Jonah and Redemption

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. 2 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 God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. 3 And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 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.
6 The Lord God appointed a bush,[a] 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. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8 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.”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10 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. 11 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 3:10-4:11

When I heard this passage read as the Old Testament Lectionary reading on Sunday I could not help but be reminded of high school. Since the my early high school years I had a passion of letting people know how Jonah actually ended. I got so tired of seeing the flannel graph adaptations where kids assume that Jonah changed his ways after he preached to Ninevah. People often neglect the fact that he was bitter, had prejudices, and wanted God to destroy this city of the Assyrians. How often do we, as Christians, act just like Jonah here?

How often do we preach that God is loving and wants to forgive us if we are repentant but, then assume that God will obliterate anyone who thinks differently than we do? We look at horrible situations like ISIS and demand retribution but, as the Pastor at church so greatly pointed out, modern day Ninevah would be like ISIS. Yes, what they are doing is some of the most horrendous and dehumanizing things but, we have to wonder how God views them and if they are in the scope of God's redeeming love and forgiveness. It can be easy to think of our enemies, of that person right down the street that just gets under your skin, and say we'll "pray for them" while secretly hoping that they "get what they deserve" for the way they treat us. Instead maybe we should walk over, share the good news of redemption, and get to know their story. When we pray for our enemies let's actually mean it and hope for God's redemption to come into their lives.

Why do we do ministry? Why do we preach the "good news" and why should we even live out the "good news"? Is it to fulfill an obligation? Is it because we're told we have to? Or is it because it's actually good news? Is it that God actually does have mercy and chooses to love all of us? Is sharing the good news a response to the grace we have been given?

Let's stop whining about why we cannot have instant gratification or why sometimes we are uncomfortable. Let's stop assuming that God won't do what God says God will do! If God says that He is merciful and will free us then that is what God will do! Let's get up and share this good news with the assurance that God is one who forgives. God provides new life. And God can redeem even the worst of foes.