Living in the Spirit

September 28, 2023

Scripture Reading: Jonah 3:10-4:11
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. 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. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ 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.

The Lord God appointed a bush, 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. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 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.’

But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?’ And he said, ‘Yes, angry enough to die.’ 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. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?’

What an appropriate scripture to read in times like these where everyone thinks they are right. We have a battle in Oklahoma right now on who is indoctrinating whom in our public education system, primarily over the history being taught.  History has always been perceived through the eye of the beholder. That is why studying history must take a broad-brush approach analyzing all sides of the studied issues. Indeed, I am sure slaves in America viewed their plight markedly differently from how their owners saw it.  We probably learn more from understanding our mistakes than our successes.

Jonah was sent to warn the people of Nineveh that their destructive ways would be their downfall. He did a good job. The people saw the truth in what Jonah said and changed their ways accordingly. Yet, Jonah was disappointed that God forgave the people and did not punish them. I guess Jonah thought God not punishing the people made Jonah look bad when he told them that God would punish them. How do we restore community when disagreement has led to separation?  How do we follow Jesus’s demand to be One (John:17:21)?

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we cannot forgive others. Instead enable us to love one another enough to learn from our mistakes and move forward from them. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.