Not an April Fool's Joke

Tommy Dillon

Today is April Fool’s Day and I was thinking about a reading from the Hebrew scripture featuring one of the Bible’s most famous stories. The prophet Jonah, as you will recall, had been called by God to go preach the message of repentance to the people of Nineveh (The Hebrew people’s arch- enemies of the time). Jonah wanted no part of the plan and sailed off in the opposite direction to Tarshish. A storm at sea and other plot twists resulted in Jonah’s being swallowed up by the huge sea creature and finally unceremoniously regurgitated on the shores of, you guessed it, Nineveh, where the reluctant prophet begrudgingly delivered the sermon that would result in the salvation of his enemies. It was God’s ultimate April Fool’s joke.

Like many movies today, Jonah’s principle story line is often overwhelmed and forgotten by the spectacular special effects. The great fish, whale, sea monster or ocean creature, depending on which translation you follow, is a much more memorable image to most of us than the picture of some wet rebellious guy delivering a sermon. But the real plot is about the futility of resisting God’s call, as well as one of the First Testament’s greatest examples of loving our enemies. And the fish turns out to be not a monster, but a symbol of God’s provision for our welfare even when we think we have sunk below our last hope.

Is it time God sent a great fish into your life? We are surrounded these days with depressing, fear-based news and dire predictions that tend to make us forget that God has calmly been waiting for us in our depths well before we ever knew we would go there. And like Jonah, regardless of our fears, doubts or outright rebellions, God’s plans for us will be accomplished in ways beyond our imaginings. That’s no April Fool’s joke. It’s a promise.