Prophetic Voices (Wk 3: Jonah) - Kyle Hanawalt

SPEAKER NOTES

Since 2020 has started, I have really been more and more aware of how much I've struggled to truly feel hopeful about the world Whether it things I come across in my other Job about inequality in our educational system, or It’s seeing the way the Impeachment process played out last week - not that it was dismissed, not that there were no witnessed called, but just how broken the whole system felt.
It just reinforced my struggle to fight off cynicism, fight off apathy, to hold on to hope for good and change in the world. And I don’t think I am all that unique in this. Even This last week I was sitting with a couple Co-workers and we actually started talking about hope - about how hard it is to hold on to it when the problems seem so large and so entrenched

And, in part, that is why in my current series of talks here on Sundays at Brown Line Vineyard, we’ve been talking about how hard it is to find hope... and to hold on to and operate with hope. This series has been Looking at the Hebrew Prophets of the Old Testament -- which were a huge inspiration and starting point for Jesus, our guide here.

SLIDE: series image

The Prophetic writings of the OT were written over hundreds of years, in the midst of the rise and fall of Israel. Centuries Before the time of Jesus

I think the best way to think about the Old Testament Prophetic writings are as resistance literature -- words that speak truth to power, words from the voices of non-powerful people protesting and critiquing the powerful -- like an ancient equivalent of the Parkland students speaking out about gun violence so those who make policy in our country will hear We’ve been taking time in each of these talks to carefully get ourselves in that mindset Because, if you’re like me a person of privilege who grew up exposed to the Bible, perhaps you at some point began to chafe at the words of the Old Testament prophets and find them “morally hard to swallow”. Chances are this is because, in a world of privilege, the prophets are often flattened into object lessons for “how to treat your co-workers”. Those object lessons are not at all bad, but when the threats attached to them have the intensity of the Biblical Prophets (like “God will dash the heads of their children against rocks!”), things can seem… well… out of proportion. But The Prophets are not coming from a world of privilege; the Prophets are Resistance Literature. And reading them from that perspective unlocks their moral courage and their timeliness for America today! And they can also give us hope for the future. Which, again, is hard to come by, right?

So, I want to continue our foray into prophetic writings of the OT, asking together, how the resistance the literature of the ancient Hebrew people might be a help to us in a world today that so often kills off the hope we feel.

And today I want to bring us the Prophet Jonah Jonah is a Prophet is living in a relatively peaceful time in Israel history.

SLIDE: Jonah painting

So God comes to Jonah and tells him to go and Preach repentance to the city of Ninevah, the capital of the Assyrian Empire Because of Ninevah’s rampant injustice - infighting - and cruelty - they will be destroyed if they don’t change. And a little context that I think is helpful. This would have been a pretty big ask on Jonah. Because, The people of Ninevah the Assyrians had conquered and occupied Israel in the not so distance past. In fact the only Assyrian withdrew from Israel due to other external threats and civil strife. So, Israel had just gotten back on solid footing. And at this moment God tells Jonah to go to Ninevah. And it would not only have been a real risk to Jonah’s life to go to the den of his enemies, but a very challenging ask him to go have him go and save their recent imperial oppressors from destruction. . So, Jonah says no and tries Flee He hops on a boat and tries to sails in the opposite direction However, God brings a Storm the seas And fearing for their lives the Sailors throw Jonah overboard Where is Swallowed by a fish, and for three days stays in its belly And want to take this change for a quick Aside Last week, we actually read this very story in kids church, and at the end I told the kids that some people think this really happened that Jonah was in the fish for 3 days, some people think the story was pretend.
And then I asked the kids what they thought. Who thinks it was real, who think it was pretend. And it was a pretty even split. But, it wasn’t like only those who said “real” benefited from the story, or that those who said pretend understood the “real depth.” No, they all were able to hear and benefit from what it said
You know, that permission was not something I felt as a child in church. I was not asked, I was told. And then my choice became to accept or reject it.
And that has led to a lot of anxiety around reading the Bible for me as an adult. Perhaps some of you here have had a similar experience? I want to offer the same permission I give to the kids in the other room. To release you from any anxiety you could feel about this or any of the many other places in the Bible that leave us wondering or questioning or skeptical. The “did this really happen or is this a story?” question is not what everything hinges on -- the Bible can help you connect with God either way here So, to continue Jonah In the belly of the fish he acquiesces and agrees to go Nineveh and is spit up by the fish Jonah Goes to Ninevah and calls them to repent to change their ways, and if they do they will be saved. And The Ninevites’ actually do Repentant But Jonah still laments in Anger that the Ninevites were saved

So, there are various helpful applications that people have pulled out of Jonah.
That it shows us God’s care for all of humanity - even when undeserved That he is a God of Mercy and Compassion for all people. That this one of the most poignant pictures of how inclusive God is. Some point out that it shows us God’s persistence in leading us to our calling. That there are things he calls us to in life, and he pursues us to help us live those out. Others have shown it to be a Cautionary tale of xenophobia That Jonah is an example of one who fears and hates the other. Those from other nations, those like us are to be hated. And God shows us that his heart is of loving and accepting all.

