempt to change their lives, committed themselves to righteousness and in a grand display of grace, God, “Changed His mind.” 

Meanwhile Jonah doesn’t want to be demolished in God’s anticipated wrath so he climbs up some hill where he can see Ninevah. Nothing happens, because God was merciful, and Jonah gets peeved. It’s absurd, but I can kind of see where he was coming from. He spent a month promising the end of the world and then December 22nd 2012 rolls along like any other day and it’s quite evident that he was mistaken. So he was sitting in a little lean-to he built himself on this hill with his pride burning and a black-eyed ego. Remiscent of Jack and the magic beanstalk God makes a leafy plant sprout up to give Jonah shade. Jonah’s real happy about it too. But then, God sends a worm to destroy the plant and between the hot front rolling in from the East and the sun Jonah is one sun-burnt, miserable mess. 

Enter our illogical human sense of entitlement.

“Oh, kill me now,” he petitions God furious at the death of his shelter.

Then God just says something like: 

“You really care so much about this plant that was only around for a few days? How much more do I care about the 110,000 people of Ninevah, that I would show them mercy. 

And voila, that’s it, a bit of a cliffhanger for a final verse.

In the post-Sunday School chapter of this prophet’s memoir we see an absurd display of indifference for the people of Ninevah. But let me ask you, how often does our pride eclipse our compassion? Or our desire for earthly dignity scores against our logical response to an unfathomable grace in the first period?