Repent ! Repent !

Jonah 3:1-10

          What a wonderful thought. We might see our evil ways and repent.  Usually I think this is associated with some good self reflection; some honest self assessment. Whatever the reason, in this passage God relents and does not cause whatever calamity he supposedly had in store.

         I say supposedly because this vision of God from ancient scripture is one of a punishing and vengeful God that I am unfamiliar with and frankly, don't believe in. A God of love has better things to do than to strike people down, people he created and loves. He has better things to do than micromanage or pick sides in a battle between his beloved children and help one group to mow down another group. It's all in the scriptures there but I don't believe it. I do believe that was the belief of this group of people who wanted to be faithful and wanted to see God's positive influence in their lives. So, that's what they wrote. It still pays homage to God, it still recognizes his power even if they didn't understand God methods.

       We know God gave us free will.  God's interference in our lives  makes a mockery of free will and would tend more to support some kind of predestination. That's another ancient idea that has been debunked.

         What I think is more likely, is that we make our own calamities.  On a grand scale you could say that if the world goes down the tubes because of global warming, it will be at our own hands, not God's. God allows us full reign and gave us the earth as stewards. If we screw it it up, we will pay at our own hands. In a similar way, if thousands die due to starvation in some sub Saharan country it will be our doing because we have the capability to alleviate such pain and suffering. We can feed everyone It is by our collective lives and how we live them that such calamities occur. 

         This is not a far fetched idea. How often do we see a friend or family member come to a sad and untimely end, perhaps prison or some other calamity and the words uttered are "they brought it on themselves".   I am not a believer of God zapping people. I am a firm believer that we zap ourselves and could wind up zapping the planet by our collective actions.  Think about us having enough nuclear warheads to destroy the planet many times over.  

         What I do believe and I absolutely love is the idea of repentance. No big fanfare required. Simply make a change. "Just do it" as the slogan goes.  Exert an effort to influence life on a global scale. The expression,"act locally, think globally" comes to mind. Stepping up to the plate doesn't have to be on  grand scale unless you have the means and the calling to do so. Far more likely is influencing the small world you live in. Your family and friends, teaching your children, helping a neighbor, supporting a cause with some time and or money. Repentance is not that difficult. God may not zap you if you don't but I do know God will smile if you do.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: ‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.’

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.