Living with Jonah: Which Hand is Which and Running from God

From my new book, Thus Sayeth the Lord — the final part of the sample chapter we've been reading this week. (Previously:  part 1, part 2, part 3.)

Let's dig into Jonah's story and see what else it can tell us about our own lives, here and now.

Living with Jonah

Which Hand is Which?

Any time that someone tells you the “Old Testament God” is cruel and vengeful, remember the Book of Jonah. Absolutely not. God is God, no matter which Testament we’re reading. The mercy he shows the Ninevites is the same mercy we see Jesus praying for from the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

When I’m embarrassed over things I’ve done in the past, I remember God’s understanding words about the Ninevites, which I think are some of the most loving and hopeful in the entire Bible.

God knows that the Ninevites are ignorant, that they never had an opportunity to learn another way, and that they haven’t been given a real chance to be anyone other than who they are. And he knows that about me. As an agnostic, I made fun of people who remained chaste before marriage; called the Eucharist “that cracker”; and rolled my eyes over the pro-life movement. It has taken a lot of time, a lot of reading, and much internal prompting from God for me to be able to see things from his point of view. I appreciate now how ignorant I was and how obnoxious I must have seemed to Christians around me.

It’s why I also appreciate his gentle correction as I try — sometimes enthusiastically, sometimes halfheartedly — to live my life as a faithful Catholic, in Jesus’ footsteps.

Running from God

I’m like Jonah in more ways than one. I can be pretty quick off the mark in the wrong direction when God calls with something I don’t want to do.

What’s worse, a lot of the time I’m pretending to myself that I’m not turning my back on God. For all Jonah’s faults, he never pretended he wasn’t defying God. He even understood his own motivations. I’m not that honest a lot of the time. My problems are all pretty small compared with having to go declare God’s word to a hostile nation: the acquaintance that I don’t want to invite to a party because she is awkward to be around. The evenings I don’t want to give up to volunteer. The sick person I don’t want to visit because he can be pretty critical.

These petty problems can loom large, and I know I sound exactly like a sulky teenager when I’m coming up with excuses. And, come to think of it, so does Jonah, when he’s on the hill overlooking the city. Just as Jonah only cared that the plant was dying because he  lost the shade, not for the plant’s sake, we often think of everything (including people) according to how it affects us, not for another’s sake. That is where God’s thought-provoking question to Jonah comes in at the end.

We’re not given an answer to God’s question. Instead we, like Jonah, are left to ponder God’s ways and our own. Do I want to be like Jonah? Or just go ahead and try it God’s way? Because the only one I’m fooling is myself.

Next week, I'll share another chapter so you can see how a different prophet might show us something about our lives today.

If you liked what you've been reading, don't wait. Thus Sayeth the Lord comes out on March 31. Preorder your copy now!