January 22nd

Let’s Hit The Road, Church!Jonah 3:1-5 Mark 1:14-20

I am sure that what I am about to say will not come as a shock to most of you. But, did you know that working can actually be hazardous to your health? Of course, some jobs are more dangerousthan others. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 10 most dangerous jobs are:timber cutters, fishers, pilots, and navigators, structural metal workers, drivers, roofers, electricalpower installers, farm workers, construction laborers, and truck drivers.

And while it may not be in the top ten—actually it is probably not on the list at all—I think we should add “biblical prophet” to this list. No more dangerous job in the Bible than being a prophet. Why is that? Because prophets frequently got killed. But why all the hostility? Well, many times prophets were the bearer of unwelcome news. Prophets often told both religious and political leaders that their policies, practices, and treatment of people were out of line with God’s plan for humanity. And since no one really enjoys being called on the carpet, these leaders would sometimes silence the dissension by silencing the prophets—permanently.

This little occupational hazard was not lost on Jonah. God told Jonah to go to the great city of Nineveh, and cry out against it; for the wickedness of that city had come up before God. But, there was just one little problem. Nineveh was the long-time capital of the Assyrian empire. As such, it represented to the Jews the cruelty of Assyrian warfare and iron rule. Today, this assignment could be compared volunteering to going to Baghdad, walking the streets, and calling Muslim extremists to repent of their sins. Get the picture?

Jonah certainly did. First of all, he didn’t even like the folks in Nineveh, and who could blame him? Second, scripture tells us that Jonah knew God would forgive the Ninevites if they sincerely repented of their evil ways. So, he boarded a ship and headed as far in the opposite direction of Nineveh as he could go. But again, there was just one little problem with Jonah’s plan. You see with God, we may be able to run, but we can’t hide.

Jonah learned this lesson the hard way. Now, many of us here know the famous “fish tale” of Jonah. In an attempt to escape the call of God, Jonah boards a ship for Tarshish (think “Timbuktu” here). A horrible storm threatens the ship and the lives of everyone aboard. The pagan sailors pray to their gods and cast lots to see who is the cause of this disaster. Survey says: Jonah! After speaking with Jonah and trying in vain to navigate the storm, the sailors finally and reluctantly toss him overboard. From that point, it is smooth sailing for everyone.

Well, everyone except Jonah, that is. Scripture tells us that God provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. By all conventional wisdom, Jonah was as good as dead.

Now it is at this point where a lot of folks head down a variety of rabbit trails. What kind of fish would be large enough to swallow a human? How could a human survive three days and three nights in the belly of such a creature? How could such a creature vomit up a human on dry land? Does this passage prove evolution is part of God’s plan for creation? Or, is the story of Jonah made up, and therefore, we can’t trust the authority of scripture?

Folks, whether or not there was a real big fish or not is NOT the point of this passage. Jonah was called to do something he didn’t want to do. He was afraid—and with very good reason. Jonah stood to lose everything—including his life—for a group of people he didn’t even like. Jonah tried to escape the voice of God and found he couldn’t do it. Whether or not he was literally in the belly of a fish for three days and nights is not the point of the passage, either. Jonah struggled in darkness. It was a darkness so deep that Jonah felt his life was ebbing away. Read Jonah chapter 2 sometime. Notice the pain in Jonah’s lament.

But God did not abandon Jonah. God was still with Jonah in his distress. God was still with Jonah even though Jonah deliberately ran in the opposite direction of God’s call. God heard Jonah’s lament from the very depths and darkness of Jonah’s pain.

And God delivered Jonah!

We read in scripture that the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” This time, however, Jonah gets up, brushes off the fish puke as well as various and sundry parts of other sea creatures and seaweed, and hits the road for Nineveh. Now did you notice that while God delivered Jonah from his distress, God did not deliver Jonah from his responsibility?

After a short trip on the revival circuit, God worked through Jonah, and the Ninevites listened to Jonah and repented. Even their animals were covered in sackcloth and ashes! Now that had to be one powerful message! Amen? And just like Jonah thought, when God saw that the Ninevites had turned from their wicked ways, God changed His mind about bringing calamity on their city.
Now, this portion of the book of Jonah is often used by clergy types to describe their stories of God’s call to ordained ministry—and that’s fine. But what I want to suggest to you this morning is that we have all been Jonah at different times in our lives. Not only have we been Jonah as individuals, we have also been Jonah as communities of faith.

Individually, God has different callings for each of us. That call may be ordained ministry, and it may require us to leave our jobs like the disciples did in today’s Gospel reading. That calling may be to leave an abusive relationship. That calling may be to lovingly confront a friend or family member with his or her addictive behavior. God’s calls may be as varied and diverse as creation itself.

And like Jonah, we don’t always like what God asks of us. For example, when it comes to ordained ministry, I have to tell you all something. I love what I do; but ordained ministry is not something you do if you’re looking for easy hours and a lucrative retirement plan.

And what about that abusive relationship? We may think, “Hey! It ain’t much, but at least I have someone.” Addiction intervention? Not pretty, and we definitely do not want rock our already unstable family boats, or risk losing friends by confronting them with the truth about their addictive behaviors.

As communities of faith, God sometimes calls us to address unjust structures of oppression and discrimination in society. Sometimes God calls us to speak the truth in love to another within our communities of faith about issues of inappropriate behavior. There are also times when God calls us to call denominational leadership to accountability for the direction of those denominations.

But again, like Jonah, we run. How do we run? Folks, we run when we try to ignore these issues—whatever they may be--hoping they will just go away. Why do we do that? Why do we run? Well in church, sometimes I think we run because we don’t want to lose congregants—especially if they are good financial supporters. “Sure, so-and-so is overbearing and causes division in the church, and yeah, he or she treats the church social hour like a singles bar happy hour, but they give a lot of money.” So, we tend to turn a blind eye. When it comes to denominational structures, I think maybe we feel our voice doesn’t count, so why bother? In fact, in some church systems, if you happen to be clergy and challenge the system, future appointments and even your credentials may be at stake. Besides, who needs all that drama?

The problem is though, with God, we can run, but we can’t hide. If God is calling you to do something, and you continue to run, eventually you are going to hit bottom. It will be dark, it will be nasty—and trust me on this one—you won’t like it. I say this because I have been there more than once. You see, Jonah was a lot smarter than me. He needed only one trip to the bottom.

But hear the good news, sisters and brothers! I don’t care how low we go; God is there! God is listening! God cares! And as God delivered Jonah, God will deliver us as well! All we need to do is ask.

No, deliverance does not mean that God is going to let us out of our responsibilities, either. And yes, we may smell a lot like fish puke at first, but like God was with Jonah in Nineveh, God will be with us in our “Nineveh’s” as well. We have nothing to fear. For as scripture tells us, “If God is for us, who is against us?”

So, let’s hit the road to Nineveh, church! Whatever issues we may face as individuals or as a community of faith, know that God is with us on the journey. “And what if people don’t listen?” you may ask. Well, partially quoting the words of Mother Teresa, “God does not call us to be successful, God calls us to be faithful.” So, let’s move forward in faith, church. Let’s make a positive difference in this world in the name of Jesus Christ! Amen?

God bless you and amen.