The Lord be with you! This Sunday is the Last Sunday after Pentecost, and the color isn’t green. This Sunday is also Christ the King Sunday, and it is a celebration Sunday, so the color is white This is our last Old Testament story. Jonah was very reluctant prophet. He wasn’t sure he wanted to do what God wanted him to do. But in the end, he did.
JONAH AND THE GREAT FISH
Now the word of the Lord God came to Jonah. “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and tell the people they are bad, and they need to change and become good.” Now prophets are people who come so close to God, and God comes so close to them, that they know what God is telling them to do. Jonah turned and went the other way, away from God. He found a ship going to Tarshish in Spain. It was as far from Nineveh as you could go. Suddenly a great storm broke out. The sailors were afraid, so each one prayed to his own god.
They threw everything they were carrying into the ocean to make the ship light, so they could float. The sailors when to look for Jonah. Do you know where he was? He was asleep in the bottom of the boat. The captain found him and commanded him to call on his God to save them. All Jonah did was climb up onto the deck of the boat. Now the sailors were more afraid. They decided to cast lots to see whom God was angry at. They wanted to throw that person overboard to get rid of him. Now a prophet is someone who can speak for the One True God, but Jonah still did not speak. The sailors asked him who he was. Jonah told them he worshipped God, the One who made the sea and the dry land.
Then the sailors were afraid. They knew that Jonah was trying to flee from God. Now a prophet is someone who is close to God, and a false prophet is very far from God. When Jonah was thrown into the water, he was neither close to nor far from God. He was sinking. As he sank, a great fish swam up and swallowed him. Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights. Jonah began to pray, and the fish began to feel very strange. It grew sicker and sicker. Finally, it swam to shore and vomited out Jonah on the dry land. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.
“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and tell the people they are bad, and they need to change and become good.” And this time Jonah went to Nineveh. And the people gave up their evil ways and believed in the Lord God.
I wonder what part of the story you like the best? I wonder what part is most important?
