3 OT B Try again. It may go just as poorly as you expect.

Friends

Peace be with you.

For about the millionth time since the pandemic started, I’m trying again to use my free time wisely. A lot of people have used the time to start practicing a skill or a hobby that they’d neglected or always wanted to pick up. I figured I’d learn to play my trombone again. But watching TV was so much easier. I thought I could practice and get better at German or Spanish or Hebrew . But, watching shows in those languages just led me to watching an easier show to understand in English. I thought I’d play board games alone, and think through all the skill that goes with the game so I’ll be better at them when I play with other priests. However, after I got one of them called Pandemic all set up and started to play, it suddenly wasn’t all that fun to do all by myself. So, I went back to what was easy, watching TV. I’ve started many projects like this and always end up finding a show that I’ve never seen before or always meant to rewatch. Nonetheless, as the new year began, I set up a room in my house that is my new Upper Room prayer space and I’ve found that I can go there, shut the door, and open a book and read. I have to walk past my TV when I get home so I can see what’s going to happen when I’m especially tired. It’s easier just to go in and watch TV. And since I can see that, hopefully I’ll also do what I have to in order to keep walking up to pray and read. We’ll see. My track record isn’t great but, we’ll see.

Our first reading is from one of the most often cited books in the Old Testament: Jonah. Jonah spent three days in the belly of whale, right? Actually, no, he didn’t. The word the King James version translated as a whale is actually better translated as a large fish, which sort of excludes a whale because it’s a mammal not a fish. Granted, I’m not sure the writer of the story would have made that designation or even whether he could have known that fact but it’s one of those things people like to point out. And, to be honest, it’s such a small part of the story of Jonah, it’s not worth getting hung up.

The story of Jonah is a parable, really, about doing something that you know will turn out poorly. Jonah is asked by God to go and evangelize the town of Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital of Babylon. Remember all those times I’ve preached about the three parts of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah? The bad guys who take the Israelites prisoner were from Babylon. Most people believe Jonah was written AFTER that happened so basically God is saying that he should go and evangelize the bad guys, the enemies that took God’s people prisoner. So, Jonah does what most of us would do, goes the exact opposite direction from Nineveh. He’s supposed to go east but he goes west into a boat preparing to sail the Mediterranean Sea. The voyage, however, goes badly because the weather turns bad and the captain finds out the reason for the bad weather is this crazy prophet he took on board who is ignoring God’s will. So, the captain has Jonah thrown off the boat where a large fish swallows him for three days before he throws him up back on the shore of Israel. I personally think we’re all supposed to picture this as a very comedic moment where Jonah, freshly thrown up from the fish, laying by the side of the Mediterranean Sea, hears God speak the words we heard in the first reading today. Notice God doesn’t say something like, “Did you get that out of your system?” or “You’ve disobeyed me Jonah. Don’t try it again or I will smite you!” He simply says, “Go to Nineveh and announce the message I gave you.” Jonah knows the message. Repent! He’s not afraid of having to say it. He’s afraid they’ll listen to him and do it, that they won’t get the punishment they deserve. Let’s face it, the world would be better off if a town filled with people who take other people captive would be wiped off the earth. That’s what Jonah feels anyway.

Jonah goes to Nineveh, figures it’s going to take three days to walk through the city but, even before he’s completed a single day, the King hears what he’s saying and so believes what he says that he orders a fast and the wearing of sackcloth. And, as it says, God repents of his threat of punishment. After this passage, Jonah is so sad that he goes out in the desert and prays for death. And, kind of like Job, God has to remind him that He’s in charge, not Jonah. And, he has to remind him that mercy is better than revenge, even if we don’t like that message.

After all, it’s a hard message to hear. Don’t we all love to see that person who passed us on our way to Chicago getting pulled over on the Interstate? Or what about that person who brags about how they go running all the time and is in better shape than us who hurts themselves and you think, “See, that wouldn’t happen if you’d just sit on the couch and watch TV like me”? Even in the midst of this pandemic, if someone tells me that they’ve tested positive, sometimes outwardly I tell them and their family and friends how sorry I am for them but inwardly I think that they must have done something to deserve it.

We like to think in terms of revenge, that bad things happen to bad people. The truth is that bad things happen to people. No one deserves it. It just happens. It isn’t the will of God. God’s will is that all people be saved. Whether that person was a gang leader, a white supremicist, a pedophile, or someone else that we think should be far from salvation, God looks on them with the same hopefulness, the same compassion as anyone else until they utter their last breath in the hopes that they'll hear his voice and seek his salvation.

If you’ve thought about picking up a new or better prayer routine either in this pandemic or not but have given up and don’t feel like you can try again, God is giving you the chance to try again. If you’ve wanted to reach out to someone who used to be important but just haven’t because you’re afraid of what the person might say or you’re afraid because you think the person is out of control, God is giving you the chance to reach out and help. If you’ve given up on a gift or talent that you’ve wanted to develop in favor of something easy or familiar, God is giving you the chance to start again.

Imagine each of us are like Jonah. We’ve been thrown up by a fish onto a beautiful beach by the sea. We’ve been given a fresh start to do something we know God has wanted us to do for some time, something that we’ve avoided either because it’s too hard or because we’re afraid of what will happen if we succeed. What is it that God wants you to try again?