Last Monday afternoon in my living room, a wonderful thing happened. The six of us sitting there together came, through our discussion, into a deep, rich understanding of what it means to live in the “sign of Jonah.”
Sign of Jonah
The first readings early in the week last week told the story of Jonah—reluctant prophet called by God to preach repentance to a pagan city. Jonah tried to say “no” to God, but God was persistent. Jonah was swallowed by the fish, stayed within him three days, then was spit out by the fish onto the shore. He did as God wanted then, and Nineveh repented. That surprised and angered Jonah so much he wanted to die. God then showed him mercy with the shade of a plant—but killed the plant to make the point to Jonah that God’s intentions, even with threats and punishments, is the good of those whom he has created.
Jesus comments today in the Gospel about the sign of Jonah. What was the sign of Jonah? It was not his preaching or people’s repentance. It was not what Jonah accomplished. It was the sign of Jonah’s story: Jonah said “no,” and spent three days in the belly of the fish. God said “yes” and had the fish release him.
Commentaries agree that in the passage from Luke today Jesus is talking about Jonah’s three days in the fish as parallel to Jesus’ three days in the tomb. The sign of Jonah is the sign of the Resurrection.
Luke 11
You could make a good case that chapter 11 of Luke is a chapter in which Jesus is walking through the equivalent of Nineveh. In Luke 10 Jesus sent out the 70 ordinary people to become his active apostles, processed their adventures, and told the story of the Good Samaritan.
In Luke 11 Jesus teaches the Lord’s Prayer and talks about perseverance in prayer. He casts out some demons and is accused of being on Satan’s side. He makes today’s comments about Jonah, then moves to denounce the Pharisees and lawyers who focus on external observance, rather than purity of heart and intention. You will see this week how he calls them to task. It must have been a hard time for Jesus.
The Sign of Jonah and Romans
Today we also begin a study of Romans. Romans is a book heavy, heavy, heavy with what it means to live in the sign of Jonah—to live life in the call to repentance and the shade of the Resurrection. Paul begins with a word that disturbs my 21st century heart, “a slave of Jesus Christ.” The Greek word doulos can be translated as “slave” or “bond-servant” or “servant.” The New American Bible chooses “slave.” The Revised Standard Version (RSV) and many other translations use “servant.” Meanings in the 21st century are probably very different from what doulos meant in Paul’s day. One way to think about it is that it means, “one who is totally committed in a servant way.”
Then, in these initial verses, Paul goes on to describe whom he is servant to: “his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Notice “through resurrection from the dead”? It is a major key for reading all of Romans. St. Paul is the undisputed author of Romans. He wrote it from Corinth in the mid-50s AD. It is pure doctrine of what it means to move from living the pagan, sinful life of the people of Nineveh or Rome to a new life of NOT JUST repentance, but living in the power and the glory of Jesus’ Resurrection.
Back to My Living Room
On Monday, a group of friends spent the day “testing out” the curriculum I have been working on with all kinds of struggle, Precious Lord, Take My Hand: A Workshop for Walking with God into Eternity. In the morning we covered both the philosophical foundations and practical applications of what the Church teaches about Care of Body as earthly life comes to a close.
But then, in the afternoon, we moved to Care of the Soul. Still deep myself in the belly of the fish, I was not prepared for what happened. As the six of us discussed spiritual tasks when facing death, Church teaching on Eternity, the Church’s multiple ways of caring tenderly for the dying, the value and beauty of Catholic funerals, and the meaning of Communion of the Saints, the power and the glory of “his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” filled the room.
It came in shared experiences of letting go of those we have loved and of the faith that emerged in those times. It came in stories of how belief in the resurrection became real and central as death was faced. It didn’t come from what was taught. It came from what was taught in light of what we experienced and shared. In many ways, for a little while, the six of us became St. Pauls. We KNEW how real is the resurrection. And, as we did, the Holy Spirit filled us all.
Living the Sign of Jonah
The sign of Jonah is, to me today, BOTH Christ’s resurrection and the realization of it. Jonah was transformed by both his time in the belly of the fish AND his preaching to Nineveh. Jesus, struggling with the resistance of the Pharisees, remembered Jonah as he preached to the too much like Nineveh Pharisees and lawyers of his day. And, last Monday, six friends lived it, too.
Living in a REALNESS of the sign of Jonah takes some thinking and praying. Living with close awareness of the resurrection is a different way to live.
Prayer:
How dark it has been, Lord, in the belly of the fish! How bright now the light of understanding. Yet, still, Lord, so many questions. Living in the light of Your Resurrection is living in the light of my own resurrection. It is living in the light of a Mystery beyond my ability to even imagine. We say in the funeral liturgy, “Life is changed, not ended.” Yet Lord, that is true for even the shred of awareness You have given me. I am sorry for the doubts I never expressed, never faced—the way I have run from Nineveh. I am overwhelmed at what You have given me to understand. I sit beneath this gourd plant in gratitude and wonder. Let it shade me until you show me what next.
NOTE: The curriculum is getting lots of important feedback. I hope by January to make it widely available. If, however, you are facing more immediate end-of-life concerns and would like to experience Precious Lord now, contact me at mary@skillswork.org, and I will find a way to do it with you sooner.
