Dear Friends in Christ, grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
American writer and professor John Augustus Shedd wrote in his book Salt from my Attic, “A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” Ships, he maintained are designed for exploration and the challenges of the sea, not for remaining in a safe, stationary position. 200 years ago on the 4th of July, 1825, in Stavanger, Norway, 52 passengers aboard the Restauration began their 98-day journey across the Atlantic Ocean to a new life in America. Theirs was not, however, the most direct route. They began by sailing the rough waters of the North Sea, and then through the English Channel to Falmouth until they found save harbor on the coast of Cornwall. The votive ship hanging over the baptismal fount is a copy of that Restauration that brought the first Norwegian emigrants to America.
A sailing ship is an important metaphor for the Christian faith. While safety and comfort are desirable, true purpose and fulfillment comes from venturing out and taking risks. Men and women of faith are called to go forth to the ends of the earth and to preach good news to those who have not heard. Unfortunately, that faith journey can also be a challenge- especially when you are being sent into unchartered waters and to strangers whom you do not regard as your own. That was certainly the challenge facing Jonah.
My friends, the story of the reluctant Jonah is one of the most timely, universal and personal stories for the Christian Church. God has called each one of us to do prophetic works in the world, but we often find ourselves like Jonah, searching for a less direct route to a safe harbor. We prefer to stay close to our own people, to our own land, and to those who look like us. And so, God gives us a warning. No matter how far you travel to avoid God’s call, he will pursue you in order to make you a blessing to others. Yes, you can run, but you cannot hide from God.
Historically, Jonah, whose name means little dove, had every reason to run and hide from God. According to scripture, he lived in 760 BC during a period when the Assyrian Empire was ascending in power. Located in modern day Iraq, the ancient ruins of Nineveh are buried beneath the modern city of Mosel. The Assyrians were a formidable Empire and Nineveh was a notorious city. Territory-wise, the Assyrians were the greatest empire of their time, with one of the largest armies. They controlled the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the Caucuses and the Middle East. Its greatness, however, was short-lived. Around 627 BC, after the death of its last great king Ashurbanipal, the Neo-Assyrian Empire began to unravel through a series of bitter civil wars. Allied forces eventually reached Nineveh, besieging and sacking the city. Most of the people who could not escape to the last Assyrian strongholds in the north and west were either massacred or deported out of the city and into the country. That was what fate would eventually befall Nineveh, but at the time of the prophet Jonah, it was still the largest city in the ancient world, and the brutal Assyrian army was known for torture and murder. They cut off their prisoners’ noses and ears maiming them for life.
When God commanded Jonah to bring the good news of repentance and forgiveness to the Ninevites, the prophet’s response was unabashedly honest. He had absolutely no interest in sharing God’s grace with the Ninevites. They were not his people, nor did he believe that the Ninevites should be given the opportunity to repent. So deep was his conviction that he was prepared to flee in the opposite direction.
It is interesting that Jonah believed he could flee from the Lord’s presence. Can we ever truly escape God? Even today there are those who believe they can flee the Lord’s presence, perhaps because they’re afraid that they will be called to love and care for their neighbor. They are anxious that their moral conscience will be awakened, or that their ethical standards will be challenged. There are others who believe they can flee the Lord’s presence by simply pleading ignorance to the happenings of the world. They flee because they’re afraid they will be asked by God for an accounting of their gifts and blessings. Let me remind you, if a Savior leaves you as you are and where you are, from what has he truly saved you? “You can run, but you cannot hide.”
That was what Jonah believed he could do when he fled on a ship to Tarshish. So God sent “a great wind,” upon the sea, then a storm, and the sailors, who knew all about wind and storms became frightened, but not Jonah. He was sound asleep. The sailors called to whatever god they thought might be able to save them. When they saw Jonah asleep, they woke him up screaming, “Why aren’t you praying?” Jonah knew the cause of the wind and storm. It was he and his desire to avoid God’s command. Finally, he told them to throw him into the sea. The sailors didn’t want to throw Jonah onto the waves, but when things got desperate enough – out went Jonah and into the waters and directly into the mouth of great fish. All because he refused to proclaim the possibility of God’s grace and mercy to the Ninevites.
After three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed and told God that he would go to Nineveh. In the last line of his prayer, “What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Deliverance belongs to the Lord.” Mind you, Jonah didn’t say that he would like it. Nor did he say that he would proclaim the message with passion, but he said that he would do it. And God decided to settle for whatever he could get, so the great fish spewed Jonah up on the shore and then scripture says that the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Get up. Go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to them the message that I tell you.” And Jonah did exactly as he was told.
Wonderfully and tragically, Jonah’s words touched the hearts of the Ninevites. The entire city, including the animals, repented of the evil they had done. They covered themselves in sackcloth and ashes and prayed to God for a new beginning. The city was spared. Jonah wasn’t sorry about announcing God’s judgment. But he was sorry about the results. He was sorry that the whole city dropped to their knees in repentance and averted calamity. “O Lord!” he cried, “Is not this what I said while I was still in in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.” For the Ninevites, it was a wonderful scene of redemption, but for Jonah, an absolute travesty. God’s way were not his ways, and his ways were not God’s ways. Alas, you can run, but you cannot hide.
Perhaps that is the challenge for you. It is hard for you to see your enemy, the migrant at the border, the refugee in a foreign land, the neighbor with whom you disagree, your own political adversary, or the one who has hurt you, as deserving of the good news of God’s love. You are tempted to turn the other way and flee.
The story of Jonah teaches us, that God’s grace is always far more generous than the limitations of our hearts and our assumptions, and like Jonah, you and I are being called to go to those places where God’s love and grace may be most needed- even among our enemies whom we do not believe deserve our energy or attention and may be wanting to destroy us. To Jonah’s surprise, the Ninevites felt sinful and condemned. That message is even stronger and more poignant when we consider God’s love for the whole world in Christ Jesus, for whom God gave his only Son. Jesus did not run from the Lord’s command, nor did he hide from his enemies. Not even three days and nights in the grave could keep him down. That is why Jesus compared himself to the reluctant, yet faithful Jonah, but he could proclaim himself greater still.
The story of the prophet Jonah has delighted and challenged believers for generations. In Judaism, the Book of Jonah is read every year on Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement as a call to confession. With its themes of resurrection and salvation, the story of Jonah was one of the first biblical narratives depicted in early Christian art, appearing in wall paintings in the catacombs. Michelangelo famously painted Jonah’s image, together with a fish, on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Even Martin Luther found a place for Jonah. It was the first Old Testament prophet he translated into German. The simple print pamphlet which included woodcuts by Lucas Cranach the Elder proved to be immensely popular. 16 editions were printed in the year 1526 alone. 13 in German and 3 in Latin.
My friends, God may not be calling you to convert the great city of Nineveh, but he is calling you and sending you from your safe harbor to a place where he can use your time and talents wisely and share the good news of God’s love with all. Remember, you can run, but you cannot hide. Amen.
May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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