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 What's in a Story? |
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January 2006 Mark 1.14-20, The Book of Jonah Remember the lyrics from Gilligan's Island: "It's a whale of a tale I'm tellin' you lads, a whale of a tale, it's true"? It's a perfect description of the story of Jonah-the grand-daddy of all fish stories. And if we don't laugh, if we don't relish the humor in this extended parable, then we are taking ourselves way, way too seriously. So who is Jonah? Well...we don't really know much about him. What we do know can be summarized in one sentence. He's one of Israel's prophets who lived around the first half of the 700's BCE-about eight centuries before Jesus. During Jonah's lifetime, Israel's greatest enemy is the Assyrian Empire, whose capital is Nineveh. Today, we know that region as Iraq. But the book of Jonah, the story we read today, is written some two to three hundred years after the time of the prophet himself, either during or after Israel's exile in Babylon. In this story, the deeply nationalistic, not terribly religious Jonah is sent to extend God's grace to Israel's arch-enemy, the Evil Empire, Assyria. That's where the fun starts. God calls Jonah to leave Israel and head far to the east to bring the message of repentance and redemption to Nineveh-and by extension, to all of Assyria. So what does any petulant nationalist do? He heads in exactly the opposite direction, hopping a ship headed west to Tarshish in Spain, in the outermost regions of the then-known world. Then as my friend Bev says, "from this point on, everybody in the story is going to have a significant spiritual experience except Jonah."[1] The storm comes, the sailors row for all they're worth, "they practically hold a revival meeting on deck,"[1] and Jonah sleeps through it all in the hold. Do you hear echoes of the gospel writers as they tell of Jesus stilling the storm? At any rate, at his suggestion, Jonah is tossed overboard when he reveals that he is running away from God. And of course, the entire crew instantly converts to the Lord the minute the seas calm down. Jonah spends the next three days giving some large fish indigestion, till the creature finally tosses Jonah onto dry land. Then God tries again with a second call to Jonah. And this time, Jonah goes to Nineveh. But you can practically see the trenches he digs as he drags his feet. Of course, the story-teller's fishing license is still firmly in hand. Nineveh is described as a huge city-a three days' walk across. In reality, it was about one-third that size. And here, Jonah delivers a message whose effectiveness would put Peter and Paul both to shame: "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." The people of Nineveh believe instantly; the king proclaims a fast for the entire realm-humans and animals alike-they are commanded to "turn from their evil ways...." And they do. So Jonah throws a temper tantrum. He whines to God-"See?! This is exactly the reason I didn't want to come here in the first place! They not only listened to what I had to say, they even believed it! I'd rather die than have those who have threatened and killed and struck fear in the hearts of my people enjoy the same relationship with you that I have!" And what is God's response? That God has the same care for Nineveh in its entirety-animals as well as humans-that God has for Jonah and his people. In a culture where nationalism is the order of the day, where national allegiance is viewed as the means to survival in the face of a very real threat, the story of Jonah tells a cautionary tale. As with every parable, there are multiple points of entry into the story, and multiple layers of meaning. Both Jonah's attitudes and his behavior are worthy of reflection. He acts as though God's claim on him can be avoided if he doesn't like the direction it will take him-literally and figuratively. He acts as though the legitimate needs of the sailors and of the Assyrians are subordinate to his own. He acts as though he is entitled to the gifts of God-right down to the shade of a rapidly-grown bush. And conversely, Jonah acts as though those beyond his concern are not entitled to anything. He even acts as though the lack of the bush's shade is equivalent in importance to his very life. Jonah acts as though the God of all creation bears responsibility only for Jonah's desires, rather than for the needs of both parties who are at odds with each other. Fundamentally, Jonah acts like a two-year-old-with apologies to those who currently act their age. He acts as though he is the center of the world. The story of Jonah is a direct rebuke to the 'my needs before your needs' crowd, a powerful reminder that in the eyes of God, the needs of both all peoples are equally valid. But that isn't the difficult part of the story. The challenging part of the story of Jonah isn't that God's mercy extends beyond us and those like us; it's that God expects of us-in fact demands of us-that we be a part of extending that mercy. That's why Jonah isn't let off the hook, so to speak. That's why Jonah isn't allowed to spend his retirement on the sunny shores of Spain. That's why Jonah isn't indulged with some equivalent of "I know how hard this must be for you...." Because God has called Jonah to extend the voice of that mercy. That still-speaking God has called, and Jonah must respond. But
the story ends with the sun beating down on a sullen, resentful
Jonah. We do not know what he does next. We only know that God calls
forth the best of him, and that when Jonah finally gives even a
sliver of what God calls him to do, the response is successful beyond
the wildest dreams of the best-laid corporate plan. When we extend
even a sliver ourselves for God's service, God can and does work
miracles that embrace Jonah at his worst and Nineveh at its best.
God can and does work miracles that embrace each of us, regardless
of accent, skin tone, eye color, height or sexual orientation. God
can and does love us. God can and does extend mercy to the entire
creation, male and female, humans and animals. The Bible tells us
so. And no matter how hard Jonah tries, he can't stop it. That is
good news; that is very good news. Thanks be to God![1] |