God's Generosity

The most Holy day in the Jewish Calendar is ‘Yom Kippur’- a 25 hour day of fasting and prayer which has been described as the “Sabbaths of Sabbaths’ – the most sacred day. This year it falls on October 13^th and 14^th and it is preceded by 40 days of repentance. Even Jews who may not observe other Jewish customs are likely to observe this day.

‘Yom Kippur’ means ‘Day of Atonement’ or a day when forgiveness is asked of God. Though a solemn day it also has its joy because the forgiveness asked for is assured.  As part of the Liturgy of the Day and to underline the expectation of forgiveness, the entire Book of Jonah is read by all Jews.  One of the reasons this is so is because the Book of Jonah is a book of contrasts, of opposites.  To understand this we have to read the Book of Jonah as the Jews do – as a whole. It doesn’t actually take very long being only four short chapters.

We also have to set aside what is to most people the central moment – when Jonah is swallowed by a Whale and in whose belly he remains for 3 days.  That makes Jonah a good yarn but it’s what happens before and after which makes this an important story about forgiveness.  Jonah is described as one of the Prophets but his book is unusual in that, unlike Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. Amos, there is precious few words of his prophecy to be found. To be precise, “Forty Days more and Nineveh will be overthrown” is all he ever says by way of prophecy. He doesn’t even call the inhabitants to repentance.  But then, Jonah doesn’t actually want them to repent and this also makes him a strange prophet.  And a reluctant one too!

When God asks him to go to the people of Nineveh and tell them to change their ways, Jonah does a runner.  He has been described as the Self-Centred Prophet because his concern is only for his own feelings and that runs throughout the book.  Instead of doing what God wants he hops onto a boat and sets sail for Tarshish which is identified as being somewhere on the Spanish Coast at the other end of the Mediterranean. His one objective was to get as far away from God as possible.  But Jonah ought to have known better. You can’t escape from God that easily!

A storm arose which threatened the boat and yet even then Jonah thinks only of himself. Whilst everyone else on the boat toils to keep the thing afloat, Jonah curled up in a corner and went to sleep.  When challenged by the Captain, Jonah admitted that the storm had arisen because of his disobedience to God and he knew the only solution was that they should throw him overboard.  At first they were reluctant and rowed hard for the shore but it did no good – so, over the side he went. Conveniently, a passing whale decided that he was probably quite tasty and inside he went.  Naturally, Jonah’s self-centredness then had a field day and, using verses from Psalm 130 – “Out of the deep, I cry unto you, O Lord’, Jonah bemoans his lot.

Eventually, God causes the whale to spew him out – presumably because even Whales have standards – and he lands up on dry land. 
“Now, will you do what I ask” says God – “and go to Nineveh and give them my message.”
At last Jonah does as he is bid though with characteristic reluctance.

Surprise, surprise, the people of Nineveh heed the warning and from the King down they all repent.  If Jonah had been Isaiah or Jeremiah he would have rejoiced, but, oh no! He was disappointed and angry.  What a strange prophet?

We heard the sequel as this morning’s first lesson. He moans at God for being gracious and forgiving, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love.  We can leave Jonah here because what follows is centred on him again as God tries to explain why He behaves the way He does and why he forgives those who repent.  But this is the heart of the message and it is why this is such an important reading both for Yom Kippur and for the Christian Church.  At its heart, the story of Jonah is about the Generosity of God in his dealings with human kind.

We see this generosity again in the story Jesus told about the landowner who hired labourers at different hours of the day and yet paid each of them the same wage.  Some of those who were hired behaved a bit like Jonah and complained at the generosity, believing they had been cheated but the landowner (or God) reminds them that they have been paid what was agreed. Why should they be envious if he chose to be kind to the others.  Both stories tell us a great deal about the Generous Nature of God and of His willingness to forgive.  Both tells us also of the limitations we humans sometimes have in our understanding of God. Our own love, generosity and forgiveness is often so conditional and at times, it must be said, far from wholehearted.

Sometimes, too,  we are governed by self-righteousness which passes judgement on others and tries to deny them the opportunity to enter the Kingdom.  People are written off for all sorts of reasons – they don’t believe what we believe in the way we believe it; they are from the wrong culture; they have the wrong sexuality; they are from the wrong side of the track. People like those who inhabited Nineveh just don’t stand a chance. They just wouldn’t fit in.

I remember vividly a visit I made when I was a curate. We were doing a house to house visitation of the parish and I called on a lady who hadn’t got the best of reputations. She was a single mum with four children – I think from four different fathers. My purpose in visiting was to invite her to come to Church and she just laughed at me.  “You don’t really want the likes of me to join you” she challenged. “We just wouldn’t fit in.” And sadly, I knew just what she meant. Yet, as I talked to her I sensed a hunger for both God and for belonging. I begged her to try us out and to her credit she did come with her children. Apart from myself and the Vicar she was completely ignored by most and judged by others who thought they were better than she. As she left she was generous enough to say, “Well, you tried, but I was right.”  We failed her but we also failed ourselves. It was we who hadn’t measured up to the Gospel.

Now I know that wouldn’t happen here but we always have to be careful that we don’t apply to the Christian life standards which God wouldn’t recognise. He takes people as they are and only by so doing can he change them and bring to their lives, hope, new horizons, acceptance and, quite often, forgiveness.

We need to heed the lesson from both Yom Kippur and our two readings this morning. God’s love is unconditional. God’s forgiveness is for all. He treats us all alike.  Nothing and no-one is beyond God’s reach – as Jonah discovered, and as Nineveh was to learn.  One of the big challenges facing the Church today is to become as generous as God towards all.

Not a generosity which is patronising or as if we were Lady Bountiful bestowing our favours on others but a generosity which comes from knowing that we have been forgiven and we have received God’s generosity and grace.  It’s worth repeating what Jonah said to God – about God being gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving, but not in the negative way Jonah said it – rather because we know in our hearts that is what God shows to us.  People who know the love of God at its deepest level – where it can overcome the darkness of sin and overlay all our flawed humanity with grace are people who can confidently, charitably and joyfully reach out to others – maybe because they have learned to be charitable and more loving towards themselves.

The message of today’s Gospel is a message of inclusivity. As with the citizens of Nineveh, there is room for all and if we are indeed sure both of the Gospel and of the Christ it proclaims we can confidently leave it to God to bring people to a vision of the Kingdom which transforms  lives until they are dazzling reflections of Christ who shines through them.  Those who set boundaries around the Gospel also set barriers which not only exclude others but also imprison those who set them.  They become like Jonah and what marks Jonah out is his total self-centredness.  Whereas an experience of Grace opens us to becoming God-centred and once we are God-centred there are no limits except the limit of God’s own love which is eternal, limitless and for all.

Poor Jonah. I can’t help feeling sorry for him but I’m glad he’s there.  He’s a reminder of how not to do things, or as Rabbi Susan Lippe once put it:

God cares about all the people.
Jonah only cares about himself.
God wins!