The Tomb, Jonah, and Jesus

Jonah wants them to fry for what they have done to his people, and he does not want there to be any chance that they will repent, and God relent from his planned punishment.

But the emphasis throughout the story is on the mercy of God.

God is merciful to the Ninnevites.

hearing their repentance.

God is merciful to the sailors.

saving them from drowning.

God is merciful to Jonah,

giving him a fresh start

and enduring his complaining.

and God is even merciful to the great fish, allowing it to get rid of indigestion!

God would have good reason to doubt the sincerity of the Ninevite repentance.

God would have good reason to lambaste Jonah for his harsh attitude,

for his disobedience,

for his jealousy and anger,

for his unthankfulness.

But God does not treat him as he deserves, but as he has determined to do, to fill his actions full of mercy.

And the book ends with a question: shouldn't God be merciful to all these, as he is to you?

Isn't that the nature of God?

Isn't it his final intention to invite all the undeserving people to himself?

With this in mind, it is not a surprise that from the earliest of times that people have seen connections and contrasts between Jonah and the burial of Jesus.

(1) Of course there is the 3-day period of time, but it is deeper than that.

(2)The sailors try to get rid of their problem by dispatching Jonah to the deep, to return him to the God who owns wind and wave;

The Roman officials and religious leaders try to get rid of their problem by dispatching Jesus' body to a stone tomb, returning him to the God who gives life and breath and who will not stand for the blasphemy of which they have accused Jesus.

But neither the watery deep nor the stone tomb can lock away God's intention.

All creation in effect holds its breath while we await the unveiling of God's next action.

(3) Jonah was reluctant, but Jesus gave himself willingly to the process.

(4) Jonah was returned to exactly the same task for which he was first sent;

Jesus will have a resurrected life, recognizable but different.

(5) Jonah complains about everything just as we do;

Jesus is able to say without reservation “Thy will be done.”

(6) The most important thing is that in both cases, God is merciful.

In repentance, the king of Nineveh says “God may yet turn from his fierce anger.” and he does.

Despite the religious leaders' hatred,

despite the soldiers' cruelty,

despite Peter's three-fold denial, and all the rest,

still the Lord God is merciful,

still the Lord God vindicates Jesus,

still the Lord God reveals his true nature in the resurrection and reaches out to Peter, the rest of the run-away disciples, and to all who will listen.

The Lord is free, always, to be gracious to whom he will be gracious and to show mercy to whom he will show mercy.

As we have been hearing the various parts of the Passion story this afternoon and perhaps making some connections between it and earlier parts of the story in the Old Testament,

we may have identified with one or more of the characters in the stories.

When have we enthusiastically cheered, but only to shortly condemn Jesus?

When have we followed, but denied when the it became uncomfortable?

When have we been ruled by jealousy, anger, and hatred and acted upon it?

When have we tried to bury our problems rather than listening for God's answer to them?

As we sang earlier:

Who was the guilty?

Who brought this upon thee?

Alas, my treason, Jesus,

hath undone thee.

'Twas I, Lord Jesus,

I it was denied thee;

I crucified thee. [LBW#123.2]

But God, who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, is the Lord who forgives the Ninevites of our world.

Like Jonah, we think we know whom God should punish – but not us of course.

But the Lord God of heaven and earth forgives and saves the most unlikely people: the Ninevites and Jonah,

a thief beside him on the Cross,

a bunch of deserting disciples,

and yes, incredibly, you and me.

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all! [LBW#482.4]

Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.