"Bless us, O God, in this holy season, in which our hearts seek your help and healing; and so purify us by your discipline that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."
Psalm 51:11-18, Jonah 3:1-10, and Luke 11:29-32
We all know the story of Jonah denying God, and Jonah ending up in the belly of a fish or a whale or some kind of sea creature. The story tells us this happened to Jonah because he refused to do the work that God wanted him to do, and yet God found a way to make Jonah do his work, to go to Nineveh and pronounce judgement on people who who didn't always get to hear from God's prophets.
So Jonah does God's work, and to his surprise the people of Nineveh repent well within the forty day timespan given to them by God through Jonah.
Jesus's uses this story in his preaching for today. The crowds are asking for a sign that he is legitimate, asking for a sign that he is really the son of God and that his teachings should be heeded. Jesus uses the example of Jonah to say, "Why are you always asking for a sign? Why are you always demanding something from me, from God?"
In other words, "Why is it so difficult to just do what is asked of you by God?"
I don't have an answer, but I know that we're all, myself included, always a little bit selfish. By testing God or asking for a sign (when there might already be one), we are only stalling for time on our own end, looking for a reason to do what we want to do ourselves instead of what God wants us to do.
If God is truly calling us to something, though, we can't hide from it forever. Jonah couldn't run from God, and we can't run from God, either.
No comments:
Post a Comment