Even A Grouchy Curmudgeon Can Be Called To Service

It does not take a bible scholar to guess that when I refer to a grouchy curmudgeon in service to God, I am thinking of Jonah.  Jonah is the most petulant and resentful of prophets.

In four short chapters Jonah defies God, repents, does God’s bidding, resents it, and is disciplined and instructed.  Then we are left to imagine about his future destiny.

The Short Version

To summarize, God tells Jonah to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh for its wickedness. Instead Jonah boards a ship going in a different direction. Overtaken by a ferocious storm, he admits he is the disobedient servant of God that is calling the misfortune upon the crew.  He tells them to throw him overboard, which they do.

Jonah is then swallowed by a great fish and, after praying from inside the fish’s belly, he is vomited out on dry land. And God again commands him to carry the message to Nineveh.  This time he carries out the commission.

Jonah begins walking through Nineveh, crying out that God has ordained doom for the city and all in it after 40 days pass.  Unlike some prophetic warnings, however, Jonah’s is heard and received – on the very first day no less.  The entire city goes into fasting and penance with sackcloth and ashes. Seeing this repentance, God relents and decides to spare the city.

Jonah pitches a fit and vents his anger at God.  He says he knew from the time God first told him to go preach repentance that the people would repent and God would forgive them. He then sits down east of the city, builds a shelter, and waits, watching to see what might happen to the city. One gets the sense he is hoping for the repentance to be transitory, and is waiting for the fireworks to begin.

Then God had a plant grow up to provide shade for Jonah, and for a day Jonah was comfortable. But then God sent a worm to gnaw at the plant. The plant withered and died, leaving Jonah in the sun again.

More Anger, Another Fit

True to form, being angry at the death of the plant Jonah pitched another fit:

And when the sun arose, God provided a scorching east wind; and the sun beat upon Jonah’s head till he became faint. Then he wished for death, saying, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry over the gourd plant?” Jonah answered, “I have a right to be angry – angry enough to die.”

Then the LORD said, “You are concerned over the gourd plant which cost you no effort and which you did not grow; it came up in one night and in one night it perished.

And should I not be concerned over the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot know their right hand from their left, not to mention all the animals?” [Jonah 4:8-11].

The story of Jonah ends here, with God’s reproof, and we are left to imagine that Jonah took it to heart, at least until a new frustration disturbed his comfort and peace.

But there is a lot to unpack here.

For one thing, while there is plenty of disobedience to God shown in the Bible, there is very little of the outright resentment displayed by Jonah. Even Job, despite all that happens to him, never seems to be angry — even when his “comforters” encourage such a reaction.

When we take all of Jonah’s flaws, resentments, and resistance into account, we see at its clearest the reason for the old adage: Concern yourself with the message, not the messenger.

John, Jonah, and Maybe Even Me!

John the Baptist is presented as an uncouth figure, but his message transcended his appearance, as Jesus pointed out in Matthew 11:7-9:

As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?

Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.

Then why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

When I contemplate Jonah’s reluctance, I am strongly reminded of my own desire to be left undisturbed and to avoid travel, inconvenience and fuss in general. I can daydream about the excitement and glory of being directly called by God to perform a task . . . but my sense of reality tells me I might well make Jonah look like an eager beaver:

I have to go where? And talk to who? And tell them what?
Who will take care of things while I’m gone? Who’s going to pay for this trip?

Not a flattering self-portrait

Despite his resistance, Jonah owned up to the truth when overtaken by a storm and was willing to be thrown overboard to spare the lives of the innocent. Rescued from the waves, he relented and went about his assigned task.

Even though he was disappointed by his success and acting out his pique, he was nonetheless still seen as being worth a miraculous lesson in God’s eyes.

As Isaiah wrote and we are often reminded, God’s ways are not our own.

Just Do It

So what are we to make of this?

First off, we should never consider ourselves “safe” from God’s call to some difficult task just because we are clearly unworthy and unsuited in our own eyes.

Next, don’t bother assessing the worthiness of the beneficiaries of your calling, or fret about whether or not your efforts will bear fruit. We are called to do, not to guarantee (or approve of) the result.

Finally, when called, go ahead and take a moment to protest, complain, and wriggle on the hook if you must, but then go about the business you are called to undertake.

It’s better than three days in the belly of a fish.

Prayer:
Lord, open our ears to your call, and our hearts to your instructions. Give us strength, courage, and determination to carry out your will as you reveal it to us, and give us grace to surrender our resentment and judgments of any you call us to help.  Perfect in us full trust in you and your will, that we may be defended from the doubts and resistance promoted by the enemy. Let us remember the lessons you have given us through your prophets, your saints and martyrs that we may in our own time hear from you those precious words: “Servant, well done.”