Over the years the story of Jonah has become one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament. If one reads it carefully, one discovers that it is full of details that provide much food for thought. Ironically, since the story of Jonah is often taught to children in Sunday School, we as adults are often blind to its various levels of meaning. We think we know the story, but do we really?
   One of the first ironic details is God telling Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to its inhabitants. That is, God is telling him to go to the capital of Israel's enemies to warn them to turn from their evil ways, or else. Jonah does not want mercy to be shown to his enemies, so he books passage on a boat on its way to Tarshish, in the opposite direction. Jonah is trying to run from God.
   God sends a storm to the ship to stop Jonah's flight. I am fascinated by the portrayal of the sailors. They are not of the same faith as Jonah, yet they recognize God sent the storm for one reason or another. It is only after exhausting all means of survival that they cast lots to see who is at fault. The lot of course falls to Jonah, who confesses his flight from God. But even then, even after Jonah tells them to throw him overboard to save themselves, they continue to try to survive the storm by rowing through it rather than by sacrificing the guilty one. And in the end, when they do consent to throwing Jonah overboard, they are clearly very reluctant in doing so, praying that they not be "guilty of innocent blood."
   Within this incident we have the classic structure for scapegoating. There is a crisis (a storm at sea threatening to break up the boat), and so to alleviate the crisis, the one foreigner is singled out to blame (Jonah, a Jew), and is sacrificed (thrown overboard), thus bringing peace. Yet ironically, we see that the sailors are very reluctant to sacrifice anyone, even after Jonah admits the storm is his fault. I cannot help but suspect that they intuitively, perhaps even unconsciously, understand that such behavior does not bring lasting peace. Yet they don't know what else to do.
   I believe what does happen is God's answer to their reluctance. He saves Jonah by having him swallowed by a large fish. Early church theologians saw all kinds of foreshadowing in this particular event. For example, they saw Jonah's being tossed overboard as an image of baptism. Being in the fish for three days and nights symbolized Jesus being dead for three days. Jonah's being spewed onto shore was seen as a foreshadowing of Jesus' resurrection. I do not reject any of this. But I also tend to think that God is hinting at the futility of scapegoating and is providing a way out of it, which is: "Don't scapegoat."
   After being spewed onto shore, Jonah is once again told by God to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to its inhabitants, which Jonah, after all he's been through, understandably does. Amazingly, and to Jonah's disappointment, the people of Nineveh do repent, and God spares the city.
   Well now, this is too much for Jonah to accept. Being only human, he wants revenge, not redemption, for his enemies. So he spitefully leaves in a huff and angrily says to God: "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 know that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. O Lord, please take my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." God then asks, "Is it right for you to be angry?" With that, Jonah leaves the city to sulk.
   God, having all the attributes ascribed to him by Jonah, therefore causes a bush to grow to give shade to Jonah, who is grateful. The next day, God causes the bush to whither and die. I wonder if this ironic detail is in the story partly in order for God to mildly inflict on Jonah the punishment Jonah wants God to inflict on Nineveh. Anyway, Jonah is not ready to give up his anger and resentment, his desire to have the inhabitants of Nineveh ruthlessly destroyed. God asks, "Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?" Jonah answers, "Yes, angry enough to die!"
   I am struck by God's gentle reply: "You are concerned about a bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not cause to grow...And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than a hundred twenty-thousand persons...and also many animals?"
   Again, it is important to understand that God is talking about his loving concern for an enemy of his chosen people. The irony is that God cares as much for those whom we demonize, call evil, or name as our enemy, as we believe he cares for us. Do we really want a God of just, yet merciless, retribution, or do we want the God revealed over the ages as loving all of us, friend and foe alike? Are we, like Jonah, not ready for the latter?
-- Br. Martin