Monday, April 02, 2012, 10:33 AM
Like most of you, I am sometimes asked, in the course of a workshop or other event, to name a favorite biblical character, or a biblical story that best describes my understanding of myself in ministry. My answer is always the same: Jonah.
Jonah is my favorite biblical character. I love Jonah because he tried to run away from God's call-but God found him anyway. I love Jonah because he was disappointed when things turned out the way that God wanted but didn't turn out the way Jonah wanted. I love Jonah because he got really upset over the death of his plant-something that affected his comfort-but failed to get upset about what really mattered.
I also love Jonah because he did, reluctantly, answer God's call and faithfully did what God asked. I love Jonah because he is willing to sacrifice himself to save his shipmates. But, most importantly, I love Jonah because God called him, used him, and reasoned with him in spite of his imperfections.
When some of Jesus' contemporaries ask him for a sign, he replies that "…no sign will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth." [Matt. 12: 39-40]
I know that I'm more like Jonah than I am like Jesus. But even Jonah has a resurrection story-one that Jesus recognizes and honors. From the belly of the fish, Jonah acknowledges that when life threatened to overwhelm him, he called to God and God answered him. Jonah didn't drown in the sea. He went on to serve God grudgingly but faithfully.
If you feel like you're drowning this week, remember Jonah.
