Jonah 3 January 25t Sermon

I hope Jonah was able to bathe after being spewed from the great fish. Somewhere on the coast of the Mediterranean, he has to make his way hundreds of miles to Assyria. So here he is, marching into Nineveh, near Mosul in Iraq now. He tells the people in this capital of empire that change was coming. He wasn’t talking Obama’s hopes, but change that the empire would be overturned in 40 days.. This was the empire that despoiled Israel and was at the gates of Jerusalem. They do. It would be like preaching to the Taliban or the mullahs in Iran.

Sometimes, people speak of the angry God of the Old Testament. Here is a good example of a merciful God whose character is set in Exodus. God’s inclusive love moves toward the enemies. Jonah runs, not out of fear, not out of stubbornness, but in his realization that God could have mercy on the Assyrians, and he can’t live with that. If they listen, if the enemies repent-what about us? In many ways, the tale of Jonah is designed to have us look around with a new perspective. It is a perspective to see that the enemy can indeed change. It is a perspective that tells us that we are capable of evil ourselves. For us, revenge tastes sweeter than forgiveness.

They go a little far and include the animals in the kingdom. Lately our leaders cannot admit even making a mistake, let alone doing anything wrong. Here the king sees everyone bearing some responsibility. I imagine hogs in preaching gowns. To be able to laugh at the king repenting, of seeing animals in fasting garb helps us to see some humanity in the enemy. Still, in their confusion, they still try to change; they do try to be responsive to Jonah’s warning, and they change. Enemies do not have to remain enemies forever. We have moved a long way from the deadly days of World War II to the Honda plant.

God’s reaction goes beyond Jonah’s speech, a word of warning. At first, God says that the violence and evil from there are more than God can bear. God’s mercy does not excuse or overlook evil. Now, when they repent. God softens completely and God relents of the calamity about to fall on their heads. This is not an easy story. Israel may be the chosen nation, but God can love other peoples as well. We want our enemies to be struck down, not forgiven. To love our enemies is more than we can bear.

It is hard enough learning to forgive loved ones when they hurt us. How do we even begin to want to forgive our enemies? As Volf says in his recent book, forgiveness comes free of charge; it’s a gift. It also renders us free of all charges; we are declared innocent, free to go. When you want good to happen to the enemy, you know you have moved beyond the category to love the enemy. Luther said the Christian could learn to grieve more over the sin of an offender than the harm to oneself. Another way of approaching this is to say that we should not get what we deserve. Our forgiveness is but a faint echo of the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. We join with Christ when we forgive.

A widow whose husband was killed made the wall hanging I have here. A refugee, she used her skill in embroidery to make this message, not one of hate, but one of peace. It normally hangs in the office. It may be the only word she knows in English. The Chirstian Serbs killed her husband in Bosnia. Oh yeah, she a Muslim.