A Sermon from the Book of Jonah, and Mark 1vs14-20

A few years ago I was teaching a Bible study around the book of Jonah to a class with varying degrees of biblical knowledge. The book of Jonah is 4 chapters long and we spent a total of 90 minutes unpacking the whole thing when near the end of the session a seasoned Christian, a Sunday school teacher, a 90’s youth group kid, a grew up with her a butt in the pews every Sunday of her young life now reading bible stories to her own children spoke up and said, 

“Hang on hang on hang on…there’s more to the story than Jonah getting eaten by a giant fish? I’ve never read past the moment when he gets spit back out on to the shore. I was always taught it was a story about God’s retribution for our disobedience. I didn’t know there was more to it. I’ve even avoided teaching it.” 

That one Bible study participant noticed what many Christians fail to notice, or exposed the point at which many Sunday school lessons stop. The fish part of the story is essential for sure but it is not final. It is not the definitive moment. I would argue that the book in context – the time, setting, the author, the why of the story – those are the essential elements that give way to God-Lesson of this book. I also want to acknowledge that there very well may be some who are worshiping in here going, “I don’t know what you’re talking about it. Who is Jonah?” Which is perfectly fine. I’m going to unpack Jonah’s story anyway for you right now very briefly starting with the events outside the story, starting with events that happened a long time before the story. The events that give the story it’s real meaning. 

Somewhere around 722 BCE the nation of Assyria conquered the Kingdom of Israel after which there were a few generations of Israelites living in exile as captives in Assyria. Eventually they went home and then a new world superpower arose. This was the Kingdom of Babylon and around 586 BCE Babylon conquered the Kingdom of Judah taking them once again into a time of exile. This is an obnoxiously fast and generalized historical rundown – I understand that. 50 years later around 538 BCE King Cyrus of the Persian Empire sent the exiled ones back home to Judah. The leaders of Judah said “Never Again!” The prophets of this kingdom began speaking of religious reforms meant to prevent any such events from repeating. 

These prophets believed that a strict adherence to the Levitical Laws, and a pure form of Judaism would protect their nation from ever being conquered again. In another words, they began instituting a strong movement of extreme nationalism. During the generation of exile and diaspora, families had become ethnically diverse. Jewish men married Assyrian and Babylonian woman and they raised ethnically mixed babies. These prophets during the time of return demanded that all foreign wives and all children born to foreign wives be cast out of Israel, that a pure Israel would be pleasing to God. You can read of this in the book of Ezra, specifically in Chapter 10. 

In the meanwhile there were two short stories written as satirical and subversive responses to, or alternatives to this drive towards extreme nationalism. One of these books was the book of Ruth; a love story about about an Israelite marrying a foreign woman. The other, the book of Jonah. Jonah, a name meaning Good and Faithful Servant was commanded by God to go to the city of Nineveh, to call them to repentance so they would turn to God. Nineveh was the capitol city in the nation of Assyria – Israel’s original enemy. And so rather than doing as was asked of him, Jonah bought a one way ticket to anywhere but Nineveh. God was so angry that God stirred up the waters so everyone on the boat thought for sure they were going down until Jonah finally spoke up and said, 

“Yea, I’m not sure how to say this, but this might just all be my fault.” 

“Your fault you say?”
“Yea, my fault.”
“Why?”
“Well, God’s a little angry with me right now.”
“Ah, we see. So, what say we toss you overboard, that should settle things down then yea?”
“Gulp…”

So they tossed Jonah overboard and all was well on the boat. All was not so well for Jonah however because God sent a great big fish to swallow him and for three days he sat in the belly of the big fish and thought about his actions. After three days in the belly he prayed a beautiful prayer to God and at the end of the prayer God had the fish spit Jonah out onto dry land. That’s when God spoke to Jonah a second time. “Go to Nineveh Jonah and preach the message I give to you.” 

This time Jonah went. 

