Jonah’s real lesson

John Hatcher is pastor of Outreach International Center, 1091 South Jeff Davis Drive, Fayetteville, Georgia 30215. 770-719-0303

By JOHN HATCHER
Contributing Writer

When most people hear “Jonah” they immediately think, “Jonah and the whale.” Although only three verses of the 48 that comprise the little prophetic book of Jonah are about the fish, the fish aspect of the account has swallowed the whole book. Most people can’t tell you anything about Jonah, except he was swallowed by a whale. But even that is inaccurate. The Bible says he was swallowed by a big fish, not a whale. A whale is not even a fish but a warm-blooded mammal which takes care of its young from the time of a live birth and gets its oxygen from the air rather than the water. There’s a whale of a difference between fish and whales. That said, what about Jonah?

God gave Jonah an assignment he radically did not want or appreciate. God wanted him to go and preach a revival to a group of people called the Ninevites. The Ninevites lived in a place which many place in the area of modern day Mosul, Iraq’s third largest city. It seemed that the Ninevites were so wicked that their wickedness became a stench to God and he could smell it all the way from heaven. God wanted to give the Ninevites a better life and a change in their ultimate future.

Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh because he hated them. It seemed that his parents and his forefathers had passed down a prejudice toward the Ninevites. In Israel’s collective memory the Ninevites committed atrocities on the Hebrews to such an extent that they could not be forgiven. Jonah was prejudiced. And because he was prejudiced toward the Ninevites he did not want anything good to happen to them. He knew, deep down, that if he went and preached a message of repentance, they would in all likelihood repent and turn to God and God would save them. Jonah, deep down, wanted the Ninevites annihilated.

So rather than go and be obedient by preaching repentance, Jonah buys a one way ticket in the opposite direction, to a city called Tarshish. He ran from God (You can run from God, but you cannot hide. Adam and Eve found that out at the beginning of all things). Well, in order to accomplish his ends, God threw a whale of a storm on the Mediterranean that day. Through conversation and a throw of the dice, it was concluded that the storm was Jonah’s fault. The solution to the whole mess was that Jonah had to be thrown overboard and God appointed a big fish to taxi him back to his starting place where he could get it right the second time.

Jonah, second time around, obeyed. He went to Nineveh, preached his revival message, and the whole lot of them, from king to pauper, repented, and turned to God. Just what Jonah feared would happen, happened. He did not like it one bit. The prophetic book of Jonah ends on a precarious note: the city of Nineveh has a new lease on life, but Jonah’s attitude toward them has not changed. The ending to Jonah begs the question: “What are we going to do with those people we do not know and against whom we hold some form of prejudice?”

Jonah had the idea that his religion was just for him and his four and no more. He wanted God all to himself and to his family. He saw the Ninevites as a crowd of faceless people who did not deserve God’s love and attention. He never ever knew one Ninevite. Funny thing: while on the boat he got to know some sailors who, according to Jonah, were not invited to God’s love feast either. Yet, his attitude toward the pagan sailors seemed to be different and more understanding because he got to know them.

Will Rogers, folk philosopher and entertainer of the early 20th century, said he never met a man he didn’t like. Well, God never created and birthed a person he didn’t love. And that’s the way we should be. Problem comes up because we just don’t get to know people on the other side of the border or in the other race or with another religion.

I asked a Sunday School class how many had a personal relationship with a Muslim. Only one person could answer in the affirmative. Next, I asked how many had a personal relationship with a Mexican. Only two could answer in the affirmative. Yet, they are all around us, Muslims and Mexicans. Yet we stick with our four and no more.

In Fayette County we have at least one church working on relationships. The Rev. Bob Hudak, rector of the Episcopal Church of the Nativity, has established a meaningful relationship with The Muslim Community Center of Atlanta in Fayetteville. The church women’s group at one point hosted Huma Faruki from the Muslim center, who explained the role of women in Islam.

According to Hudak, members of his congregation and others within the Fayette Interfaith Community Network regularly visit the homes of their Muslim neighbors. Several even participated in Ramadan services, while Muslims brought a gift of peace trees to his church on Christmas Eve. Brother Hudak is to be commended for stepping out in uncharted waters. He could have been swallowed up by a whale of criticism.

How can we break down prejudices unless we get to know these people? Jonah got to know a few pagan sailors and his attitude changed toward them. I believe that if Jonah had gone into Ninevah, visited a few homes as he preached his revival, got to know a few people and let them get to know him, the outcome would have been less precarious.

For another instance, I believe that if more Anglos got to know more Mexicans, our feelings and emotions at the border would be a bit different. Bridge the divide that separates people of differences and no telling what God can do. What he has done for others and you including, he can do for them also. God’s love crosses every divide humankind can ever invent.