JONAH: THE RELUCTANT PROPHET OUR STORY TOO? BRIAN PURFIELD
JONAH AN UNUSUAL TEACHER The Prophets Major Minor The Book of Jonah Not about what Jonah says About the identity of the prophet
YEAR OF MERCY 2015-2016 “ Here I think of the story of Jonah, a really interesting figure, especially for these times of great change & uncertainty … . Go & read the book of Jonah! It is short, but it is a very instructive parable, especially for those of us in the Church. ” Pope Francis, The Church of Mercy
JONAH Opinionated Temperamental Argues with God Wants to be proved right Worried about his persona
THE MERCY OF GOD “When faced with the gravity of sin, God responds with the fullness of mercy. Mercy will always be greater than any sin, & no one can place limits on the love of God who is ever ready to forgive . ” Misericordiae Vultus (The Face of Mercy) #3
THE CALL OF JONAH Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, ‘Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, & cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me. ’ (Jonah 1:1)
THE CALL OF JONAH Jonah’s life is interrupted The Word of God Not an invitation A command!
GATH-HEPHER
JONAH & JESUS For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! (Matthew 12:40-41)
NINEVEH
NINEVEH 721 BC Northern Kingdom of Israel destroyed Assyria – height of power 8 th – 7 th cent. BC King Ashurbanipal (668- 631 BC) 612 BC Nineveh destroyed
THE FALL OF NINEVEH I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt, and make you a spectacle. Then all who see you will shrink from you and say, ‘Nineveh is devastated; who will bemoan her?’ Where shall I seek comforters for you? (Nahum 3:6-7)
JONAH’S RESPONSE But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord . (Jonah 1:3a)
JONAH’S STRUGGLE What Jonah is Called What Jonah does to do To be a prophet Identity becomes a desperate of the Lord runaway Direction to go East by land he heads west by sea to Nineveh to Tarshish Outlook dominated by the dominated by his own word of God fear
JONAH RUNS! He went down to Joppa & found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare & went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the L ORD . (Jonah 1:3b)
WHY DOES JONAH RUN? “ Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God & merciful, “ slow to anger, & abounding in steadfast love & ready to relent from punishing ” (Jonah 4:2).
THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL “ The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven & encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel ” ( EG 114).
THE TRUE PROPHET You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a word that the L ORD has not spoken?’ If a prophet speaks in the name of the L ORD but the thing does not take place or prove true, it is a word that the L ORD has not spoken . (Deut 18:21-22)
ISAIAH “ Go, & loose the sackcloth from your loins & take your sandals off your feet”, & he had done so, walking naked & barefoot. Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked & barefoot for three years as a sign & a portent against Egypt & Ethiopia, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as captives & the Ethiopians as exiles, both the young & the old, naked & barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. ” (Is 20:2-4)
JEREMIAH This word came to Jeremiah from the L ORD . Thus the L ORD said to me: Make yourself a yoke of straps and bars, and put them on your neck … . Now I have given all these lands into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him even the wild animals of the field to serve him. All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave. (Jer 27:1-2, 6-7)
EZEKIEL The word of the L ORD came to me … . prepare for yourself an exile’s baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight; you shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile; and you shall go out yourself at evening in their sight, as those do who go into exile. Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry the baggage through it. In their sight you shall lift the baggage on your shoulder, and carry it out in the dark; you shall cover your face, so that you may not see the land; for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel. I did just as I was commanded. (Ezekiel 12:1, 3-7)
PSALM 139:7-10 O where can I go from your spirit or where can I flee from your face? If I climb the heavens, you are there; if I lie in the grave, you are there. If I take the wings of the dawn and dwell at the sea’s furthest end, even there your hand would lead me, your right hand would hold me fast. (Ps 139:7-10; Grail translation)
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