Sermon for June 11th, 2017

Jonah 1:1-17

1 The word of Yahweh came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 ‘Arise’, he said, ‘go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry to them that their wickedness has come up before my face’.

3 And Jonah set out, but to flee to Tarshish, away from Yahweh. He came down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish; and he paid his fare and went aboard, to go with them to Tarshish, away from Yahweh.

4 But Yahweh sent a strong wind over the sea, and there was a great storm on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the sailors grew afraid, and each of them called upon his own god, and to lighten the ship they threw into the seas the goods that were in it. But Jonah had gone down into the bottom of the ship, and he had lain down and was fast asleep.

6 Then the master of the crew came to him and said to him: ‘What do you mean by sleeping? Arise! Call upon your God! Maybe God will have thought for us and we shall not perish’. 7 Then they said to one another: ‘Let us put it to the lot, to learn on whose account this evil has come upon us’. And they cast their lots, and the lot fell to Jonah.

8 Then they said to him: ‘Tell us, what is your business, whence do you come, what is your country, and to what people do you belong?’ 9 And he answered them: ‘I am a Hebrew, and I worship Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land’. 10 Then the sailors were greatly afraid, and they said to him: ‘What is it that you have done?’ For they knew that he was trying to escape from Yahweh, because he had told them so.

11 And they said to him: ‘What shall we do with you, so that the sea may grow calm for us?’ For the sea was rising more and more. 12 He answered them: ‘Take me and throw me into the sea, and the sea will grow calm for you. For I know that it is on my account that this great storm has come upon you’.

13 Then the sailors began to row so as to reach the shore, but in vain, for the sea rose more and more against them. 14 And they called upon Yahweh and said: ‘O Yahweh, let us not perish because of this man’s life, and do not hold us guilty of innocent blood! For you, Yahweh, have done as you pleased’. 15 And laying hold of Jonah, they threw him into the sea, and the sea abated its fury. 16 Then the men were greatly afraid of Yahweh, and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made vows.

17 And Yahweh appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah; and Jonah remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah: Throw Me Into the Sea

You can't name your son Jonah and not have a little fun with it.

(pictures of Jonah & his whale)

But the day our son Jonah was born, of all the congratulations and greetings, my favorite words of welcome were from a Presbyterian pastor friend, Rev. Laura Viau, who said, "Welcome, Jonah. May you always turn back to God and speak truth to those who need it most."

It was a beautiful blessing. It also captures the core message of the Book of Jonah in a nutshell.

Turn back to God, and speak the truth to those who need it most. Really, we could stop right there and call it quits for the rest of the month! But of course, we don't want to do that. There is much more depth to the Book of Jonah (pause--that was a joke--deep...water...depth?).

There has been some debate about whether Jonah was an actual historical person, or whether this whole story is an extended parable (like those Jesus told), meant to teach and make a point. As with many Old Testament stories, it's so ancient that there's really no way to prove either position definitively, and in any case I think the whole debate misses the point of the story. What does seem clear to me after studying Jonah in both English and in Hebrew (in Seminary, while studying Hebrew, this was actually the first book of the Bible I was able to read and translate in its entirety!) is that whether fact or fiction, the story is the work of a highly gifted storyteller, who crafts and orchestrates the narrative with great intentionality and purpose, weaving together symbolism and imagery, poetry and prose, action and drama, humor and surprise, all in service of the story and its powerful message.

We'll begin, in verses 1 and 2 with some names. Names are important. The first one we encounter is Yahweh, a name for God. And that's interesting, because by tradition, Jonah is a prophet of Northern Israel. During the age of the prophets, in the North, the name for God was Elohim, not Yahweh. The name Yahweh comes from the far south, and in early Canaanite mythology, Yahweh is the war God, or at least represents the militant aspect of God. It wasn't until much later, after the return from the Babylonian captivity that the name of Yahweh became universal in Jewish religion. so either the story was written centuries after the age it describes, or else we are left to wonder, what's Yahweh doing in Northern Israel?

Moving on to the other names... The word of Yahweh came to Jonah son of Amittai. Jonah (יוֹנָה) means dove. In the Bible, as elsewhere, the dove is usually a symbol of peace and reconciliation. Amittai (אֲמִתַּי‎‎) is a name that, if translated, means "truth" or "my truth." So putting all that together... The word of War-God comes to the peaceful dove, the son of my truth. That may sound abstract, but I think it's all quite intentional.

One more name: The word of Yahweh comes to Jonah and says, "go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry to them that their wickedness has come up before my face’."

Nineveh is a city in modern-day Iraq, right about where the city of Mosul is today. Back then, it was the capital of the mighty Assyrian empire, which was in a perpetual state of war with Israel, with Jonah's people. Ultimately, it was Assyria that conquered Israel, leveled all of its chief cities, and carried its children off into exile and slavery.

In the ancient Assyrian language, the symbol for Nineveh was a house with a fish inside it. One of the chief gods of the Assyrians was Dagon, the great fish god. The Hebrew word for fish is דג (dag), and a "great fish" דָּ֣ג גָּד֔וֹל (dag gadol) is what swallows Jonah at the end of today's reading. The plot thickens.

So the word of the War-God comes to the peaceful dove, the son of my truth, and says, "Go to the great house of fish...and tell them they stink!"

Now, reading this from the safety of our air-conditioned church and padded seats, it's easy for us to play armchair quarterback and say, "Jonah should do what God said--don't run away, Jonah!" But what would you do?

What would you do if God came to you and said, "Go to Mosul, Iraq. By yourself. Find the meanest, most angry group of radical ISIS terrorists you can find, tell them you're a Christian from America, and then tell them 'you stink!'" Which one of you is ready to buy a plane ticket today? So maybe let's not judge Jonah too harshly, just yet.

But there may be some of you--those with great faith--who are saying right now, "If God appeared and told me to do it, that means God would protect me, too, and with God on my side, those lousy, no-good terrorists better look out! Yeah God! Let's go get 'em! Let's drape ourselves in a great big American flag and show those people what the Wrath of God is all about!

And then God says, "No. I want you to go there because I love them, and I'm going to forgive them." Wait, what?

Now, our text today doesn't actually say this, but if you know the story, you know that's how it ends, and in the last chapter, Jonah admits that he knew that was God's plan from the beginning.

So I don't think Jonah runs away because he's afraid of the Ninevites. Jonah runs away because as the son of God's truth he knows God's true character, and he doesn't want to be the bringer of peace and reconciliation to his sworn enemy.

Verse 3: And Jonah set out, but to flee to Tarshish, away from Yahweh.

Where is Tarshish? Well, no one really knows. Some equate it with Tarsus, in Turkey; medieval scholars thought it was Carthage in North Africa; and at least one prominent theory links it with Tartessos in Ancient Spain. Basically, it's shorthand for the farthest place away you can imagine in the world in the opposite direction of Nineveh.

So Jonah gets on a boat for Tarshish. We read that he "paid his fare and went aboard."

• It costs Jonah money to go to Tarshsish, and he never actually makes it. The ride to Nineveh, in the belly of the whale, is free.