Third Sunday after the Epiphany: January 22, 2006.Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalm 62:5-12 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20 First Reading As I read these texts, I am struck most by the sense of urgency that comes through. The clock is running on Nineveh, and the people have precious little time to repent re·pent 1 v. re·pent·ed, re·pent·ing, re·pents v.intr. 1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite. 2. before the entire city will be destroyed. The clock is running on the church in Corinth, and they, too, have precious little time before this world passes away and the appointed time of the Lord's return arrives. (They don't yet know that this is a false alarm.) Finally, the clock is running on the disciples. Jesus' public ministry has begun, but he will have only a few years to complete it, and there is no time to waste; follow him now, because you may not get another chance if you dawdle daw·dle v. daw·dled, daw·dling, daw·dles v.intr. 1. To take more time than necessary: dawdled through breakfast. 2. . Don't hesitate, don't reflect, don't take time to get a second opinion; the time to act is right now. This sense of urgency compels action in our texts. Nineveh does repent, even down to the animals, and the city is spared God's wrath. Simon and Andrew hear Jesus' call to follow him, and they drop their nets in the sea and go with him without a second thought, as do James and John, much to the surprise of their father Zebedee. And the community in Corinth? Well, it is hard to know. Did people take Paul at his word and turn their back on the things of this world, even their spouses? We cannot be sure. When we read these texts today, they remind us that we do not always have all the time in the world, either; there will not always be a tomorrow on which to choose what we are going to do with our lives, who we are going to follow. Death comes, destruction comes, moments of decision come, sometimes when we least expect them, and then what? The time is now. In Jesus Christ Jesus Christ: see Jesus. Jesus Christ 40 days after Resurrection, ascended into heaven. [N.T.: Acts 1:1–11] See : Ascension Jesus Christ kind to the poor, forgiving to the sinful. [N.T. , the word of the Lord has come to us, and the kingdom of God has come near. So what are we going to do about it? Pastoral Reflection I have heard it said that in the Lutheran church we do not preach enough on the Old Testament. This Sunday is a great time to address that deficit by preaching on the Jonah text, not only on the passage that is before us today but addressing the entire book. Everyone knows the story, and everyone can relate to it: children, who are fascinated by the idea of a giant man-eating whale, and adults, who are fascinated by a prophet who shows such cheek and disrespect to the Lord God and manages to live to tell the tale. The thing about preaching on the book of Jonah Noun 1. Book of Jonah - a book in the Old Testament that tells the story of Jonah and the whale Jonah Old Testament - the collection of books comprising the sacred scripture of the Hebrews and recording their history as the chosen people; the first half of , however, is that we live in a scientific, technological society, whose advances have greatly improved the quality of life. This is a good thing. Unfortunately, another by-product by·prod·uct or by-prod·uct n. 1. Something produced in the making of something else. 2. A secondary result; a side effect. by-product Noun 1. of this technological society is that we have come to believe in only one type of truth, what might be called "referential" truth. That is, we believe that something is true only if it can be verified by an external source, such as history, biology, or archaeology. Clearly, for a book like Jonah, if we use only this referential understanding of truth, we come up against a dead end pretty quickly, unless some marine biologist marine biologist specialist in the biology of marine life. has recently discovered a unique type of fish or aquatic mammal mammal, an animal of the highest class of vertebrates, the Mammalia. The female has mammary glands, which secrete milk for the nourishment of the young after birth. that can swallow a person whole and regurgitate re·gur·gi·tate v. 1. To rush or surge back. 2. To cause to pour back, especially to cast up partially digested food. re·gur her with no ill effects three days later. There is, however, another type of truth that we might call "symbolic," which recognizes something to be true that speaks to us about the deepest meaning of humanity and human existence. If we look at Jonah from the perspective of symbolic truth, we learn something profound about ourselves and our relationship with God--something that is as true for us in the twenty-first century as it was for the Hebrew people several millennia ago. We learn how patient God is with us and how God continues to call us and coax us back, even when we are on the run from God as fast as our feet will take us. We learn how God shows mercy, even changing God's mind to save us when we ask for forgiveness. And we learn how God calls even the most reluctant of us to speak God's word and do God's work and how God does great things through us, sometimes even in spite of ourselves. For more on referential truth and symbolic truth, see Christian E. Hauer and William A. Young, An Introduction to the Bible (Upper Saddle River Saddle River may refer to:
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