Jonah walked just to the edge of the city and preached what I would say is arguably the worst sermon ever preached. Given its effectiveness it is a sermon that truly makes me question just why I spend so much time writing sermons. He stood at the edge of the city and said, “Repent Nineveh, or God’s gonna get you.” And the crazy thing is, the whole city repented. Even the cattle put on sackcloth and ashes and turned towards God. Remember this is satire. 

Now you would think the story ends here but there is yet one more chapter. And in this final chapter we see Jonah fuming mad. He was so mad that he sat down outside the city and threw an absolute temper tantrum. He was mad because God’s message of repentance reached the very people he hated. Israel’s enemy repented and turned towards God. And while Jonah was sitting outside throwing his tantrum God caused a tree to grow over Jonah providing him with shade. Then God caused the tree to wither causing Jonah to sit out in the blistering sun, fuming yet again, when God asked him, “What right do you have to be angry?” What right do you have to be angry about a people whom just like you I have created? What right do you have to be angry that a people have repented? 

This was the moment my well read Bible study participant said, “Oh hang a moment. There is definitely more to this than a big fish.” Yes, there is definitely more. The fish is essential. But only because of this moment. 

I think there are three things we can learn from this story. I always say this of course with the caveat that there are likely endless things we can learn from the biblical stories but for today’s purposes there are three things we can learn. 1. The first is a question. When does God’s love for others anger us and what right do we have to be angry? 2. God’s expansive grace far exceeds our imagination. 3. This one may be a bit more complex. Christianity is about identities woven together in Christ to transform the world and not about a common purpose that transforms identities.

I will let the first two just work on you on their own, and we’ll unpack number three some more. Christianity is about identities woven together in Christ to transform the world and not about a common purpose that transforms identities.¹ This is a theological statement written by the contemporary black theologian and Yale Professor, Willie Jennings. To be clear, the book of Jonah is not a book about Christianity. It is, as I have hopefully conveyed, a book about an alternative to extreme nationalism. Even more it is a book about God’s concern for all of God’s creation in spite of our efforts to limit God’s love. It is a book that calls us to consider who we have written out of God’s love, and calls us to repentance. This is directly applicable to our Christian lives. It is especially applicable for First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo as we have recently adapted a brand new vision statement that aligns nicely with Jenning’s statement. FUMC is a Christ-Centered Community, where our stories are woven with God’s story. I invite you to say that aloud with me. First UMC is a Christ-Centered Community where our stories are woven with God’s story. 

It is an incredibly compelling vision statement that I hope the church is excited about. It is compelling because it affirms who we are and who gathers us. It affirms a spirit-deep theological truth that we each hold our individual stories, that those stories can be woven together, that those stories are part of a much larger story of God’s redemptive work in the world. It is also a profoundly challenging vision to uphold. The weaving together of stories is not an act of assimilation. As in, your story does not need to align with nor conform with my story to be part of our collective story or part of God’s story. But churches, like most institutions are to their detriment overly skilled at establishing cultures of assimilation. “Ya’ll are welcome. Just check your identity at the door please.” To assert a weaving together of stories is to assert a radical inclusion of all identities. It is to aspire for diverse community. To say those are hard things to accomplish is an understatement. 

The great conflict for Jonah was an absolute unwillingness to allow for this kind of weaving of stories to happen. Not only did Jonah refuse Israel’s and Assyria’s identities to be woven together    but he couldn’t allow for them to even mingle. The good news of God is that God refused to allow Jonah to stand in God’s way. Now please don’t be alarmed. I can say with a fair amount of confidence that God is not going to appoint a whale to swallow any of us whole should we choose a path of stubbornness like Jonah. But, like Jonah, God does ask us “What right do you have to be angry?” Perhaps even more convincing, “What right do you have to determine just how to and to whom my gospel will be spread?” 

