Jonah
The Prophet of the U-Turn (=Teshuvah)
in 4 (almost 5) acts
SPOILER-FILLED MEDITATION!
Before praying with this Spring of Water, it is strongly recommended that you read the entire tragicomic story of Jonah directly from the Bible. It’s just four short pages…
ACT I. CONVERSION (simple and surprising) OF THE PAGANS
The Lord Himself takes the trouble to call a specific person by name, Jonah, to give him a specific task that is, to say the least, unpleasant. Let’s say it’s as if He were sending some random Joe to the leader of a world superpower to tell him to change his ways because the Lord isn’t happy with him.
Jonah gets the message immediately and takes off running, dashing in the opposite direction, 4,000 miles away from the Lord and his mission. And this costs him a lot, but no price is too high when your life is on the line!
The Lord brings the universe into play and manages to shake everything and everyone. Except Jonah. Everything trembles. Except Jonah. Everyone prays. Except Jonah, who is still sleeping in his den, hidden away, still believing he can get away with ignoring the hurricane.
In the end, it is Jonah’s fellow travelers—pagans—who, exasperated by fear and the stormy conditions, in their simple faith, go and flush him out. “What are you doing asleep? Rise up, call upon your God! […] Tell us where do you come from? […] To which people do you belong?” Jonah wakes up and confesses everything: his identity, his religion, his mission. And his flight. So the sailors, though reluctant, throw him into the sea as he himself asks, and implore the Lord (Jonah’s God, not their own gods). At this point, the sea calms its fury. Those men, filled with a great fear of the Lord, offer sacrifices to the Lord and make vows. They are converted.
- What is in God’s heart? What is He trying to accomplish through the storm? Does He want to punish, or does He want to bring about repentance?
- What does the Lord desire for Jonah?
- How do the sailors’ questions benefit Jonah? Are they instruments of humiliation or of exhortation?
- What signs, in the sailors’ behavior and words, reveal their conversion?
ACT II. JONAH HAS BEEN CONVERTED (and saved) TOO (?!)
The Lord sends a huge fish (some speculate it was a whale…) which, by swallowing Jonah, actually saves him. The three days in the belly of the fish, in the depths of death, transform Jonah. We hardly recognize him anymore. He repents. While still in a desperate situation (in the middle of the sea inside a fish that is digesting him), he receives the Grace of Hope and Faith and prays as if he were already safe and sound on the shore: “From the depths of the nether world I cried, and You heard my voice. […] You brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.” Jonah is saved. The Lord offers him a second chance, and this time he accepts the mission; he goes to the capital of the great empire and, undaunted, proclaims God’s difficult message: “Forty more days, and Nineveh will be destroyed!”
- What is in your heart, God? What are you hoping to do for Jonah? You are not hoping that he will die…
- What new aspects of the converted Jonah’s behavior bring you joy, Lord?
- Jonah prayed. What do you suggest to me, my God, in these days, to show my conversion, my trust, and my willingness to be your prophet/spokesperson? What risks do I see, and what fears do I experience? I entrust them to you.
ACT III. NOW IT IS NINEVEH’S TURN (the mission’s target) TO REPENT
As soon as they hear the prophet’s warning (as we know, the prophet speaks in God’s name and delivers His message), the citizens of Nineveh believe in God and repent. Even the king joins in with faith: “Let everyone turn from their wicked ways and from the violence in their hands. Who knows? Perhaps God will relent, have compassion, and turn away from His fierce anger so that we may not perish.”
- Lord, so You did not want to destroy the wicked! You allow Yourself to be moved by a small sign of repentance! How do you feel in the face of their conversion?
- How did you use your prophet to bring about this miracle? Who are the courageous and faithful prophets you can count on today in our society?
- If you wish, send me too to proclaim an uncomfortable message, if it can facilitate some conversion.
ACT IV. (Twist) . CONVERSION… OF GOD!
God sees their deeds—that is, that they have turned away from their wicked ways—and takes pity on them regarding the harm He had threatened to bring upon them, and does not carry it out… This seems to invalidate the prophet’s words.
- Lord, You have achieved Your purpose—the conversion of the hearts of the world’s tyrants—and You are glad not to have to destroy the city!
- You, too, are backtracking, making a U-turn.
- Of course, poor Jonah, it really seems like he failed: he was supposed to announce destruction in Your name, which then didn’t happen. For You, everything went smoothly, but for him, what a humiliation…
ACT V. (unfinished). WILL JONAH’S HEART BE TRANSFORMED INTO GOD’S HEART?
Nineveh repents, God changes His mind, but Jonah simply cannot bring himself to celebrate; on the contrary, he is deeply distressed and annoyed. God, who wants to gradually draw Jonah into His heart, the merciful Father’s heart, offers him opportunities to get to know Him and to share in His compassion. God remains close to His prophet, speaks to him, and makes Himself present in a familiar and intimate way, but the story remains open-ended, and every ending is a possibility. Will Jonah undergo another teshuvah (conversion)?
- Jonah, think about it: you announced that the city would be destroyed, and you were disappointed because it wasn’t destroyed. But do you remember? In your language, the word “destroyed” lends itself to a deliberately ambiguous interpretation; it also means “turned upside down,” “revolutionized”—that is, “converted.” A true “U-turn”! The city has indeed done teshuvah.
- I thank You, Father, for those times when, with the help of unwanted events, ancient saints, and contemporary prophets—probably unlikable ones—, You managed to awaken me as well, to help me rediscover my Christian identity, my belonging to You, and my prophetic mission, leading me to repentance, confession, conversion, and new life (teshuvah).
- Who is a prophet for me at this moment? What storms are assailing me? Who is challenging me to return to You? I ask for the Grace to receive these messages and messangers, and to let them convert me.
- Lord, Jonah, who managed to convert to Faith and Hope in the belly of the fish, did he also manage to convert to Love? To Your love even for those who seem hopelessly sunk in evil, like Nineveh? Who, today, seems beyond redemption to me? And You, what do You think about them? What do you hope for them?
- Lord, when You send me among the “wicked”; when I don’t want to go; when I want You to leave me alone and would rather remain silent or complain under my breath; or gossip safely behind the backs of my “enemies”; when I want You to get rid of them through me… open my heart to the Holy Spirit and to the love that “endures all things and hopes all things,” “that does not desire the death of the sinner, but that he may come back and live,” that prays with Jesus: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” When I do not want to be Your prophet, send me. Convert me!
Concrete resolution: In light of the meaning of the Hebrew word teshuvah, and of our baptismal call to be prophets (=those who bring God’s message), let us pray using the points outlined in the meditation.
Teshuvah is a Hebrew term that appears frequently in the Book of Jonah. Teshuvah is a journey that encompasses multiple meanings and is usually translated as “repentance,” “return,” “conversion,” “atonement,” or “penance.” It is the “passage” from slavery to freedom through immersion in water; it is the “necessary death” for rebirth. It is a Passover. We Christians see in it Baptism. It is the invitation to “come back” after having lost one’s way or after having taken the wrong path. God uses every means possible so that humanity may assume its responsibility and cooperate with the Grace offered to it. We Christians see in this the Sacrament of Penance. A single “repentance” cannot be enough, because the wounded nature of humanity continually leads it to stray from God: continuous repentance is necessary, an ever-new rebirth. Every time humanity strays, God pursues it with solicitude and with His willingness to dialogue and to forgive an infinite number of times.
This month’s meditation is by Sr. Clara Remartini, AVI.
