“Jonah got up in order to run away to Tarshish, from the presence of the Holy One. He came down to Joppa, found a ship bound for Tarshish, paid the ship’s fare, and entered her to travel to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Holy One” (Jonah 1.3).
In case you’ve never heard anything about Jonah’s reaction, it’s important to note that he went in the exact opposite direction from Nineveh. The port at Joppa, where our prophet buys passage on a ship, is to the west where Nineveh is to the east. Tarshish, Jonah’s destination, lies further west, with the depths of the Mediterranean in between.
Jonah, it’s said, is fleeing from the face or the presence of the Holy One. Most Bibles call this section of the book Jonah runs away from God, but I think our prophet knows that’s not possible.
When a storm arises and batters the ship, Jonah is not a bit surprised. Standing on the deck amidst the wind and the rain and the lightning flashing in the sky, he knows exactly who’s behind this storm. He’s not a bit surprised when the lots that are cast point to him. He is not, in the least, surprised that the Holy One is present with him.
But if Jonah, contrary to the chapter headings, isn’t running from God, what is he running from? Who is he running from?
Nineveh wasn’t a Jewish city. The prophetic book that follows Jonah’s calls down destruction and ruin upon it. These are not God’s chosen and beloved people as the Children of Israel are. They’re outsiders, foreigners, enemies. And it’s not too hard to think that the Holy One would destroy them.
Spoiler alert: God doesn’t do that. The people of Nineveh will hear the words of Jonah and repent, and the Holy One will not punish them nor reduce their city to dust and ashes. And Jonah will be disappointed. No, Jonah will be angry.
I knew you’d do this, Jonah complains near the end of the book. I knew you’d have mercy on these people. I knew you loved them like you loved us, like me.
Because, that means I have to learn to love them.
Jonah, you see, is never running from God. Jonah’s no fool. He’s a prophet. He has spoken the Word from his lips and knows that the Holy One isn’t just Israel’s god but God of all creation. He wasn’t trying to escape God. Jonah was trying to escape from the person God knew he could become.
Our prophet knew who God was. But knowing and experiencing are different things, and the latter no longer allows anyone to deceive themselves. Being face to face with that kind of grace and mercy would give Jonah no out. He’d be changed. He’d be challenged to love the world, all of it.
Even those who are enemies.
Gracious One, your love challenges me every day to love others, particularly those I might consider enemies. And, more often than I’d like to admit, I try to run from the changes your love continues to make to my heart. Thank you that there is nowhere—depths, heights, caves or even the universe’s expanse—I can go to escape your love, and how it makes my heart more like yours.