Jonah 3-4
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Humans and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.” When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.
But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! 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 and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. The Lord God appointed a bush and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort, so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also many animals?” Jonah 3-4 (NRSVUE)
Some people are just grumpy.
Jonah is one of those people. God sends Jonah to Nineveh so that Jonah can tell them to turn from their evil ways and to God, who is merciful. Jonah does not like the people of Nineveh, however, so he does not want to bring this word to them out of fear that they will believe it. He doesn’t really want them to receive God’s mercy.
When they hear God’s Word, what Jonah feared actually happens: they repent and God is merciful. This makes Jonah grumpy! He is grumpy about the people of Nineveh getting something good and he is grumpy about God giving mercy to people he doesn’t like.
We are sometimes like Jonah, aren’t we? We appreciate God’s mercy for ourselves but there are some people who we would prefer do not receive the gifts of God. We think they don’t deserve it or we just don’t like them and, well, we feel what we feel!
But who are we to dictate what God does with that which is God’s? Who are we to make decisions regarding to whom God’s mercy is given?
Using a bush that provides Jonah with desired shade and, therefore, about which he cares, God reminds him of compassion. Of course God cares for God’s people! The issue is not our care, but God’s care. God cares for people and creation. God’s work in our lives is to get us to care for people and creation, too. It may make us grumpy, but God’s care is not thwarted by our moods. Through God’s work, Jonah was the vessel through which God’s mercy was given to a whole city of people. What a gift! Thanks be to God!
Questions for Reflection:
- For what are you grateful today?
- What neighbors do you struggle to love?
- What does it mean for God to love you and your neighbors?
Prayer:
God, you know our hearts, minds, and moods. Thank you for not letting us be a barrier to your good gifts and work in our lives. Humble us! Renew us, guide us in Christ, and help us to remember that you have created us for good works, which you do through our daily lives. Even when we are grumpy! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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