[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Epiphany 3B: "Jonah"

[Joe Parrish]

Forwarded: 


-----Original Message-----
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Sat, Jan 20, 2018 8:28 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Epiphany 3B: "Jonah"



Dear Friends,
 
This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Jonah” and dealswith the entire Old Testament book of Jonah. Here it is: 
 
This morning, we heard the end of the story of Jonah- you probablyremember it from Sunday school.  Speakingof remembering, do you remember the story of the little girl who was riding byherself in a bus?  To use her time wisely,she was reading a book of Bible stories. The man in the next seat saw what she was reading and wanted to teaseher, so he said, “I see you are reading a book of Bible stories.  Which story are you reading?”  “The story about Jonah being swallowed by thebig fish,” replied the little girl.  “Youreally don’t believe that a fish could swallow a fully-grown person, do you?!”said the man.  “Of course I do!”exclaimed the little girl.  “How is thatpossible?” asked the man.  The littlegirl said, “When I get to Heaven I will ask Jonah.”  The man asked, “What if Jonah went toHell?”  The little girl replied, “Oh,that’s easy- then you ask him.”  
 
Do you remember why Jonah got swallowed by the huge fish?  God wanted him to travel to Nineveh to warnthe people to repent, but he hated them, so he got on a boat headed in theopposite direction for Tarshish (Spain). God caused a huge storm to attack the boat.  When the sailors prayed for deliverance,Jonah told them he was the problem, so just throw him overboard.  God had a huge fish ready.  The fish swallowed Jonah whole, which savedhim from drowning.  While he was in thebelly of the fish, Jonah decided to obey God, so God had the fish vomit him upon the shore.  From there, Jonah headedfor Nineveh.  The people of Ninevehbelieved Jonah’s message and repented. Jonah was really angry- he wanted to see the city of his enemiesdestroyed, so he sat under a huge bush in its shade and pouted.  God appointed a worm to destroy the bush, soJonah lost his shade.  When Jonahcomplained to God, the Lord reminded him that he is a God of compassion andsecond chances.  What’s in this ancientstory for us?
 
First: forgive your enemies and reachout to them.  You’ve heard repeatedly how God says,“Vengeance is mine; I will repay” (Romans 12:19).  Jonah hated the Ninevites because they haddestroyed the country of his ancestors and killed many of them.  He was glad to give the revenge to God aslong as God destroyed them and their land. I am reminded of an old friend- not from St. Paul’s, who was horrifiedthat God would have forgiven Hitler if he had but asked; and not only forgivenhim- God would have welcomed him into heaven. Did you notice the thought for the week; “We expect God to be patientwith us, but get annoyed when God is equally patient with others” (The Rev.William W. Boli).
 
Second: don’t drag other people downwith you.  Did you notice how Jonah told the sailorsthat the storm was his fault, and that they should throw him overboard insteadof allowing everyone onboard ship to drown? If you’ve chosen to go against God’s will, don’t look for company.
 
Finally: don’t mess with God!  Did you hearthe story of the little boy and his babysitter? Little Johnny hadn’t eaten anything for days, so his mother called hisfavorite babysitter to see if she could get him to eat.  “I’ll pay you $100 if you can get him to eatanything,” said his mother.  “Anything?”asked the babysitter.  “Yes, anything!”said the exasperated mother.  “I’ll beright over!” said the babysitter; because she had seen some new jeans shewanted.  When she got there, she offeredJohnny all the goodies she could think of. That didn't work.  She tried alittle scolding.  It didn't work.  A little pleading.  To no avail. Finally she sat down, faced the boy, looked him in the eye, and said“Look young man, if you can be stubborn, so can I.  You're not going anywhere till you eatsomething.  You can have whatever youwant, but only after you have eaten will you leave the table.”  Little Johnny just sat and glared for sometime, then said “Ok, I'll eat, but, I have some conditions.  First, I'll have exactly what I want andexactly how I want it.  Second, you'llshare it with me.”  The babysitteragreed, and asked Johnny what he wanted. “Worms!" said Johnny.  Thebabysitter was horrified, but didn't want to back out now, when she seemedclose to a break-through, so she dug up some worms from the garden.  “Not that many, just one,” yelled Johnny whenhe saw the plate.  So, everything otherthan one worm was removed.  Johnny thendemanded that the single worm be cut in two and that the babysitter eathalf.  The babysitter wrinkled up herface, held her nose, thought of the new jeans, and ate half the worm.  Turning to Little Johnny, she said, “Ok, nowyou eat!”  Little Johnny, sobbingrefused.  “I c-c-c-can't!  You ate my half!”  Maybe children can mess with theirbabysitters, but we should not mess with God! If there is something God wants you to do, do it!
 
May God bless us as we seek to answer his call, reach out to others-even our enemies, and live holy lives.
 
For anyone who isinterested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements areposted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org .
 
Blessed preaching,
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan

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