And I find all of those reads helpful in different ways. At different points in my life they have each spoken to me powerfully. There is another application of Jonah that I want to bring us to today. It is something I read from a Palistinan Theologian - Dr. Niveen Sarras SLIDE: quote “The author of the book of Jonah does not intend to show Jonah as a rebel against YHWH’s (God’s) will, or as a xenophobe who hates the gentiles. Nor does the author present Jonah as a believer of ethnocentric nationalism, but as one who comes from an oppressed minority group who is legitimately worried about the very survival of his people... Jonah’s desire for the fall of Nineveh, even after the city had repented, is really about his hope to see an end the oppression of his people. Jonah does understand the compassionate character of YHWH, who gives chances to the wicked and who is merciful, but, he was consumed by concern for the safety of his people... From a minority perspective, we see YHWH use Jonah, whose people were oppressed by the Assyrians, to challenge the imperialist power of Assyria. That means YHWH used the powerless to transform the powerful. The book of Jonah is an empowerment of the oppressed - encouraging them to believe that they can bring about change... We can see in Jonah’s calling of the Ninevites to repentance as an example of nonviolent protest bringing change. As I read Jonah, as a Palatinian women, (familiar with marginalization and oppression) I find The book of Jonah to be a source of encouragement to continue to use nonviolent methods to effectively challenge oppression.” And with that in mind I want to read the last chapter of Jonah. One that has always sat with me poorly. However, when I read it with Niveen Sarras’ words in mind. It opened up to me with power and meaning.

To read the end right after Nineveh has repented and is saved

SLIDE: Jonah 4 4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” so emotional! it's a powerful story! 10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

SLIDE: series image

Reading Jonah in this light, gives me hope - Hope that change can happen - nonviolent protest can make a difference. This is not small! To think of Niveen, a Palestinian women, hearing this message that War and murder are not the only way to fight for change! To hear that and believe that, for someone who has experienced magenilization is super important! To hear stories of how change happened without call to violence gives hope to those who long for change. And the truth is time and time again we see God use the voice of the oppressed, the outcast, the suffering to be his agents of change. And this is seen the most powerfully in the person of Jesus — the one we take our cues from here. Jesus - the one whose life was the ultimate protest — willingly becoming a victim of the powerful so the powerless would not have to be their victim

SLIDE: question with takeaways

What are ways we can participate in or make space for nonviolent change? If you are part of a marginalized or oppressed population - speak up Frankly put - real change is unlikely to happen if we are relying on those who are benefiting from the status quo to lead that change. Throughout our history as a nation we have seen examples of change coming after people spoke up. We think of the civil rights movement - Dr. King, Rosa Parks. We think of the many women’s voices that spoke up in what we saw with Me Too. It was members of the LGBTQ community that lead the way for the legalization of gay marriage. So, we need your voice to lead. And so for those like me, who benefit from the status quo, make room, elevate, encourage, support those who are speaking There is a cost for speaking up, a cost to protest. This is where I personally find Jonah so helpful. For Jonah to go to Nineveh and call for their change. The cost to him could have been his life - he was speaking out in a way that could have lead to him being imprisoned or killed. But it’s more than that. And I think we see this in his anger. When the powerless challenge the powerful, there is a emotional cost.
Sometimes it is a sense of exhaustion that comes with carrying an outsized burden And sometimes it is an experience of what I would call righteous anger at the injustice So, when a marginalized voice is speaking up - Those of us who have privilege can often be most helpful by making room for their voice, using what we power or privilege we have to elevate their voice, and maybe most importantly offer encouragement and support understanding the cost being paid

Tell stories of hope to each other it’s easier to complain about the world… But we all need to hear more stories that fill us with hope. Tell the two philosophers story Heraclitus and Democritus Story of Jakobie Hearing the podcast of organizers on the ground in Iowa filled me with hope

Pray for hope - to cast off fear, to fight off cynicism and apathy. Ask God if there is any communal nonviolent protest you personally should participate in? (examples of marches or protests in Chicago?)

These are challenging! But the reason we need to be challenged is because we need hope. If we don’t challenge ourselves, we will feel no hope.