Jonah 3:1-5, 10 (NRSV)
Read Jonah 3:1-5, 10 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 3The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, Verse 2"Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you." Verse 3So 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. Verse 4Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"
Verse 5And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. Verse 10When 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.
Devotion
It is curious that so often when we think of a prophet, we think of the scolder yelling at us on the street corner, telling us how evil we are, and how we are all going to perish.
Our reading from Jonah concludes with a quite different vision of a prophet. As a result of Jonah’s effective—if rather underwhelming—sermon, the people all repent. This brings God’s life-giving change of mind, as God relented from the calamity he was going to visit on the people.
Today we mark the Martin Luther King holiday in the United States. We might well consider the Rev. Dr. King as a prophet who, like Jonah, called our entire society to live more in tune with God’s desire for creation. Of course, the beloved community that MLK called for is still a future hope. The prophet Jonah, and Dr. King, together, call us to continued repentance.
Prayer
O God, help us to hear your call to love our neighbors, whom you have created in your image. Grant us the strength to stand up for righteousness, justice, truth, and love. Amen.