Jonah: From Running Away to Embracing Radical Love

    Destruction. That’s what awaited Jonah as he walked into the town of Nineveh. Nobody wants to be the bearer of that news! But he’d recently been through a rather traumatic event, and so there was no turning back from the task that he was told to do by God. I don’t want to get too deep into it, but how many times in the last ten-odd years have we heard that “The end of the world is coming!” The biggest of which I remember happened in 2012 because of the Mayan calendars, along with other conspiracy theories that there would be a collision of Earth with another planet, aliens arriving, and a bunch of other nonsense. But people were caught up in it! We don’t want to be the last ones at the end of the world, do we? Just because someone has personal convictions doesn’t mean that they have proof to back them up, right - I mean - there were movies made about this, and it just added to the anxieties people feel toward ancient prophecies. We’ve lived through the Y2K scare at the turn of the century, the 9/11 attack, Hurricane Katrina, and global recessions, and there are subcultures out there who, because of the instabilities and fears, are trapped in a mindset that tomorrow could be the end of the world! Now, this is a well-known story, even beyond the sacred halls of churches. I’d like to think it’s one of the stories that is deeply rooted in our culture. But yet, I don’t believe people understand it quite the way that it’s intended. Let’s start from the beginning: Jonah was minding his own business when God gave him a task. “Go to Nineveh and tell them that they are wicked, and I will be destroying them because of it,” God said. As soon as God stopped talking, it sounded like Jonah said - NOPE, I’m out of here and boarded a boat to Tarshish (which is less of a proper location but more shorthand for a place very far away). But from this bit in the first chapter of Jonah, we don’t get a sense of WHY. He just doesn’t want to go. To be a prophet for the end of the world seems like a bit of a lonely place, too! That’s why I’d imagine he didn’t want to do it. Then, after being in the belly of a fish for three days, in our scripture that was read this morning, he gets a recommissioning of sorts to STILL go to Nineveh and give them the ultimate bad news: “God will destroy you because you are doing evil things!” What he realized in the belly of that beast is that regardless of what the outcome of how destruction would come to Nineveh was, he needed to be faithful to God. When have you felt the tension of God’s call on your life and reluctance to step into the unknown? This question is one reason why I deeply relate to this story. If I’m being completely transparent with you, I’m a procrastinator. It’s one of the things that I assure you is on my wife’s list of things that she would change about me. I also have been known to be anxious and introverted most of my life. But… fear only exists when there is an opportunity ahead, The proverbial fork in the road. Like Jonah, I felt a call by God on my life in my teens, and I firmly turned on my heels and ran in the opposite direction. For - if there was a ship to Tarshish for me to jump on, I would have done that and kept my mouth shut when they asked me what I was doing there, unlike Jonah, who had to blab to everyone, and they ended up throwing him off the boat, falling to the depths and getting swallowed by the fish. Like - this call, it didn’t make sense. Jonah was tasked to go to Nineveh, which was a major city of the Assyrians and, therefore, outside of where the Israelites lived. They were the oppressors! He wouldn’t want to extend grace to them… all the better that they would be destroyed, maybe in his mind! But then, there he is. Jonah went into the city and began to preach and prophesy. You’d think that’d be the end of the story. He did what God told him to do. If Jonah had been a false prophet or less than faithful, the response from the Assyrians may have been just to kill him and end it. But that’s not what happened. The Assyrians embraced the message and turned away from their old ways and towards a new path of righteousness. This was a seismic shift in their society! From the king in his palace to the laborers in the fields, repentance washed over the land with justice, mercy, and compassion. It took all of them - especially those in power - to acknowledge the responsibility they bear for the ills of the community. This whole book is less of a tale of one man’s renewal than it is a handbook on embracing the transformation of a community through repentance and realizing how interconnected we truly are. Nineveh was awakened to the reality of its rotten core and, through being held to account, even though the threat of destruction, witnessed the power of love and grace. Another takeaway from Jonah’s story is that maybe we should challenge our assumptions about who responds to God’s love. Notice that in verse 5, the scripture