Proper 10 (OTA)

Jonah 1:1-13

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ² “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” ³ But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

⁴ But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. ⁶ So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

⁷ And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. ⁸ Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” ⁹ And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” ¹⁰ Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

¹¹ Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. ¹² He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” ¹³ Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.

Some may complain that the end of the story is missing. But isn’t this the way it usually goes. Jonah tells them exactly the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and the people ignore it. The Word of the LORD comes to Jonah. It tells Jonah to go one way and he goes the other. But even in his going God calls his people to faith. But that is not where this text ends.

The Gentiles are rowing hard to get back to shore. They are doing their best to cover every option possible. We will tend to use every trick and superstition we can to get ahead. Some people only come to church because it helps their social status. Other people may not come to church because it helps their social status.

Jonah had a great deal of social status until God asked him to do something. Jonah knows he has done wrong even when he gets on board ship. But none the less God has brought Jonah to this ship to proclaim, “I am a Hebrew and I fear the LORD the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” There is only one true God and he desires to reveal this mystery to all people.