(Please read the Scripture passage before reading the homily.)
Jonah ranks as the most successful prophet. He did not want to prophesy, especially to the people of Nineveh. They were deadly enemies of the Israelites. God, however, chased him down and hauled him up from the belly of a very large fish. After this, he did go. He spoke only eight words (the count in English), and everybody, including the animals repented in sack cloth and ashes. That is success.
Jonah went to Nineveh. Nineveh is described as an enormously large city, words that could also be translated as a City of God, or a God-sized city. Jonah preached the overthrow of the city. He could also have meant the turning over of the city, as in turning over a new leaf. Thus, Jonah went to a city of God, which would repent and turn over a new leaf.
Not a bad job for Jonah who did not want to do it in the first place. Not bad for an enormously large, God-sized, city, notorious for its sins, to have turned over a new leaf after only eight words from the prophet. Not bad for all the animals to have repented. It seems, however, that the only person or animal that did not change was Jonah.
There is a moral to the story: God can do the impossible. God can rescue people from inside whales, cause huge cities to turn over, and get animals to repent. God can use stubborn people to proclaim God’s word. God can turn hearts back to God. There is nothing that God cannot do. This is important for us to remember.
We are a bunch of sinners, petty sinners, not of the same caliber as the people of Nineveh. If God could turn the hearts of the people of a God-sized city, God can certainly turn our heart to repentance. God saved the Ninevites, and God will save us. This is important for us to remember.
Jonah’s story was told with some humor and wordplay. The author used all his talents in telling a delightful story and pushing the moral of the story. The humor may have surprised us, but it also relaxed us enough to be caught up into the action of God’s forgiveness.