Jonah Sermon

I’m not sure how many of you have seen Talledega Nights. In the movie, Will Ferrel plays race car driver Ricky Bobby who has made it big. He has millions of dollars, a beautiful wife and all the success he could ever want. Ricky Bobby even has God, or at least a God he creates for himself. As the family gathers around the table for a meal, he begins the prayer by thanking “baby Jesus” for the bountiful harvest of KFC and Taco Bell. After thanking baby Jesus for his sons, and wife, he thanks the dear lord baby Jesus for his father in law Chip and asks that Jesus will use his “dear lord baby Jesus powers” to heal Chip. His wife then interrupts him and says “we don’t always have to pray to the baby Jesus, you know, he did grow up.” Ricky responds, I like the baby Jesus the best,” his wife interrupts him again and says, “you know what, I want you to do this grace good, so we can WIN tomorrow!” This continues for a while, as Bobby prays to the tiny precious, baby that he likes best. Perhaps Ricky Bobby likes to pray to the baby Jesus best because babies are small, innocent and can’t really tell you that you’ve missed the point of prayer? While this is a movie, I do think that Bobby’s image of God is all that different from many people’s image. We often try to place God in a box, to make Him the God WE want Him to be. Sometimes that’s a harmless infant Jesus, other times, it’s a wrath filled God who is on our side and will really take care of our enemy. We create God in OUR OWN image.
Ricky Bobby isn’t alone in perception. Let’s look at our first reading for today. Here is some background: our texts are picked by groups of academics and scholars who, using their resources and knowledge, attempt to choose weekly readings that give us a clear idea of God’s relationship with humanity. But today, as we read Jonah, we are only getting the “happy ending” and we miss the big picture. I think it’s fair to say this small cutting from Jonah only helps to perpetuate the problem of creating God in our own image. All we hear is that an obedient prophet, goes to Niniveh and a loving God saves the people. This friends, encompasses the story of Jonah about as well as Ricky Bobby’s prayer encompasses Jesus. Instead of focusing on the “happy ending,” let’s take a look at the full picture of Jonah. The story of a reluctant prophet and the always patient God. I know I won’t be able to explore everything this book has to offer, so I commend the book of Jonah to you. Get the whole picture for yourself and read this book tonight. (And it’s only 4 chapters).
Jonah is an Old Testament prophet who was called by God to go to the town of Ninevah and tell the people to repent and follow God. Based on this reading, it sounds like Jonah just went to the city and the people repented. Well, if we look at Jonah chapter one, our reluctant prophet decides this mission isn’t for him. Jonah is angry. The people of Ninevah are evil and corrupt, and he knows that God will have mercy upon them if they hear God’s word. Jonah doesn’t want any part of this. This isn’t the God HE created in his mind (a just, wrath filled God who will punish the wicked and raise up the righteous, at least those Jonah deems are righteous, like himself). This doesn’t fit with Jonah’s plan for God. So he runs away and gets on a boat. A storm appears and the boat begins to sink. Jonah realizes he has made God angry. Feeling responsible for the storm, he tells the sailors to throw him overboard, that he has made God angry and if he dies, God will stop the storm. A God made in Jonah’s image destroys unruly prophets. But, the true and just God doesn’t abandon those who run away. The men throw Jonah overboard, the storm stops, and the sailors are spared. But Jonah is also spared. This is where the “great fish” (what we’ve often called “the whale” comes into the story.) You may remember this part from Sunday school. Jonah is bad and gets swallowed by a whale right? Not quite. If you read chapter 1:17, it says “God provided a great fish to swallow Jonah.” The fish is protection, not punishment. The God created in our image sends fish to swallow people who are bad…the true God provides safety even in the midst of disobedience.
Jonah repents and his then spit up by the fish. He then goes to Nineveh to tell the people about God. Immediately, everyone in the town repents, men women, children, even the animals are in sackcloth (a sign of repentance). God decides not to destroy the city, and instead protects the citizens. Again, Jonah is mad. This isn’t how my God works! My God punishes, He shows people what happens if they disobey! The God created in Jonah’s image doesn’t have the power to cause the people of Nineveh to repent, but the true God shows grace to even the most sinful.
Have we caught the theme? The God created in the image of Jonah isn’t that different from the God of Ricky Bobby. God rewards the righteous, by helping them win races, and giving them “worth while” cities to minister in. God punishes those who are evil, by sending his wrath to those Jonah chooses. God doesn’t reward the undeserving! We read the book of Jonah and learn that the God created in OUR image isn’t the TRUE God. The TRUE God keeps walking with us, even when we run away. But that means He keeps walking with our enemies when they run too. The TRUE God provides us with shelter in the belly of a fish when we’ve thrown our lives overboard and we’re sinking. But this shelter is for the “undeserving” as well. The TRUE God chooses not to destroy us when we disobey. But this grace extends to Nineveh, and to all those who we wish it didn’t. And the TRUE GOD’s grace stays with us even when we don’t think this is fair. In the last chapter of Jonah, we find an angry man in the wilderness, praying to God, “I KNEW you were compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Jonah then gets quite dramatic “It is better for me to die than live, oh Lord God, who won’t send calamity to my enemy.”
The God created in Jonah’s image takes away the pain of life through death…through our own death. Dear brothers and sisters, the TRUE GOD does indeed take away the pain of life through death. Though it is not through our own death; but through CHRIST’S death. Yes, the God created in Bobby’s image, or in Jonah’s image, or in OUR image is limited, but the TRUE GOD has power beyond our understanding. Powerful grace, powerful truth, and powerful love. AMEN.