January 21, 2018 – Jonah 3:1-5,10, Mark 1:14-20
Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Mark 1:14-20
Who Knows?
Third Sunday after the Epiphany – Lectionary 3 – January 21, 2018
First Lutheran Church – Winnipeg, MB
Who knows why things happen?
Who knows what will happen?
It’s a question that pops up in the book of Jonah from time to time.
When you’re dealing with God, it is a great question to always keep in mind.
Jonah is a Hebrew prophet who God calls to travel to a foreign country and
announce its people’s destruction.
But . . . he doesn’t want to do that. So he runs away in the complete opposite direction!
He sets out on a ship, but as we know the ship runs into a terrible storm.
Knowing he’s a prophet the sailors say to him,
“Who knows? Perhaps God will spare us if you call upon God’s name?” (1:6)
Who knows?
Well, Jonah doesn’t call on God’s name, the storm continues, and the sailors toss him overboard because they think Jonah is bringing them bad luck for disobeying God.
But a nice big whale comes by and swallows Jonah up and saves him and
spits him up onto dry land!
Who knew! Hahahaha! Surpise! Jonah thought he was a goner – but God had other ideas.
God gives him a second chance.
So Jonah reluctantly makes his way to Ninevah to announce its destruction.
And he says, “Hey: you guys keep doing what you’re doing and
you’re going to destroy yourselves! Keep on exploiting the poor,
using one another, lying to one another, cheating one another,
chasing false gods of wealth, success, fame and power:
It’s going to destroy you: you’re going to eat one another up,
destroy the relationships within your society, and
end up killing one another and destroying the earth.
The path you’re on leads to destruction: it’s inevitable; I may as well say,
‘God’s going to destroy you’: that’s how certain your destruction is.
Repent: turn around: have a change of heart and a change of life: do justice, care for the poor,
shun violence, work for the common good, love one another, share the gifts of creation.”
Well, the Ninevites think about what Jonah has said for half a second and say,
“You know what, strange prophet? You’re right! This is a crazy way to live!
Okay! We’ll have a change of heart – we’ll repent!”
Because, the king asks, Who knows? Maybe God will relent and change God’s mind. (3:9)
And God does. And the people change. And live.
Who knows?
Life is pretty complicated and God is pretty mysterious most of the time.
There is a lot we don’t know.
And while that can be frustrating – it can also be kind of freeing.
Because we don’t know what all the consequences of our actions will be.
And we don’t know all the consequences of the things that happen to us will be.
We can’t see everything.
Who knows?
In the late 90s there was a television show called “Early Edition.”
The premise was that there was this ordinary guy who, every day,
received an early edition of the newspaper.
Only this particular newspaper didn’t tell him yesterday’s news –
it told him what the coming day’s news was going to be.
It told him what would happen that day unless he did something to change the future.
So his days are spent trying to stop various bad things from happening –
and when he succeeds the news in the paper changes.
One episode showed how two bad things were going to happen that day.
One was that a passenger jet exploded at the airport just after take-off killing 150 people.
The other was that a 6 year-old girl died after being hit by a car because while the staff at
the hospital thought she only had minor injuries, in fact she had
significant internal injuries that escaped their attention.
Well, figuring it’s more important to save 150 people rather than just 1,
he sets off in the direction of the airport – but he realizes he only has 30 minutes
before take-off and traffic is heavy.
He’s not sure he’ll make it in time when he realizes that the little girl is just down the street and
has just been hit by the car.
So he makes the decision to save the one he knows he can save, rushes her to the hospital,
insists that the doctors examine her very carefully – and thereby saves her life.
Shortly after, her father arrives at the hospital, wearing of all things – wait for it! –
a pilot’s uniform!
Yes! It turns out he was the pilot of the airplane! And turned the jet around before it could
take off so that he could attend to his injured child!
And so the 150 were saved too!
We do not always know what the consequences of our loving actions will be.
We do not always know what will happen when
we tend to our call of being artisans of the common good.
We simply trust that God will bring some good from it. That is what faith is.
Who knows?
We just don’t know.
The disciples don’t know what God will accomplish through them when Jesus calls them today.
But it’s important to note a couple of things about that story.
First: the very first thing Jesus does is to call some disciples to help him out.
Jesus does not want to work alone. Jesus does not want to transform the world alone.
Jesus wants to work . . . through us.
Second: who does Jesus call? The very first couple of guys he encounters!
Ordinary people: in this case some lowly fishermen.
And that is very consistent with the rest of the Gospels: God calls the ordinary people,
the Marys and Josephs, the humble shepherds and the lowly fishermen because
the kings and emperors and priests and religious leaders either would not or
could not be trusted to help.
As the pope reminded us on New Year’s Eve, it is the ordinary people who have
by far the greatest influence on the society in which we live.
Who knows? Who knows what impact we can have?
Who knows to what extent God can work through us through
our normal everyday interactions and deeds?
There is so much that happens to us that we cannot see the end of.
Things happen to us that we think can only end badly.
A relationship ends.
A disheartening diagnosis comes.
A death happens.
But who knows?
The end we see is not always the end God sees.
Jonah saw only destruction for the Ninevites and was very mad when God did not destroy them.
But God had something else in mind for the people of Ninevah.
God saw potential for new life there and for a transformed society.
Who knows?
God loves bringing something good from something bad – that is the story of Easter,
when God brings life and forgiveness from death and guilt.
Who knows where forgiveness will end if you take a chance on it?
Who knows where giving people a second chance will end if you take the risk of doing it?
Who knows what will happen if you think, This thing that’s happened to me looks like
an ending to me – but what if God can bring benefit to somebody
through what I am experiencing? Who knows? Maybe God can work through me
and my difficulty to bring assistance to someone else who needs to know
that they are not alone in their difficulty?
See what I mean? It’s kind of a freeing way to think when you’re not trapped into thinking that
when bad things happen only a bad end can be the result.
Just ask the people of Ninevah.
Just ask the disciples of Jesus.
Who knows?
The mystery of Christian life with God is great.
As the Belgian priest Henri Nouwen wrote, The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God.
That was certainly true in the case of Jonah who very reluctantly
brought transformation to an entire people.
It was certainly true in the case of the disciples, who were very ordinary, who made mistakes,
who doubted and who often just didn’t get what Jesus was up to and yet
they brought healing and feeding and forgiveness to thousands.
And it is certainly true for us.
We are called to be artisans of the common good and
called to trust that God is working through the good we do.
Who knows the good God will bring?
So together, let us say, “Amen.”
Pastor Michael Kurtz
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