Jonah

For being such a short and simple book of the Bible, the prophet Jonah has a story that is deeply applicable and analogous to our own lives, and.

He is called by God to go and preach repentance or destruction to the people of the city of Nineveh. He initially refuses. We are also called by God to go out into the world, to places where there is worldly uncertainty, fear, misunderstanding, and people opposed to God’s will; to go out to where there are people deprived of the truth, and not only to go there, but to follow the will of God and speak with truth, charity, and act with kindness to everyone we encounter.

Instead of going to Nineveh as God asked, Jonah disobeys and sails in the opposite direction; he doesn’t want to do what God has asked him to do, whether out of fear of reproach by the inhabitants of Nineveh or the mere inconvenience of it. It doesn’t matter. The point is that he is disobeying God. We, unfortunately, often disobey God as well. We fear worldly reproach, the disapproval of our peers and superiors, not being well-liked, “missing out” on the “fun” things of life, feeling alone, etc. Disobeying God is something all humans have done, excepting only Jesus and Mary.

Jonah encounters a problem, and things don’t go so well when he runs away from God. God sends a storm to stop Jonah from sailing away from what He had planned for him to do. God doesn’t send this storm to be wrathful, or to harm Jonah, but because God knows that his plan is what is best for Jonah. Thus, the storm is really an act of God’s mercy. God would rather Jonah suffer the pain and fear of the storm than suffer the greater pains that come from disobedience to God. We suffer when we stray away from God, whether we are aware of it or not. These sufferings are a blessing because they seek to guide us back to what we were made for, communion and relationship with God.

The sailors on the ship recognize this storm as sent from God, and try praying to their pagan gods; it doesn’t work, so Jonah recommends they throw him off of the ship. When he is thrown into the sea, the storm subsides. This causes the whole crew of the ship to convert from worshiping their pagan gods, and turn to worship the one true God. Jonah is saved from certain death by a fish sent by God to swallow him. This shows how God can use our errors for good. The sailors would have likely never encountered God’s mercy, and would have instead lived in the darkness of false gods for their entire lives unless Jonah had erred in this way. This is not to say that we should seek to disobey God, but that when we have, we needn’t despair.

Fast forward to the ending of the Book of Jonah: God spares the city of Nineveh after they heed His word,  repent, do penance, and turn from their evil ways. However, Jonah is saddened by this, as none of the things he had prophesied about the destruction of Nineveh will come to pass, and he stands to look like a fool. 

We can suffer from this same uncharity and unforgiveness that Jonah suffers from here. Though God gives us the opportunity to repent, and we are grateful for God’s mercy, we aren’t ready to give others the same benefit. But God turns Jonah’s heart away from his unforgiveness and indifference towards the city of Nineveh by making a tree grow to shade Jonah from the sun. Jonah is pleased by this and God sends a worm to eat the roots and kill the tree. Jonah is upset and angry with God at this. God asks Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” to which Jonah replies, “It is, I am so angry I wish I were dead.” God then shows Jonah that if the plant, which he had no part in creating, saddened him at its destruction, he should be evermore concerned and saddened by the thought of the destruction of Nineveh. By this, God teaches Jonah, and ourselves, a valuable lesson of forgiveness.