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Of Whales and War
January 26, 2003 Homily
Fr. George Smiga
Mk1:14-20
An old
fisherman found himself at the pearly gates of heaven and
was greeted by St. Peter. "Friend," said Peter,
"what are you doing here?"
"I want to get in," said the fisherman. "I
want to enter heaven."
"I'm sorry," said St. Peter, "but you can't
come in. You've simply told too many lies during your life."
This caused the fisherman to fall on his knees and plead,
"Have a heart Peter. Remember you were a fisherman once
yourself."
Fishermen
and fish stories are notorious for exaggeration. Fish stories
often disregard the truth. This, however, is not the case
in the Book of Jonah, which is perhaps the most famous fish
story of all time. Today's first reading is from the Book
of Jonah. It is the only time that the Book of Jonah appears
in the Sunday lectionary, and we are at a great disadvantage
because we have only a piece of this story. If we were to
understand the message of the Book of Jonah, we would not
find an exaggeration or a lie. We would discover an astounding
revelation, an startling truth concerning God's mercy.
The section
that we just heard from the Book of Jonah describes Jonah's
preaching at Nineveh. It tells us that at his preaching the
entire city listens to what he says, repents and believes
in God. Therefore, God extends mercy to the city. In itself
this small section seems like a straightforward account of
a prophet preaching, people listening and repenting; but there
is much more to the story of Jonah than this.
In order
to really understand what this story of Jonah is about, we
need to know who the Ninevites were. Nineveh was the capitol
of the ancient empire of Assyria, and the Assyrians were the
most violent and feared people in the ancient world. They
were always seeking to extend their empire and they did so
by whatever means available. They were violent and ruthless.
The Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and
almost captured Jerusalem. Therefore, all the people of the
ancient world, but particularly the Jews, hated the Assyrians.
So did Jonah. So when God asked Jonah to go and preach in
Nineveh, Jonah did not want to go. Jonah was afraid that his
preaching might be the very excuse that God needed to forgive
and show mercy to the Assyrians. Jonah did not want that to
happen. He did not want his enemies to receive God's mercy.
Therefore, when God asks Jonah to go to Nineveh, he runs away.
This is recounted in the first part of the Book of Jonah.
Jonah books passage on a ship to Tarshish, trying to run away
from God's command. This is where the fish comes in. God sends
a storm, Jonah ends up in the water, and the fish comes and
swallows him.
God does
not intend to hurt Jonah. God wants to stop Jonah, stop him
from running away. So in the section we just heard today,
Jonah goes, under duress, and preaches to the Assyrians. His
worst fears are realized. His enemies repent and God shows
them mercy. God forgives them despite their wicked ways. The
conclusion of the Book of Jonah, which comes after today's
reading, is a prolonged conversation between God and Jonah
in which God tries to convince Jonah not to be angry because
mercy was shown to the Assyrians. God says to Jonah, "I
know you are upset with me. I know that you are angry because
I forgave and showed mercy to the Assyrians. But what do you
expect me to do? There are over 120,000 people living in the
great city of Nineveh and they need me as much as you do.
I can't forget them. I have to be concerned about them."
It is
clear that the Book of Jonah is a fable written by a Jew to
tell us that we should never believe that God hates our enemies
as we do. This inspired book from the Hebrew Bible reveals
once and for all whose side God is on. It insists that God
is on all sides. Or more correctly, God does not take sides
in the numerous divisions and conflicts that so often divide
humanity.
How is
this ancient story of Jonah relevant to our situation? It
speaks to us in a dramatically direct way. In an irony of
history, the ancient city of Nineveh is located in what is
today modern day Iraq. As you know, the United States is now
in the process of confronting and possibly invading that very
country. Now war with Iraq could conceivably be justified.
(Although I continue to stand with the American bishops, as
I said last fall, in their contention that as of yet President
Bush has not made a convincing argument for the necessity
or the justification of war with Iraq. Perhaps he will do
so in the State of the Union this Tuesday.)
However,
what the Book of Jonah tells us is clear. If we go to war
with Iraq, we can never presume that God is on our side. War
should always be a last resort. Even a justified war is always
a tragedy, because in every war innocent men, women, and children
will die. We can imagine God tolerating a war, but we should
never imagine God endorsing a war. For whoever suffers in
war, whoever dies in war, belongs to God. God does not love
Jews more than Assyrians, or Americans more than Iraqi. God
simply sees all people as God's children.
So far
from telling us a lie, this remarkable fish story from the
Hebrew Bible reveals something true about our God. It tells
us how God is always above any of the divisions or conflicts
that divide us. It tells us why God always prefers peace to
war, life to death, mercy over vengeance.
Now I
know that we live in a complicated world. I believe that we
must take steps to protect ourselves from those who would
harm us. But as our country seeks a way to do this, we as
believers must remember where our God stands. Jesus knew the
message of the Book of Jonah. For Jesus said, "Blessed
are the merciful for they will obtain mercy. Blessed are the
peacemakers for they will be called children of God."
Those are words by which we are called to live.
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