yall are gonna annoy me to death with your weird Catholic Laura Lee fixation.

Listen. As a New Jersey Catholic(TM) raised around other NJ Catholics, quite a few of them WAAAAY more pious than myself, Laura Lee is not our tribe. She never so much as makes the sign of the cross for fuck's sake. BUT

You know who is Catholic?

Mari.

I.Am.Jonah part 2

Jonah 1:1-3

As I mentioned in the previous post, it would be presumptuous to assume that Jonah was a disobedient and wayward prophet.  The account of Jonah actually starts in an extremely positive way.  God sends a “word” to Jonah and gives him a task or mission.  In part 2 of I.Am.Jonah, I want to focus on two things that are critical in the story of Jonah, and how they impact us even today.

God calls Jonah and gives him a mission.  God tells Jonah to “arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”  Jonah, who is a well-trained and well-liked prophet, is given an assignment from God.  Now, before we jump to Jonah’s reaction, let me pause and say the following.  God, throughout all of human history, calls His people and gives them assignments.  This is just how God operates.  We see this time and again throughout the Old and New Testaments.  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.  King David.  Saul/Paul. Just to name a few.  We see it over and over again in the history of the church.  Augustine.  Luther.  William Tyndale. Lottie Moon.  So, here’s the kicker.  Why in the world do I think that God doesn’t continue to call His people at a specific time, to a specific place and to do a specific task?

A little background is needed.  I’ve been a missionary for approximately 10 years.  So, I completely understand this concept.  I completely get the idea that God calls us and gives us specific tasks to accomplish, according to His will and plan.  I am 100% sure that God called me to a specific place at a specific time to accomplish a specific mission.  But, this is what’s absolutely scary about the whole thing.  We’re used to thinking that missionaries or prophets are called, commissioned and sent to accomplish a task, but we’re absolutely terrible at applying this principle to each and every believer that makes up the church.  And let me be the first one to confess, I’ve often times been proud of my calling, thinking wrongly that I was special enough to receive a tasking from God.  Thankfully, being in Portugal for almost a decade has quite literally beat that out of me (I’ll go into that in the future) and God has been gracious to show me how wrong I’ve been.  

I’m convinced that God continues to call His people.  Why?  Because Jesus died and rose again.  Simplistic?  Perhaps.  But I’m convinced that Jesus wasn’t messing around when he told His disciples to “GO and MAKE disciples of ALL nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, TEACHING them to obey all that I have commanded.” 

So, how does this fit into the story of Jonah?  First, to recognize that God is a God who calls His people and sends them to accomplish a specific task.  We often jump to Jonah’s reaction without stopping and realizing the significance of how this book starts out.  We blaze past what truly is the most important detail in the beginning of this book, God’s active voice calling Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach a message of repentance.  Now, here’s where it gets a bit sticky.   God’s mission for Jonah was not a walk in the park.     God’s message for the people of Nineveh was not tame. God doesn’t explain the “how” of what’s going to happen.

I realize that, in my own life, often times I want the easy assignment that will make me look good.  I want the mission that will not take me outside of my comfort zone or make me stretch beyond what I think I can handle.  Most times I want something doable through my own effort and talents.  I want success. I don’t want a tough assignment. I don’t want to be uncomfortable. I don’t want to be out of control. I.Am.Jonah.    Next time we’ll focus on Jonah’s reaction to God’s call and mission.  And we’ll focus on how we respond as well.  With fear or trust?  Confidence or hesitation?  Resistance or obedience?