The Wrong Side of a Big Fish

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Jonah 2 (NRSVUE): Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying, “I called to the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. 3 You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; how[a] shall I look again upon your holy temple?’ 5 The waters closed in over me; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped around my head 6at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the Pit, O Lord my God. 7 As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. 8 Those who worship vain idols forsake their true loyalty. 9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord!” 10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out onto the dry land.

The story of Jonah has captivated people for centuries. Whether or not it’s literally true, it is full of universal truth that we need to hear. 

Some people may see this as a silly tale that’s a real stretch. 

But an even bigger stretch, if we think about it, could be the conviction of God’s deep personal affection for each of us. We’ll come back to that in a bit, but first let’s see what the story tells us about Jonah’s relationship with God. 

I would be willing to bet everything I own that before God said GO to Jonah, God said COME. “Come to me, lean on me, spend time with me. Get to know me for who I am.” But I think Jonah didn’t hear the invitation. Or maybe he heard it and couldn’t believe it.  Eventually it got drowned out by all the noise around him. 

Nowhere in that prayer is the word “love.” Jonah clearly acknowledged the Lord’s power. And at the end of the prayer he says, in essence, “Sure, I’ll keep my promises because I’m in a tight spot.” He’d realized, like the old folks used to say, that his arms were too short to box with God. But you can make that acknowledgement for a tyrant. Or a bully. That’s not relationship, that’s capitulation.

Where is any mention of God’s mercy and compassion? Where is Jonah’s heartfelt repentance? No, I don’t think Jonah felt God’s love.   

So here we have Jonah in the belly of a big fish. His needs were not met. It was dark, probably noisy, slimy, probably stinky. An awful situation for three whole days. Maybe the worst was the isolation: Isolation doesn’t mean that no one wants to reach you. It means no one can reach you; it is a separation that you cannot breach.

We probably have all been in fish-belly situations. Some of us may be stuck in one now. They are usually characterized by darkness, confusion, frustration; by isolation, fear, anger. We can’t really rest, and other basic needs are not met either

There are different reasons for fish-belly situations. Sometimes it’s our fault, like Jonah. Sometimes it’s someone else’s fault and we’re caught in the crossfire. And sometimes it’s just life. Things just happen—sickness, calamity, unpleasant surprises—and we have to deal with them. 

But know this: Our Creator, our Source is with us in every fish belly. Know, too, that it is not God’s desire for us to suffer. God will use sufferings to help us, but the Lord takes no pleasure in seeing anyone miserable. Jonah was there in the fish not for punishment but for protection. God cared about Jonah. 

There were other prophets and God could have said, “Whatever, I don’t have to have Jonah, I’ll find someone else, he can just drown” but the Lord sent the fish to rescue Jonah, and to let us know that we are not just tools. We are not disposable. We are unique, treasured, beloved.

So, what do we do in fish-belly situations? What choices do we make?

That which we most desire is that which shapes our choices. Let that sink in for a moment and I’ll repeat it: That which we most desire is that which shapes our choices. We don’t know for certain what Jonah desired most, but we can speculate. Maybe he longed for safety? Absence of confrontation? Lack of responsibility? Maybe he just wanted to sleep and to be left alone. Maybe he didn’t want to hurt any more.

What do we long for? What shapes and guides our choices, even in a fish belly?

And what does God long for? Pastor Jay told us last week that God longs for connection, for relationships with all created beings. I believe that is true. I believe it’s what John 3:16 talks about – for God SO LOVED the world, all of us, every created being. God’s endless love for each of us shapes God’s choices.

But if we really think about that, it can seem even less plausible than the story of a big fish swallowing a prophet. Yet our faith says it is true: we are each, individually, personally known to the Divine. We are treasured by our Source. The Bible says the hairs on our heads are numbered, and our names are tattooed on God’s palm.  How can this be? Jonah did not feel this level of affection. Do we?  

I wonder – Did Jonah wish for a relationship like this, like some of the other prophets wrote about? Had he heard the psalm where David said, “As the deer longs for the water brooks, so my soul longs for you, O God”? Maybe he’d seen a scroll with Isaiah’s words about the multitude of God’s lovingkindness, and wished he could feel a similar confidence and comfort. 

Or perhaps Jonah had read an early version of Lamentations where Jeremiah wrote, “It is because of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is his faithfulness.” Maybe Jonah wondered why he didn’t have that feeling of tenderness and compassion, that blessed assurance that he was treasured by the Divine.

Maybe over the years he’d experienced so many trials and disappointments that there were layers of hard, protective tissue over his heart. Maybe his childhood was marked by neglect and abuse. Maybe his wife and children had been killed by the Assyrian army. Maybe the people he trusted had let him down so often that he saw no reason to trust anyone again, not even God. Perhaps especially not God.

We do not know the cause of Jonah’s decisions, but we do know that he was miserable. As we always are when we don’t hear God saying COME, or when we don’t respond. 

Perhaps it is difficult for you to feel that connection with the Divine. If your life has been marked by much pain and trauma, as I think Jonah’s may have been—as mine has been, for most of my years—then don’t fault yourself but also don’t roll over and just wait for death. 

If you long for a connection and you wish that what I’m saying were true, then ask for an indication. If you have a bit of awareness, pray for more.  Ask for a growing consciousness of God’s presence and affection. Ask for comprehension of the many ways that God knows you and treasures you. That prayer will be answered—most likely in a gradual fashion, like a sunrise, but it will be answered. 

Listen now for God saying COME. At this point, let’s not worry about God saying GO. Yes, our world seems to be getting scarier and more confusing by the day. There is much work for all of us to do. We will do it out of love for God, not out of fear or obligation or in an attempt to ensure God’s good graces. For now, though, let’s focus on hearing God saying, “COME. Come toward me. Come rest in me, come learn and laugh and live in me. Don’t go, not yet. Don’t run away.”  

If Julian of Norwich could have gone back in time and sent Jonah a fish-belly message, there in the slime and stench and darkness and isolation, maybe it would be “All shall be well, Jonah, my friend, my brother. All shall be well…” and she would tell him why. 

I invite you to close your eyes and put your name in that sentence. No matter what you are going through, or what you have been through, hear St. Julian telling you now: “All shall be well, my sister, my brother, my sibling, my friend. All shall be well. Why? For there is a force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never, never, never let us go.”  

Dear God, we long to walk close to you, to be aware of your loving presence every day, everywhere. How wonderful it is that you also earnestly desire to be close to us! For all of us here, Lord, including me—deliver us from all that makes it hard to hear your voice. Help us to seek you joyfully, and to respond with delight and excitement when we hear you say COME. Amen.