Ash Wednesday: Turn Around, Jonah

Today's readings: Psalms 5, 147:1-11; Jonah 3:1-4:11; Hebrews 12:1-14; Luke 18:9-14

When most people think of the story of Jonah, they think of "Jonah and the Whale" or the great fish that carried him in its belly to dry land. While that may be the most spectacular element of the story, it is not the most important. Today's reading comes from the end of the story, when Jonah has preached to the Ninevites as the Lord commanded him to do. He is despondent because the Ninevites - enemies who oppressed his people - have taken his warning to heart and repented, and worse yet the Lord has forgiven and spared them from destruction. Jonah is so upset he retreats to the edge of town, where the hot sun beats down on him, and tells the Lord he would rather die than be party to the Ninevite's salvation. The Lord, of course, sees it differently.

Lent is a time to meditate on our own need to repent, to turn away from our sins and towards our God. Jonah's story reminds us repentance comes in many forms. Are we Ninevites, blatantly disregarding God? If so, we can decide right now to accept God's eternally open invitation to reconciliation. When we truly repent we won't need to wear sackcloth like the real Ninevites for the change to be obvious. Jonah, it turns out, is a tougher nut to crack. He clings so tightly to his hatred of the Ninevites that he resents God's mercy and willingness to forgive them. If we are religious people who think we've got it right, self-reflection might reveal we're Jonahs. We might not be able to accept deep down that those who aren't quite getting it right, or who have done us wrong, or who aren't repenting in the ways we think they should, are equally beloved by God. Being "in the right" can blind us to just how wrong our hearts are.

This Lent, let's reflect on how we might repent and forgive those who challenge us. Not only does God forgive them, but He invites us to be part of the whole process. That means we can't sit on our cushion of resentment watching them from afar, but that we must learn to live in the thick of them, loving them even when we can't like them. We will know we have repented when, no matter which way we turn, we face God.

Evening readings: Psalms 27, 51

Running Away From God

Today's readings: Ps 5, 6; Jon 1:1-17; Acts 26:24-27:8; Luke 8:40-56

Today we begin reading the short but powerful book of Jonah. Most of us remember this story from childhood Sunday School classes, mostly due to the story of Jonah being swallowed by a great fish and spit up on shore. In some Christian circles the fish and the attempts to explain how it could have “really happened” have become such a focal point of the story that the more important points of the story get lost. Jonah is a book about God’s love for all people, even the people we don’t love ourselves.

The first chapter opens as God commands Jonah to deliver a message to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrians, who for a long time were Israel’s captors. Rather than heading east toward Nineveh, Jonah heads in the opposite direction toward the port city of Tarshish in the west. This decision doesn’t pan out well. The Lord sends a great storm to trouble the ship Jonah has chosen, and it doesn’t cease until the crew members throw Jonah overboard because they realize he has angered the Lord.

Are we ever like Jonah? Do we ever head the opposite direction from where the Lord would have us go? Intentionally or not, we all make that mistake sometimes. Maybe we don’t like what God is asking us to do, or the people he’s asking us to do it for. Maybe we are too preoccupied with our own concerns to hear the call of the Lord. Maybe we think we’ll answer later. Maybe we’re too busy justifying a fish story to see the greater truth behind it.

Whatever the reason, when we head away from God instead of toward God, we can expect some rough weather. Probably not our own personal tsunami or mammoth tuna, but our lives won’t be what they could. Even if everything appears fine to outside eyes, inside we will know things are off kilter. When we ignore God’s call, the repercussions play out in our lives not as punishments but as natural consequences. A nagging lack of peace and contentment ripples through and distorts all our relationships to other people, God and ourselves. As we will explore throughout our reading of Job, we will know we are heading toward God when we are heading toward reconciliation.

Comfort: Even if we move away, God is waiting for us to come back.

Challenge: Throughout your day, stop regularly to assess whether your actions are leading you toward or away from God’s call.

Prayer: God of Mystery, when you call me I will move toward you.

Evening reading: Ps 10,11