Well done, good and faithful servant

Jane Denniston September 19, 2022 0 1

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Jonah 1: 4-17 (NRSVA)

4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 The captain came and said to him, ‘What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.’

7 The sailors said to one another, ‘Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.’ So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, ‘Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?’ 9 ‘I am a Hebrew,’ he replied. ‘I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.’ 10 Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, ‘What is this that you have done!’ For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.

11 Then they said to him, ‘What shall we do to you, that the sea may quieten down for us?’ For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, ‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quieten down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.’ 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, ‘Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.’ 15 So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

17 But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

One of the interesting things about this passage is that, even in extremis, the sailors didn’t immediately do what Jonah suggested and chuck him overboard. They tried to save everybody, including Jonah. It was absolutely a last resort to throw him to the elements. I wonder if any of us would have been as altruistic in the same circumstances, as concerned for the life of another, especially one who had caused us so much trouble! Once again, however, we see that God is anxious to preserve the innocent. He will save Nineveh if the people repent, and in our reading today we see him taking pity on these sailors who have done nothing wrong except, in all innocence, to give passage to Jonah.

Perhaps Jonah thought this was the ultimate escape from God, to drown in the ocean. Yet even here God reaches out to him and preserves his life in this darkest of valleys. Bizarrely, in throwing Jonah to the waves, the sailors were assisting him, though he did not know it then, back to his God-given path. God can, and often does, turn negatives to positives. In addition, Jonah was about to discover that you do not escape God once he has set his sights on you. The call of God is not easily escaped.

I believe that this is a truth which would have been echoed by Queen Elizabeth. On this day, when she is laid to rest after 70 years of faithful and committed service, perhaps it is appropriate to remember that she self-avowedly drew strength from her Lord and Saviour to faithfully carry out the task to which she felt called. Unlike Jonah, she did not flinch from it.

PRAYER:

Lord of all,

sometimes you give us tasks

which seem impossible.

Sometimes you ask of us

things which seem unachievable.

Help us to know that

where you commission

you also equip.

Help us to be encouraged

by the example of our late Queen

of constancy and commitment

in carrying out our responsibilities.

Give us strength to stand up for right

to shout out against injustice

to work for peace

and to contribute to saving the planet

rather than destroying it

knowing that nothing we do in your name is done in vain. Amen