Jonah, in the Old Testament book that bears his name, was all discombobulated.
God called him to preach repentance to a city of people in need of repentance so he could forgive them. Jonah ran away. In the last chapter he reveals that he, Jonah, is not comfortable with God’s habit of providing forgiveness to repentant people.
Jonah went to sea; he was naïvely of the view that to run away from God’s call was a tactic capable of success. That led to a storm. By a strange but effective process of casting lots the sailors determined that Jonah was the cause of the storm and so having thrown much else overboard, they questioned him about his life and why he might have caused trouble.
The outcome was that, knowing he was indeed trouble, Jonah asked to be jettisoned. [Jonah 1:12] ‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea, and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.’
Despite his mistake and seemingly getting everything wrong, Jonah was, at the moment of crisis, still sufficiently self-aware to realise that he was a threat to others. (We will come back to the whale another day.)
Stop there and think, and if you are so inclined, read chapter one of the book of Jonah to find the detail I have glossed over.
I have empathy with Jonah. It is not always easy to understand God’s ways, especially when he is patient with people and situations I am not patient with. It is easy to sleep, oblivious, while a storm rages. Confronted with telling the truth or lying outright, things become simple and to be honourable is an imperative.
A dishonourable person may have avoided the questioning of the sailors and brought about mutual destruction. Jonah was better than that, capable of facing reality in the moment of crisis he was not confused at all and knew what had to be done. It worked; he went overboard, and the storm calmed. But there is one more twist; the sailors were uncomfortable sacrificing Jonah’s safety to preserve theirs and that of the ship, so prayed ahead for forgiveness.
A prayer
All knowing God, sometimes your call discombobulates us. When it happens, we easily go the wrong way and may risk others also. Forgive us, we pray, and make us stronger to do now what we will do in the end after we have put ourselves and others at a disadvantage and, yet again, tested your everlasting mercy. Grant us your peace, we pray, to be spared storms of our own making for Jesus’ sake.
Amen.