In 2018 I hosted the funeral for a 39 year old black man, father of 6 children. His family were members of my congregation – Sunnyside UMC on Kalamazoo’s East Side. I did not know Tommy but his sisters and mother I knew well and so of course we agreed to host his funeral service. I asked our other Pastor, Rev. Dr. Jo Ann Mundy to share the service with me having learned from previous experience that this white man needed to have his black partner in ministry sharing the chancel as we hosted this black family. There were cultural traditions I was yet to understand or intuit. As we were meeting with Tommy’s sisters to plan the service a woman came into my office and announced herself as Rev. So and so, a local minister in relationship to the family. She was invited by another member of the family, not present to this meeting, to join us and to participate. After navigating that awkward unexpected entrance Pastor Jo Ann and I welcome this other minister to co-lead this service. 

This other minister was ordained in the Church of God in Christ denomination, a pre-dominantly African American Denomination. Jo Ann is an ordained American Baptist who likes to say she was baptized by the liberal Episcopalians, ministering with The United Methodists, but saved through the ministry of an evangelical chaplain while serving in the military. I of course was and still am an ordained UMC minister. It all sounds like the beginning of a tacky joke I know. 

As the service was about to begin this other minister approached Jo Ann and I, and she asked us,

“When in this worship order is the altar call to take place?” 

“Excuse me.” I said, “The what?”
“The altar call.”
“Well, that’s not typically part of a United Methodist Service so I hadn’t planned on that.” 

With my words she had this look on her face that frankly made me feel a bit like Jonah about to be tossed off the boat. That’s when Jo Ann gently tapped my arm and said, “I got this.”

But her “I got this” was not quite what I expected. In that moment her prior evangelical fervor rose to the surface and before I knew it we had a plan for when the altar call would happen. It would follow my sermon and be given by this other minister.

And just like that, soon as I said “amen” she stood before the full house of about 150 people, mostly young people. She walked down the middle of the isle and asked the question, 

“Do you want to see Tommy again when you die? Then if so you need come up here to the altar and fall on your face before Jesus and ask him into your life. Rev. Weiler and Rev. Mundy and I will be here to receive you.”

That was news to me. But “Sure,” I thought, “…no one is going to respond to this.” 

Surely, I was wrong. It took a moment. First one, then another came forward. And then another. And then, nearly the entire congregation stood and formed a line. Our guest minister was praying, Jo Ann was praying. I am sitting in the chancel hoping to tap into my superpower of invisibility when Jo Ann looks at me and says, “Pastor you stand over there and receive all the men. We’ll receive the women.” And before I know it I’m leading young men to Jesus in a way I never have before. 

There were so many we couldn’t keep up and I noticed in the back of the sanctuary there was Shawnda with a big grin on her face. Shawnda was one of our ministry leaders and she was right at home. I shouted out, “Shawnda come on down here we need you.” And so Shawnda came. 

When the service was over I was witness to this guest minister and Shawnda and Rev. Mundy swapping notes of how many were saved that day through their prayers. 

“How many did you get Rev. Weiler?” I shrugged my shoulders and took a guess. “10?” I was almost embarrassed to say it given the numbers they had reported. 

I still don’t know what to make of that moment except to ask “Who am I to determine who will receive the message of God’s love and how they will receive it?” If nearly 20 years of pastoral ministry and a lifetime of being a Christian has taught me anything it is that my imagination for how God works in the world is still severely limited. There is a great deal of work to be done on our behalf but mostly if we can just step out of the way there is a weaving of identities and stories forever at work bearing witness to God’s great big story of redemption for the world. 

About 500 years after Jonah’s tale was told there was a man named Jesus walking along the shores of Galilee. His cousin John prepared his way and now this man was preaching a sermon not all that different from Jonah’s – just with a more positive spin. “Repent” he told the people. “The Kingdom of God has come near. Believe in the good news.” And there were some young men fishing. Simon and Andrew, James and John and he said to them “Follow me. I’ll make you fishers of people.” I don’t imagine that they had any idea what would happen. They just had enough of an imagination to say “sure…we’ll give it a try.” And their stories were woven with more stories, and with more stories, and now with our stories. And who knows what stories are to come? 

1.  Willie James Jennings, “Can White People Be Saved” in Can White People be Saved: Triangulating Race, Theology, and Mission, ed. Love L. Secret, Johnny Ramirez-Johnson, et all, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2018), 42.  ↩︎