One cannot say Yes to God and remain the same. We say that change is the byword for those who in some manner have heard God’s voice calling them out.
Of course, that’s one reason a lot of folks have trouble listening or saying yes, precisely because they sense change is the name of the game and they have no intention of changing, thank you.
The story of Jonah puts an ironic twist on this equation. I read a snippet of his colorful story this morning. When Jonah hears God’s instruction to go to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, with a message of repentance, he turns and runs in the opposite direction. But in a great storm Jonah is tossed into the sea and swallowed by a great fish that deposits him on dry land; once again he’s set on a path toward Nineveh. This was the capital city of the most aggressive and brutal power of the day. And it was big – we read that it took three days to walk across it.
Jonah then delivers the shortest sermon on record, and lo and behold, the people of Nineveh repent, which we later learn angers Jonah, who confesses that this is the reason he didn’t want to go there in the first place. He says, “That is why I fled at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and ready to relent from punishing.” [1]
In other words, Jonah did not want to participate in the change God intended, which had something to do with the nature of God’s redemption- mercy and grace to all who will receive. He did not want the Assyrians included among those God cared about. God’s mercy ticked him off., which happens to us sometimes. Note that from one vantage point, there was a political outcome to Jonah’s mission. Nineveh, the major threat to Israel, was spared. [2]
God calls and things change. When Jesus called his first followers, they were changed. The message of the good news changes people. This good news of God- consistent with the news Jonah was meant to bring to Nineveh – God’s redemption for those who would turn around and change. Indeed, Jesus was himself the living embodiment of God’s redemption – that’s the extremely radical, disruptive message we peddle in here. Walking along the lakeshore Jesus sees the fishermen Simon and Andrew, James and John and calls to them to follow along his path. “Follow me and I will make you fish for people,” which they learned as the story unfolds, has personal-political-social-spiritual ramifications.
But you see, one can’t go around fishing on behalf of the kingdom of God and not rile the ranks of the kingdom of men. There’s an inherent competition for authority.[3] As in, is God the principal ruler or Caesar? Who’s in charge after all? And what are the implications of assigning authority to one or the other? This very question led to Jesus’ execution as an enemy of the state, John the Baptist's beheading, and Elijah's hiding.
And yet, we see the implications for those who would follow the path, stretching out for hundreds of years, playing out in the lives like John Wesley and William Wilberforce and John Newton and Abe Lincoln and Martin Luther King and your pastor, as well as many other women and men who listened to and were transformed by the good news of God.
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Awit ng Umaga. Some folks from one of our Worship Teams at church have formed a band they call, LAYAG. It's cool to see these musicians trained and exposed in church go mainstream proudly wearing their Christian faith on their sleeves, and hopefully become witnesses to Christ's grace. Gayle on vocals, Brian on keys, Janny on percs, Lance on drums, Yuna on bass, and Gabe on guitar. Everyone except for the latter, grew up in GCF. With the help of another guy from church, Gino Jose, the group releases its first video featuring an original composition by Gayle, Awit ng Umaga (literally, Song of the Morning or Morning Song).
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1 Jonah 4:2 2 Steve Bauman CCUMC-NYC, 012509 3 ibid
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