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Sometimes a short story is worth a thousand words. Please allow me to
summarize briefly the story of Jonah from the old testament. I don't
have the bible in front of me, so this capsule summary comes from memory.
Jonah is given a message from God (apparently a booming voice from the
sky) that says Ninnevah will be destroyed, because the people there
are sinners. Jonah travels to Ninnevah by boat, the sea grows rough,
and the crew on board fear for their lives. In order to calm the sea,
they throw Jonah overboard (or he volunteers to jump overboard),
whereupon the sea calms down and Jonah is swallowed by a large fish,
which we come to interpret as a whale. Jonah lives inside the fish
for 3 days (forget about the impossibility of this with gastric acid),
is regurgitated by the fish, and lands on shore.
He walks to Ninnevah, tells the people their city will be razed by
God, the people put on ashes and sackcloths, repent, and Ninnevah is
spared.
Jonah feels like his "mission" has been wasted. He goes off to the
desert where it is very hot. He builds a hut for himself for shelter
and some type of leafy vine provides him shade from the sun. Then
something happens to kill the vine, the leaves wither, and Jonah has
no more shade. He says "I am so angry, I wish I could die."
(Most people forget this story ending and just focus on Jonah being
swallowed by the fish, which turns out to be insignificant in the
moral of the story.)
God then says to Jonah, why are you mad at me for not taking care of
this vine? I had a whole city of sinners in Ninnevah and a whole
world to look after and get them turned away from sinfulness.
THE END.
Why didn't God give Jonah some consolation by saying "Jonah, you
fulfilled your mission. You did a great thing in turning the people of
Ninnevah around. Rejoice!" Instead, God basically lectures Jonah and
says he is self-centered to be focused on his own happines, and on
something as trivial as a vine, and to blame God no less that the vine
died and provides no shade to him anymore.
The problem is that you and I are Jonah. When we complain that our
car breaks down, and the cost of repairs is enormous, or that we have
a very serious illness, etc., these kind of events "rock our world"
just as the death of the vine providing the only shade to Jonah
affected his world in the desert.
If I were Liz, I would tell Jonah that God dwells within him and God
loves him no matter what. But would that make Jonah happy in the hot
sun with no shade? Is Jonah at fault for being upset his vine died?
Edie wrote that she, like all of us, has received comfort and
consolation from a friend in time of need. God could have sent a
plant salesman out to visit Jonah. He could have given him rain and
the seed from the vines to grow a new vine. But He only gave Jonah a
lecture. Some consolation, huh?
Maybe Jonah should have stayed in Ninnevah, where he would not have
needed a vine for shade from the desert sun. But that is like saying
"maybe each of us should not be living where we find ourselves right now."
I feel sorry for Jonah. I don't feel he is an elderly spoiled brat.
I would not go out and live in the desert, but regardless of where he
lives, each of us can sympathize with being in a situation where
prayer, belief in God, etc., did not bring tangible consolation. We
can always fall back on the position that my individual suffering does
not matter in the whole grand universe scheme of things, but that is
more acceptance than consolation.
I don't want to end this posting on a sad note but on a happy note.
Recall when the apostle Thomas put his fingers on Christ's side and
believed He had risen from the dead when he felt Christ's former
wounds. Christ said "Thomas you believed because you saw with your
own eyes. Blessed are they who believe and have not seen." So I
would end with a slight variation on that theme, "Blessed are they who
did NOT receive tangible consolation, but still believe."
Mike
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