Nothing fishy about God's grace: perhaps we die, not when we cease to breathe but when we cease to follow God's will.

Poor Jonah has a problem. Called to preach in Nineveh, he booked a cruise to Tarshish. Even thrown off the ship and thrown up by a fish, Jonah can't seem to catch the drift of the prophet business.

Maybe it was the effects of the fish vomit, but his only known sermon was short: "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (Jonah 3:4). He spoke through his nose, used no illustrations and read from his notes. It was, perhaps, the worst sermon ever. Then, Jonah retired outside the city to watch.

But even fish vomit was no match for the next problem. Success. Nineveh swallowed his words like the fish swallowed Jonah. Totally. Reports filtered out. At First Church, Nineveh, 6,458 signed up for morning Bible study. The women's society had to hire a receptionist to handle the phone calls. In the children's program, they seriously considered using the stadium to teach the primary class. And the youth group started sitting in the front pews, all three services. Jonah shook his head wisely: "It won't last."

Complaints started, too. People were demanding longer sermons and more biblical content. Members of another group decided they should do something about all the homeless people. Still others said: "We've got to do something about the budget. It's much too small. We'll have to double it to do anything worthwhile."

Jonah took this last news with some solemnity. According to the Book of Forms, budget changes have to be approved by a congregational meeting called at least two Sundays in advance. "These people just don't understand how to do things."

And Jonah fell down on his knees and prayed: "You see, Lord, I told you this would happen. You wanted me to go preach, and I did. And look, we haven't got the facilities to handle all these people. Who will teach them? How will they ever learn to do things the right way? I told you this would happen, right from the start. You're a gracious God, kind and forgiving, and look at the trouble it causes" (4:2).

And the Lord said, "Jonah, are you angry?"

And Jonah said, "You bet I'm angry. Angry enough to die" (verse 3). Yes, this is a prophet with a problem.

And what is that problem? Jonah is the problem because he'd rather have religion as he knows it -- the familiar religion he was brought up in. He had enough rocking of the boat out on the ocean; he didn't need God doing it to his religion, too.

Jonah knew all about a religion that was small and struggling, where the numbers were few and success was rare. What was happening down in Nineveh was a slap in the face to everyone like Jonah who'd spent a lifetime keeping things in order. It was brash and offensive. No one knew what was going to happen next and, worst of all, they didn't seem to care that people like Jonah had been around for years. God was welcoming total strangers as if they were some long-lost family. You bet Jonah was angry -- angry enough to die.

Maybe that's what it really means to die for religious people or their institutions. It's not when we stop breathing; it's when we stop wanting to be part of what God is doing.

So what are we going to do? So far, the story has wondered whether Nineveh will have a change of heart -- and it did. Even God changed (verse 10). Now, we have to ask whether Jonah can have a change of heart, too. There's only one way. "Rise up and go to Nineveh," Jonah. That's how the story began and how it must end. Go to Nineveh, all who talk about God's grace but have never known it themselves in its wildness and wonder. This time, go not to talk about God's message but to receive it. "God is gracious, kind and forgiving." That is true not only for Nineveh but even for Jonah -- especially for Jonah. It makes one wonder who really needs to hear the gospel -- the lost people of Nineveh or the people like Jonah who belonged to God's people for years.

When Jesus first came preaching, he sounded a bit like Jonah: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."

Don't you think it's wonderful the first disciples were fishermen. They believed with joy and ran to follow Christ. Why? Many reasons. But one was that they knew better than most that the God who resorts to fish vomit doesn't take No for an answer.

For all of us brought up in the church, it's a measure of God's grace.