Connell Memorial United Methodist Church. Sunday, January 24, 2021.

CREATED FOR CONNECTION 3:1-5, 10 Rev. Jefferson M. Furtado

If I could see you this morning, I would ask for a show of hands if you are familiar with the story of Jonah. I bet the vast majority of you have heard of Jonah and the great fish. This is a biblical story that has transcended the religious world and moved into the culture-at-large. Moby-Dick, The Adventures of Pinocchio, Veggie Tales, the Simpsons, and others have interpreted and re- interpreted this story. , in , with beautiful poetry and homiletic integrity devotes a whole chapter to this story. Melville places beautiful words on the lips of Father Mapple, who finds meaning in the story of Jonah by partly saying, “if we obey God, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists.”1 Though recent biblical scholarship may place a big warning sign on the rest of that sermon, the good reverend is correct in asserting that the challenge we find in the Book of Jonah is a great disconnect between God’s goodness and Jonah’s selfishness. If we were to ask a question this morning that question might just be, what happens when God’s goodness and mercy exceed our expectations? One would think this not to be a problem until we find ourselves, much like Jonah, being called to speak a message of deliverance to a people who we would rather see dead. As Father Mapple said, “this book, containing only four chapters… is one of the smallest strands in the mighty cable of the Scriptures. Yet what depths of the soul does Jonah’s deep sealine sound! what a pregnant lesson to us is this prophet!”2

What happens when God’s goodness and mercy exceed our expectations? This question is much harder to answer than it may seem. We live in a religious culture that through the years has lifted the importance of a personal relationship with God, forgetting, and at times forsaking, the reality that this same God also calls us to be in relationship with others. The challenge that many have with the life of faith is not clinging on to a “Personal Jesus.” Johnny Cash, Marilyn Manson, Def Leopard, Depeche Mode, the Hooligans, and others all agreed that

1 Herman Melville, Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville (p. 48). Kindle Edition. 2 Ibid. Connell Memorial United Methodist Church. Sunday, January 24, 2021. it is nice having “someone to hear your prayers / Someone who cares / Someone who's there.”3 The great challenge is: relating to and journeying with others who have also called out to Jesus for help. It is only when we encounter those “other” folks, that we begin to think that perhaps God is too generous. We may love the idea of love, grace, and forgiveness for ourselves, but there must be limits somewhere when people we who dislike begin to benefit from these gifts.

Jonah found himself at a place where God’s generosity met his selfish reality and things did not go well. The word of the LORD came to the prophet Jonah. Jonah would not have been in bad company had he said something like, “not me LORD.” Jeremiah, Isaiah, Moses, and others who heard a call from God sought to resist it. But Jonah, who knew that God had made land and sea, did something no other prophet had dared to do, flee from God. Perhaps he was not familiar with Psalm 139 that proclaims, “Where could I go to get away from your spirit? Where could I go to escape your presence? If I went up to heaven, you would be there. If I went down to the grave, you would be there too! If I could fly on the wings of dawn, stopping to rest only on the far side of the ocean—even there your hand would guide me; even there your strong hand would hold me tight!”4 Jonah attempted to flee from the LORD, not due to fear or doubt. Jonah fled because he simply refused to participate in God’s act of love and compassion towards a people whom he hated. What happens when God’s goodness and mercy exceed our expectations? This is a serious question. Jonah, fully understanding God’s character, preferred not to find out what that answer would be for the Ninevites to whom he was sent.

There is a simple and yet beautiful traditional African hymn that became very popular in the ’60s. The song says, “God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, he's so good to me.”5 This simple hymn speaks a deep truth, God’s goodness towards us is beyond our imagining. It is not hard to give thanks and celebrate being on the receiving end of God’s faithful love, goodness, and mercy. But when we move beyond the personal realm and begin to fully realize God’s character, we may find ourselves thinking a little bit more like Jonah who said, “Come on, LORD!” Jonah quoted the Torah back to God—Exodus 34:6 “The LORD! The LORD! a God who is

3 “Personal Jesus” by Martin Gore 4 Psalm 139:7-10, CEB. 5 God is so good, God is so good, Author: Paul Makai; Translator: Marilyn Foulkes (c. 1970) Connell Memorial United Methodist Church. Sunday, January 24, 2021. compassionate and merciful, very patient, full of great loyalty and faithfulness.” Jonah realized that this compassionate, merciful, patient, loyal, and faithful God was not bound to his geography, people, or even religious understanding. God was much bigger than Jonah could have imagined. After an unsuccessful escape attempt, the word of God comes to Jonah a second time and says, “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and declare against it the proclamation that I am commanding you.” We give Jonah too much credit if we believe his prayer in chapter 2 is a prayer of repentance. Jonah prays for help because he recognizes his situation and knows that only God could rescue him—and God does. But it seems that he hopes that God will act more along lines of Exodus 34:7, “But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”6 So Jonah preaches what may be the shortest sermon ever recorded, “Just forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown!”

The beauty we find in this story is that despite Jonah’s unwillingness, God’s love, goodness, and grace complement his lacking. Those who heard the words of Jonah took them to heart and the people of Nineveh believed God. Young and old. Great and least. Royal and common. All repented of their ways, fasted, and called on the God of the universe. God heard their cries, observed their behavior, and did not destroy the city. What a great irony that these individuals who were enemies of Jonah would be saved by his few and unwilling words.

If we look at this book carefully, we may see a mirror being raised before our eyes. If we pay close attention, we may hear the words of Father Mapple who reminds us that God’s calling in our lives is not an easy thing. To follow God, means that we do not follow ourselves. To obey God means that we disobey our inner instincts that seek retribution, vengeance, and harm towards others. This is by no means an easy task. We, who live in a politically charged society, for many decades have witnessed a reality of division, derision, and demonization towards the other side—whomever they may be. We live in a world that is too happy to ignore the call to speak life, hope, and deliverance to those with whom we disagree. We may believe that we

6 Exodus 34:7, NET. Connell Memorial United Methodist Church. Sunday, January 24, 2021. stand in a reality that is unlike that of Jonah, but when we begin to fill in the gaps we may just see that we too have attempted to flee from God’s calling to speak to and journey with others.

Where is your Nineveh? Who are the people God is calling you to journey with? There is a traditional Methodist morning prayer that says, “New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world.” What a blessing it is to serve a God who works for good in the world! A God whose desire for creation is relationship and love. A God who cares not only for all those created in God’s image but all things he created and called GOOD. What happens when God’s goodness and mercy exceed your expectations towards others?

I pray that we become more and more open to the reality of God’s presence in our world, a reality that calls all people to a life of service to God and neighbor. A life of goodness and love. May our words and actions be conduits through which others come to believe in God, repent of their wrong ways, and grow in love of others.

In the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Amen.