Is the biblical story about Jonah in the Bible fact or fiction? While there seems to be historical support for the character of Jonah as a prophet, specifics about the account have been debated for years. However, since I’m not a Scripture scholar, I’m happy to leave the mental wrangling over details to minds that are far more astute than mine.
Yet, after reading about Michael Packard, a diver swimming off the coast of Massachusetts who reported that after experiencing a huge surge, he found himself in the mouth of a whale, the wheels of my mind began spinning. He claims to have spent about 30 seconds in the whale’s mouth before being spewed out. His story seems to align with an account by two women who had been swimming in the Pacific Ocean and found themselves in the mouth of a whale only to be spit out within seconds.
According to whale experts, the throat of a whale is large enough to swallow fish, but much too small to ingest a human being. Therefore, anything larger than a fish would immediately set off a gag reflex that would propel the object back into the ocean. After reading these articles, I’m veering toward the position of those who consider Jonah spending three days in the belly of a mammoth creature as a whale of a tale.
From a faith perspective, whether every detail about the story is true or improvised, the message that it portends remains solid. Not unlike the parables that Jesus told, the lesson that Jonah learned is one to which we can all relate.
Who among us has not tried to run from God when we are asked to do something that we feel is beyond our capabilities? We may begin by making excuses, voicing objections about a lack of qualifications or simply arguing that we don’t have the time.
Yet, when we look at Scripture, it seems that God has always called the least likely to do the impossible. In fact, he seems to have a penchant for choosing people whom any job recruiter would immediately disqualify.
Consider that Moses had a stuttering problem, Jeramiah said he was too young, Isaiah said he was unworthy and Elijah complained that he had been duped by God. In the New Testament, Jesus seemed to follow his Father’s recruiting pattern. Consider that the men Jesus chose to be apostles were uneducated fishermen, a tax collector and a thief. None of them would have amounted to anything remarkable; their lives would have come and gone unnoticed except for the fact that God used them to do the seemingly impossible. And that’s the point! It shines the light on what God is doing, not on any particular talent or gift that any person might claim to possess.
That’s been the way God has worked and continues to work. His saints are not the flashy executive types. They can be found among the poor and those caring for the sick. They’re working in kitchens and classrooms, on street corners and in families and communities where transgressions are forgiven, and wounds are healed.
This brings us to the question: How am I responding to God’s call to serve and to help build his kingdom? If you’ve been baptized, you have a role. So what’s keeping you from volunteering in your parish or at the local food pantry, or driving a neighbor to the doctor?
With the beginning of the school year, volunteers are needed in schools and in parish religious educations programs. Keep in mind that weekend liturgies don’t just happen. It takes a host of extraordinary ministers of holy Communion, lectors, ushers and volunteers who are willing to step outside their comfort zone.
Where would we be today if Moses, Isaiah and Elijah or the apostles had turned and walked away? In the story about Jonah, God didn’t take no for an answer. Whether the reluctant prophet actually spent three days in the belly of the whale is not the point, but it does serve as a beautiful prototype for Jesus’ spending three days in the tomb. The real lesson is about the mercy of God who loved the Ninevites enough to send a prophet.
We have more than a prophet; we have Jesus who calls us to be his voice. When we remember that the call is never just about us, amazing things can happen. It happened in Nineveh, and it can happen here. All it takes is for each person to say: “Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will.”