What we like (and dislike) about God [Proper 20A - Jonah 3:10-4:11]

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 The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson

Jonah 3:10-4:11

What we like (and dislike) about God

 

I’m a priest; my wife is a pastor; my children are PKs twice over; and so we have, in our home, a number of Children’s Bibles.  And all of them include the story of Jonah.  Well, excerpts from the story of Jonah; definitely not the whole story.  Most of them begin with Jonah running in the opposite direction; they always include the big fish, from belly to beach; and they typically conclude with the happy ending of the book: when the people of Ninevah repent and are saved – because of Jonah. They never include this part of the story: the part where Jonah is mad because God refuses to kill all the people.  The true ending of Jonah, what we heard this morning, never makes the cut.

 

This is, admittedly, not Jonah’s finest moment; he does not make a great impression in today’s passage – which is the conclusion of the book that bears his name. Finally, there is no redemptive moment for Jonah. In this passage he says some pretty cringe-worthy things; he even builds his own personal grandstand so that he has a good view of what he hopes will be the decimation of an entire city. If it wasn’t clear: in this passage, Jonah is desperately praying for 120,000 people to die. And he is furious when they do not. It’s not a great look.

 

At the beginning of the story, Jonah famous runs in the opposite direction.  God calls him to go to the people of Ninevah and he refuses.  But, to a certain extent, it is understandable because God is not terribly convincing at the beginning of the story.  God says, “Go at once to Ninevah and cry out against it because the wickedness of that city is unprecedented; it’s just the worst; it’s a terrible place.”  Like I said, not a great pitch.  At that point in the story, it seemed like fear was the reason Jonah tried to avoid this divine mission.  And in a way, I guess it was.  Not fear of the wickedness or the evil people, though.  Jonah was afraid that if he went and did his job, God would spare the people.  And Jonah didn’t want that.

 

Perhaps the most stunning line in this book is also found at the end of today's psalm.  You will see that context makes a huge difference here.  Our psalm today ends: “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness.”  It is the final line of a hymn of praise.  It is a beautiful acknowledgment of the goodness of God.  It is the Gospel.   

 

That beautiful line of praise from the psalm becomes Jonah’s prayer.  Only he doesn't mean it as a compliment.  It is an accusation, a bitter complaint.  After Jonah confronts the sinful city and the people repent and God decides not to punish them, Jonah angrily confronts God, saying, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled; 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.  I wish you would just kill me now.”  And then he goes and finds a seat and waits and hopes that God might once again have a change of mind and destroy those terrible people of Nineveh.         

 

The prophet’s hatred is suffocating; it takes one’s breath away.  But, I should tell you, the situation is complicated.  You see, God had the audacity to send Jonah into enemy territory.  During that time, Jonah's people were living under the savage rule of the Assyrian Empire.  Miguel de la Torre graphically describes how the Assyrians treated the nations they conquered: “If enemies [of the Assyrians] resisted surrender during the siege of their city, once defeated, the population would be horribly mutilated and slaughtered.  Their houses and towns would be torn down and burned, and the flayed skins of their corpses prominently displayed on stakes: a strong warning to others who might think of resisting. Public amusement was provided by leading survivors by a leash attached to a ring inserted through their lip. Vanquished nobles were paraded through the city of Nineveh with the decapitated heads of their princes hanging around their necks while merry tunes were played to entertain the public.  Is it any wonder that the Hebrews despised the people of the empire?”[1]  And Nineveh, the city to which Jonah is sent, it was the capital of that empire. 

 

So now, perhaps, you understand why Jonah was so angry.  He wanted the people who had abused and killed and humiliated his friends and family to get what they deserved.  He wanted to sit and watch as that horrible city burned to the ground. 

 

And God didn’t do it.  And in one furious and honest prayer, Jonah laments God's mercy.  Because it went too far.  And he knew it would.  And Jonah weeps because he was the one, the instrument by which God saved his enemies.

 

Jonah wanted to see the bullets fly.  He wanted the poison to pump through their veins.  He wanted to watch as they gasped for air.  He wanted them to get what they deserved.  And they don’t.

 

In this story, 120,000 people are saved.  God shows them mercy even though they in no way deserve it.  God's love overwhelms the violence and evil that were branded on the soul of that city.  And isn't that the Good News: that God is merciful and abounding in steadfast love – a love that conquers even hatred and death?  Isn't that the Good News: that God loves us even though we don’t deserve it?

 

But that’s the thing about Good News; it is always a matter of perspective.  God is merciful and abounding in steadfast love.  But that's not just praise; it is also accusation; and it is also complaint.  Because God, the God who loves us, also loves our enemies and those who hurt us and those who do terrible things in this world. 

 

I think it’s the case that everything we love about God, all the things we celebrate, are the same things that will at some point break our hearts.  Because, like Jonah, we know God; we know God is too merciful and too loving.

 

And that means that we, like Jonah, will spend our lives coming to terms with this God who so brazenly violates our sense of fairness. And when we lament God's mercy, and we will, God will be merciful with us. And when we rail against God's love, God will love us. And when we sit in our pain and heartbreak and anger and rage against God and God’s ridiculous goodness, God will patiently hear us out. Because, whether we like it or not, that's just how God is.   



[1]  Liberating Jonah, 11.

 

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