If I could see you this morning, I would ask for a show of hands if you are familiar with the story of Jonah. I bet the vast majority of you have heard of Jonah and the great fish. This is a biblical story that has transcended the religious world and moved into the culture-at-large. Moby-Dick, The Adventures of Pinocchio, Veggie Tales, the Simpsons, and others have interpreted and re-interpreted this story. Herman Melville, in Moby Dick, with beautiful poetry and homiletic integrity devotes a whole chapter to this story. Melville places beautiful words on the lips of Father Mapple, who finds meaning in the story of Jonah by partly saying, “if we obey God, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists.”[1] Though recent biblical scholarship may place a big warning sign on the rest of that sermon, the good reverend is correct in asserting that the challenge we find in the Book of Jonah is a great disconnect between God’s goodness and Jonah’s selfishness. If we were to ask a question this morning that question might just be, what happens when God’s goodness and mercy exceed our expectations? One would think this not to be a problem until we find ourselves, much like Jonah, being called to speak a message of deliverance to a people who we would rather see dead. As Father Mapple said, “this book, containing only four chapters… is one of the smallest strands in the mighty cable of the Scriptures. Yet what depths of the soul does Jonah’s deep sealine sound! what a pregnant lesson to us is this prophet!”[2]

What happens when God’s goodness and mercy exceed our expectations? This question is much harder to answer than it may seem. We live in a religious culture that through the years has lifted the importance of a personal relationship with God, forgetting, and at times forsaking, the reality that this same God also calls us to be in relationship with others. The challenge that many have with the life of faith is not clinging on to a “Personal Jesus.” Johnny Cash, Marilyn Manson, Def Leopard, Depeche Mode, the Hooligans, and others all agreed that it is nice having “someone to hear your prayers / Someone who cares / Someone who’s there.”[3] The great challenge is: relating to and journeying with others who have also called out to Jesus for help. It is only when we encounter those “other” folks, that we begin to think that perhaps God is too generous. We may love the idea of love, grace, and forgiveness for ourselves, but there must be limits somewhere when people we who dislike begin to benefit from these gifts.

Jonah found himself at a place where God’s generosity met his selfish reality and things did not go well. The word of the LORD came to the prophet Jonah. Jonah would not have been in bad company had he said something like, “not me LORD.” Jeremiah, Isaiah, Moses, and others who heard a call from God sought to resist it. But Jonah, who knew that God had made land and sea, did something no other prophet had dared to do, flee from God. Perhaps he was not familiar with Psalm 139 that proclaims, “Where could I go to get away from your spirit? Where could I go to escape your presence? If I went up to heaven, you would be there. If I went down to the grave, you would be there too! If I could fly on the wings of dawn, stopping to rest only on the far side of the ocean—even there your hand would guide me; even there your strong hand would hold me tight!”[4] Jonah attempted to flee from the LORD, not due to fear or doubt. Jonah fled because he simply refused to participate in God’s act of love and compassion towards a people whom he hated. What happens when God’s goodness and mercy exceed our expectations? This is a serious question. Jonah, fully understanding God’s character, preferred not to find out what that answer would be for the Ninevites to whom he was sent.

There is a simple and yet beautiful traditional African hymn that became very popular in the ’60s. The song s