reads, “And the people of Nineveh believed God.” There was nothing about believing Jonah or doing it because Jonah was there and revealed the truth. It’s all about God. We sometimes box people into categories of “deserving” and “undeserving,” the “righteous,” and “sinners.” But like the sun, God’s love shines on all of us, regardless of our past, our beliefs, or how WE as humans think of them. But how does this love translate into action? How do we, like Jonah, move from recognizing God’s universal grace to actually demonstrating it in our own lives? That’s where God’s “change of mind” comes in, offering a profound clue about how we fit in the world and the people we come across. I feel like there’s a theological landmine here, one that I’ve talked about before. But let’s look at the idea of God changing his mind through our Methodist lens - known as the Wesley quadrilateral, using Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience to guide us. From scripture, the Hebrew word here implies “relenting” or “withdrawing,” not a literal change of mind. It still challenges the idea of an unchanging God. But as Methodists, we believe strongly in grace, and God’s relationship with creation is fluid, not preordained. God interacts with human choices and responds with love and justice. From tradition, John Wesley spoke of God’s “prevenient grace,” which is a universal call to salvation that is available to all. God's desire for humanity to be redeemed aligns with the story of Nineveh being spared from destruction. From reason: Can a truly omniscient God change their mind? Some would argue that God’s omniscience includes knowing all potential outcomes. However, John Wesley’s emphasis on the free will of humans suggests that God allows for genuine choices and responds accordingly. And from Experience: Witnessing lives being transformed by God’s grace, even those who are deemed “unreachable,” resonates with the Ninevites’ story. This lived experience affirms God’s dynamic love, which offers second chances and embraces transformation. Remember: God changing their mind isn’t the most important part of the story; the transformation of Nineveh is. We are called to share God’s radical love with everyone without judging or excluding. We must be open to the unexpected ways of God's words, and we are invited to participate in God’s unfolding story, responding with repentance and love, knowing that everything is not always set in stone. God’s grace is messy, but it’s such an honor to be a part of it. It’s never too late for anyone to experience redemption and join the community of God’s people. These Ninevites, judged by Jonah as “unworthy,” stand as a powerful call to action for our city and our outreach efforts. Where do you see unworthy, and how might that judgment affect their ability to give themselves grace? How can we help these groups empowered by grace to provide them with a different story and support them to become people of God, as is our series? Let us use empathy as a bridge to understanding. Maybe we need to learn about the struggles of those who are “unworthy” and affirm their worth to the Creator of the universe. Their stories will hold the keys to unlocking their hearts to God’s message. The Ninevites embracing repentance had nothing to do with avoiding punishment or being fueled by fear. Those approaches don’t work. Let our outreach be driven by love and compassion. Anymore, we are not in a position to be waiting for these so-called “unworthy” people to knock on our door. It won’t happen, whether other churches have hurt them or don’t know the empowering redemption of grace. We need to be like Jonah and GO to where they are; we can create spaces for conversations toward transformation, becoming testimonies to the power of God’s grace. We can become instruments of mercy, paving the way for a world where “unreachable” just becomes another word for “unmet potential” waiting to be embraced by the transformation of God’s love. God didn’t give up on me and allowed me to step into my call, even if it was what seemed to be a lifetime later. The rest of you are a community of second chances. I’m sure you have stories of being down and out, overwhelmed with shadows of past choices. But today, know that you are free from those shadows! Break open the doors of your hearts, not with judgment on your tongue, but with love shining through your eyes. We welcome the weary travelers, those ostracized because, in God’s eyes, there are no outsiders, only children yearning for the warmth of God’s embrace. Let us commit, dear friends, to becoming a beacon of radical inclusivity. Let us speak the language of hope to every ear. We are not called to be whisperers of God’s love but trumpets blaring with boldness! And remember most of all: God’s arms are always open, God’s love is like an ever-flowing fountain, and God’s forgiveness is the warmest blanket in the cold days of life. Carry this message with you and be a testament to the miracle of Nineveh.