The senior sermon of Margaret Fuller, Class of 2006 from the Diocese of Nevada, given in Christ Chapel on March 8, 2006

Readings: Psalm 51:11-18
Jonah 3:1-10
Luke 11:29-32

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable in your
Sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

Today marks the beginning of the second week of the liturgical season of Lent. For Christians, Lent is a season both of repentance and of spiritual renewal and joy as we prepare for the Paschal feast. Lent is a time of self-examination in terms of the relationship we have with our God. Ever since I was introduced to it, the prayer of St. Richard of Chichester has helped me focus on what seems important to me in terms of spiritual renewal. It reads:

Day by day, dear Lord, of thee three things I pray:
to see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly,
follow thee more nearly, day by day.

The readings for today have repentance as an overriding theme. As I studied them, I found among them tidbits which might help us at our task of renewal as well. Please join me and see what suggestions for repentance/renewal we can find from today's readings.

Jewish scholars attribute our first reading, Psalm 51, to David after he is rebuked by Nathan for committing adultery with Bathsheba and having Uriah, her husband, murdered. It is a psalm that expresses tremendous guilt and confession. In it David asks God to blot out his sin, to give him a pure heart, and save him from bloodguilt. If God complies with his requests, David promises to rejoice in God's help, teach sinners God's ways, and sing praises to God. Because we know that we have already been forgiven through Christ, perhaps the lesson we can glean for Lent from this psalm is to follow David's lead in lifting praise and thanksgiving to God. In this season in which we remember the death and resurrection of Christ, we have much for which to give thanks to God. From David, then, we get one suggestion for a practice that may help in our renewal:

Let's exclaim never-ending thanksgivings!

The next reading for today is Jonah 3. Both Jewish and Christian scholars find multiple layers of meaning and themes in the Book of Jonah. Trying to decide what might be the main theme of the Book of Jonah is sort of like driving through a multi-story parking garage. As you drive onto each new level, a new theme is unveiled; and this theme makes sense and has a message for you. Then you go on to the next level, and you have the same experience again. The problem is that it is really difficult to decide on which level you should buy your parking spot! Today we'll look mainly at the calls to repentance that we find in Jonah.

Biblical scholars take care to talk about the simple symmetrical nature of the structure of the Book of Jonah. I see their point; but I have an even simpler one: pre-fish, in-fish, and post-fish. From Jonah's point of view, his pre-fish experience as prophet in Northern Israel, as a contemporary of Amos and Hosea, had met with little success as far as he could tell. Now God had called him to "Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it: for their wickedness has come up before me." But, Jonah may have reasoned, if his own people ignored him, then what possible success might he have with gentiles, especially the wicked sort? Jonah decided he would rather die than go to Nineveh, so he set out -- in the opposite direction -- for Tarshish, with disastrous results. In his pre-fish experience, Jonah had not yet learned that once God puts his finger on you, resistance is futile. God seems to find favor more in persistence than in resistance.

All of us here have felt God's breath on us as we were sent to study and work at seminary. As we try to discern what is the next nautical bearing God might have in mind for us, Jonah's experience certainly reminds us that trying to deflect that compass needle toward our own Tarshishes may put us crossways with God's prevailing winds. So perhaps, for us, one Lenten suggestion found in Jonah might be:

With the help of God, let's enable no Tarshishes!

We all know the story of how Jonah ends up in-fish: he boards a ship headed for Tarshish, God sends a great storm to stop the progress of the ship, and the sailors eventually determine that Jonah's disobedience to God is the reason for the storm and throw him overboard. On the surface of the sea, the storm ceases to rage; and the crew of the ship make vows and sacrifices to the Lord God. Below the surface of the sea, Jonah is swallowed by a large fish. In-fish, Jonah realizes that the fish is not so much an instrument of God's deliverance as God's judgment; and Jonah prays for deliverance. He might rather have died than go to Nineveh, but dripping with digestive juices wasn't a pleasant way to go! In-fish, Jonah promises God that he will make proper sacrifices when he is returned. Because Jonah cries out to God, God, in divine mercy, directs the fish to deposit Jonah on the land. Note that Jonah does not make the promised sacrifices; and he remains unrepentant about his disobedience to God's initial call. However, Jonah's witness to the crew of the ship does result in their turning to God.

Post-fish, in the third chapter of the Book of Jonah, our reading for today, God calls Jonah a second time; and this time Jonah reluctantly obeys. Jonah still has not comprehended God's redemptive ways; but he has no options left, so he sets his sights on Nineveh. Once in Nineveh, Jonah speaks 5 Hebrew words of warning: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." The verb Jonah chooses for 'overturned' is the same one used in Genesis to describe the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Jonah makes no call for repentance, because he expects God to utterly destroy Nineveh. But ironically, Jonah uses the passive voice of the verb; and that form has the primary meaning of being 'turned around' or 'transformed.' So the reader has a hint that the outcome may not be as Jonah anticipates. Indeed, the people and animals of Nineveh respond to Jonah's warning immediately; they fast, they wear sackcloth, and they "cry mightily to God." Jonah's prophetic mission is fantastically successful! God is so pleased with the response of Nineveh that God's mind is changed, and Nineveh is spared. At his point Jonah acknowledges God's redemptive ways, but remains angry and unrepentant himself.

Jonah's post-fish experiences carry some suggestions for us for our Lenten meditations.
The first is to turn to God in repentance. As we examine our own lives this season,

With the help of God, let's emulate Ninevah's transformation.

The second observation is that, if we follow God's call, then we may be greeted with surprising results in our ministries. As a part of our seeking and following God's ways for us,

Let's expect notable triumphs.

The last of the readings assigned for today is Luke 11:29-32. In the context of these few verses, Jesus had successfully cast out a demon. There were those in the crowd who claimed that Jesus must be using the powers of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons, to cast out the demon. Jesus counters this by saying that using Beelzebul's power to cast out demons would only weaken Beelzebul's kingdom. On the other hand, if Jesus used the finger of God to effect the exorcisms, then the crowd would know that the kingdom of God was present among them. Others in the crowd wanted Jesus to give them a sign from heaven. In our reading, Jesus replies that the only sign this evil, unrepentant generation will receive is the "sign of Jonah." Luke understands the sign of Jonah to be Jonah's presence in Nineveh and his prophetic message. The parallel for the generation of Jesus' time is Jesus' presence among them and the message of the kingdom of God that he brings. Jesus explains to his contemporaries that the people of Nineveh, who did repent based on the words of Jonah, will rise up in judgment of the current generation, because the current generation refuses to repent even though a prophet greater than Jonah is among them.

Like Jonah himself, the people in the crowd around Jesus fail to understand God's redemptive ways. Even though Jesus is working among them, they fail to acknowledge him as the Son of Man, the One who brings God's kingdom. Their spiritual nearsightedness prevents their seeing Who it is Who is right among them! Perhaps herein lies another suggestion for us as we seek renewal this Lenten season:

With the help of God, let's eschew nearsighted tendencies.

God's plans for the renewal and redemption of all of God's creation are unfathomable at the human level. Rather then remaining nearsighted, however, let us keep our minds and hearts open to hear the wondrous message of redemption that Jesus brings to us this season. Let us prepare ourselves to be participants in bringing God's kingdom to earth.

May God help us see more clearly God's mercy for our world, love more dearly the God who made redemption possible, and follow more nearly God's plan for our lives.

Amen.