Your Church Logo

Scripture reading for the week – Jonah 3.10a (KJV)

“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil…”

Reflection

Jonah’s story is well-known. God summons Jonah to deliver a message to Nineveh. Jonah refuses and ends up in the belly of a big fish (yes, a fish, not a whale) for three days and three nights. When he finally reaches Nineveh and delivers the message, the people actually listened, and changed their ways, which brings God to change God’s mind and not destroy the city. This action infuriates Jonah, who was looking forward to all the fire and brimstone after spending three whole days and nights in the belly of the fish. I guess that most of us can empathize with Jonah.

The story is, certainly, not to be taken literally. However, there is a beautiful message in this story. Most of the time, preachers and theologians focus on Jonah’s actions; his refusal to follow God’s command, his repentance once in trouble, and his reaction when the city is not destroyed after all.

However, what has caught my attention in this story is God’s change of hearts. When growing up, my Sunday school teachers kept quoting Numbers 23.19, which states: “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent…” My teachers certainly overlooked Jonah’s story! I can clearly read: “God repented of the evil…” So, what is it?

I believe that the Holy One is beyond our comprehension. So much so that we can only use our limited vocabulary to describe this Mystery we call God. This is why there are so many contradictions in how writers in the canon refer to and describe God. I also believe that we have to look for a deeper understanding in these stories, with contradictions and all…

God, in the story of Jonah, experiences an unexpected transformation. This time is not the heart of a human being that is transformed, but God’s heart itself! Think about the powerful message that this brings to people. Your actions can change God’s heart for the wellbeing of others, which is what happened in the story of Jonah.

When Jonah visited Nineveh, he was not expecting the people to pay attention to his call for repentance. But they did. And when the people of Nineveh repented from their ways and acted as God asks of God’s people, God had a change of hearts and experienced a transformation. This is why we must continue to work and proclaim social justice and reconciliation; because the powers that be will listen, and when they do, they will change their ways and repent, and God will again have a change of hearts and the Reign of God will become a reality among us.

In Hope,

Pastor Manny