Sunday I spoke on Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the whale. He called it “Sheol”. It was his hell. From his prayer we can tell what his hell looked like:
- The Absence of God: “I am driven away from your sight” (2:4). This isn’t concocted or pretended. It is real. Jonah doesn’t feel God’s presence at all. Some mystics call this the dark night of the soul. It is horrible and real. Jesus experienced this on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This isn’t a spiritual exercise, but the reality for many, many people. When people are going through this, even for years, this must be respected.
- The Inability to Worship: “How can I look again at your holy temple?” (2:4). Jonah could not worship. There are times, sometimes long seasons, when worship doesn’t seem possible. How can you worship something that isn’t tangibly there? When people go through these seasons, this must be respected.
- Utter Confusion: “Weeds were wrapped around my head” (2:5). This is when the intellect, rightfully, gets offended and confused, dismayed. All your previous theology and thought patterns no longer suffice because they are challenged by the reality of your sufferings. We tend to try to go back to our easier beliefs, but this is escapism, denial, and useless. When people are going through this, this must be respected.
- Hopelessness: “I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever” (2:5). Jonah’s life was over. Done. He hadn’t read the book yet. He didn’t know the end of the story. He was finished. If anyone is going through a time of deep hopelessness, this must be respected.
- The Feeling of Dying: “My life was ebbing away” (2: 7). Jonah could feel his life slipping away from his grasp. He was dying, watching his time trickle away. When people feel death at work in their lives, this must be respected.
The discussion Sunday morning was lively. Basically, we resist all of these realities. We unconsciously or consciously refuse to acknowledge these as defining the truth of the human condition, and we often retreat into our securities. Some people there Sunday morning are where Jonah was at. They’re going through their own hell. Others have been there and knew what was being said. Others acknowledged that they just didn’t want to go there. It was too frightening and uncomfortable, and they preferred to stand in the comfort of what they believed. It was a good discussion.
The illustration is of a woodcut called “Jonah and the Whale” from the American artists, Barry Moser.
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my pal ellen sent me a link of a friend of hers, and her friend’s husband (they live in the UK), who have started an interesting blog. it is modern readings of scripture and other creative oddities. i enjoyed the readings i checked out so far. like this one from the the story of jonah:
1Now the word of the President came to Jonas son of Douglas Amittai Randall, Jr., via the US Army draft office, saying, 2‘Go at once to Iraq, that dusty country, and police it; for the wickedness of Saddam’s family continues to vex me, and not everyone is accepting the government we’ve put in place.’ 3But Jonas set out to flee to Mexico from the presence of the President, since he had read in the New York Times online that the war in Iraq was illegal, and he was sort of a pacifist, and besides, he didn’t want to get himself blown to pieces. He went down to Freeport on the Texas coast, and found a party boat full of drag queens going to Tampico; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tampico, away from the presence of the President and the draft office.
4 But a hurricane to rival Katrina rose up, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the boat threatened to break up. 5Then the queens were afraid, and screamed. They were all pretty drunk already, but they threw the rest of the booze that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it. Jonas, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6The captain came and said to him, ‘What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, we’re praying! We’re not sure God’s gonna listen to us, but you look like a happy het, if a little bi-curious; c’mon, pray, and maybe God’ll spare us a thought so that we don’t perish.’
check out more funky readings by clicking here.
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David Hayward is a pastor artistically stripping to the essential.
