Lutheran Seminary's God Pause "Moved by the Promise" Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Monday, 19 January 2015 - Scripture: Jonah 3: Jonah Goes to Nineveh1 Once again the Lord told Jonah 2 to go to that great city of Nineveh and preach his message of doom.
3 Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh. The city was so big that it took three days just to walk through it. 4 After walking for a day, Jonah warned the people, “Forty days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed!”
5 They believed God’s message and set a time when they would go without eating to show their sorrow. Then everyone in the city, no matter who they were, dressed in sackcloth.
10 When God saw that the people had stopped doing evil things, he had pity and did not destroy them as he had planned.(Contemporary English Bible)
This week's texts exemplify Epiphany's focus on Jesus, light to all people. Today, I invite you to read all of Jonah's 48 verses without being swallowed up by the tale's fishiness. Instead, focus on God's abundant love for all people.
Before criticizing runaway Jonah, remember that Ninevah's residents, the Assyrians, were Israel's brutal enemies who were likely to kill him. Jonah did not want God to forgive them. Nor do I eagerly share God's grace beyond my finite box containing my like-minded friends and me. However, God is infinitely outside my box seeking loving relationships with all people. Prophet Jonah's dire eight-word message, without even a call for them to change, still resulted in the Ninevites' repentance and God's forgiveness.
Twentieth century prophet Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., knew he faced death by his enemies. Yet he proclaimed the message of God's infinite love. He declared, "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."
Gracious God, during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we praise you for your patience, mercy and steadfast love for all people. We ask for your forgiveness when we act divisively and try to keep your love to ourselves. Thank you for your prophets—reluctant Jonah and courageous Martin—who risked their lives to share your light with all people. Give us courage to do the same as we unite with Christians throughout the world in your service. Amen.
Mary Simonson Clark
Redeemer's Ministry Team & Adjunct Instructor, Social Work, Augsburg College
Minneapolis, Minn.
Master of Arts in Theology/Master of Social Work , 2007
Jonah 3:1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying,
2 "Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you."
3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days' walk across.
4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"
5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.(New Revised Standard Version)
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