Unexpected 2: Jonah’s Subversive Message Then and Now

You are familiar with the story, and perhaps have even ridden a ride taking you through it. Geppetto is an Italian clock maker who is alone in the world (save his cat and goldfish). To offset his loneliness for companionship, he crafts a young boy marionette, which he names Pinocchio. Seeing the wishing star appear before he went to bed, he wished that his puppet could be a real boy. Overnight, his wish was granted by a fairy, who also appointed Mr. Jiminy Cricket as Pinocchio’s present conscience since the boy would be starting from scratch with no bearing about right or wrong. Pinocchio was promised that he could obtain real boyhood if he proved himself to be a good boy, gauged by his ethical behavior. On his way to school he got sweet-talked by a clever fox who convinced him to join the theater instead of going to school. It worked out for a minute, but one thing led to another, and Pinocchio found himself with other young lads on Pleasure Island, where all manner of reckless manliness could be enjoyed: smoking cigars, drinking copious amounts of beer, getting into fights, vandalism, and various carnival games. Unfortunately, Pleasure Island was a trap put in place by owners of a salt mine in need of donkeys. When the boys drank enough of the beer the villains tainted, they soon turned into jackasses (or were they already?) and shipped to the mine where they would spend the rest of their days. Pinocchio managed to escape before he was totally jackassed and rushed home only to discover that his “father” had gone to search for him on the sea and was swallowed up by Maestro, the Monstrous Whale. Pinocchio plunged himself into the sea to rescue his father, managed to get everyone out of the whale’s belly through heroic efforts at the expense of his own life. His selflessness, however, wiped out all the jackassery he had engaged in before, including the lying that caused his nose to grow. The scales of goodness now tipped in his favor, the wishing star fairy not only brought him back to life but made him a real boy. It’s a fun animated film, with adult humor thrown in as per usual with Disney films. The latest version won an Oscar recently, adding some interesting twists from the original. Without a doubt, this story was inspired by the Bible’s Jonah, where errant behavior landed him in the belly of a whale for three days and nights, eventually being spat up on shore to try again.

While the literal details of Pinocchio may not be factual, it is a very true story. Geppetto fully entrusted Pinocchio to be a good boy even though the wooden lad didn’t know Schlitz from Shinola. Bad decision that set up the kid for failure. The puppet’s deceit not only got him into deeper and deeper trouble, but it affected those he loved as well, landing his wood carving creator in the belly of a whale. We are prone to making decisions based primarily on our unexamined egos. When we do, there is always a price to pay, and it is often high. We don’t know what happens in Pinocchio’s next chapter in the Disney film – does the now flesh and blood boy attend school and live as a good boy? We know Jonah didn’t. He may have gone to Nineveh, but he remained unchanged in his heart.

In the great American novel, Moby , Captain Ahab commanded the crew of the Pequod to join him on his pursuit of Moby , the very large white whale that took his leg. His insanity ended up costing the crew their lives and the ship’s oily cargo, save Ishmael, the slave of a sailor who was, like his biblical namesake, forsaken by the father of his ship. But there is much more to the story. Melville may have been writing a story about the pursuit of a monstrous whale, but between the lines he was actually critiquing the culture in which he lived in the 1800’s: Capitalism was doing a lot of good in the world, but it was also capable of unthinkable evil which included American slavery for the first two and a half centuries of our history on this land, and child labor to this day in other part of the world. He witnessed the power of greed and prejudice that was tearing our country apart. He was fully aware of what was happening in the deep south after reconstruction ended – slavery may have become illegal, but there were many other ways that white people could subjugate black people. We are still paying the price for that today. Melville couldn’t call it out too directly, however, because of family ties. He wrote an incredibly long book where he could write deeply so that there was much to be read between the lines for those sensitive enough to recognize it, while those who couldn’t or wouldn’t simply enjoyed the story at face value.

The Book of Jonah is like that. For those who simply want a crazy folktale with lots of humor along the way, it stands alone. Yet for those who wonder why the book was written in the first place and study the context, the textual peculiarities, and undertones, there is so much more. The prejudice held by Jonah is obvious – he goes toward Tarshish because he doesn’t want the people of Nineveh to get any kind of warning because he would rather see them suffer God’s judgment. He knows that God’s desire to warn them is an act of grace that speaks volumes about the nature of God. Jonah believes God is graceful so much that he refuses to give Ninevites a chance to hear out of his hatred. Paradoxically, the non-Jewish sailors showed more grace and godliness than the supposed holy man from Israel! They all worshipped as hard as they could to no avail and were distraught at killing Jonah. The Ninevites even put their animals in sackcloth and ashes to appease God’s wrath! Note: Please laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of this detail clearly indicating it’s folklore-like genre. These foreigners who would not consider the God of Israel a threat suddenly become holy – much more so than Jonah who still cannot get over himself (even after a near-death experience).

Centuries later, Jesus was teaching in the northern part of the country where he grew up. He was renowned for his teaching, healing, and miracles. But his magic show could be explained away by his critics (religious leaders), so they demanded a clear sign that he was anointed by God. Jesus said the only sign he would give was the sign of Jonah, who was in the belly of a what for three nights before rising again at the will of God. Similarly, Jesus was alluding to his own experience of death, burial, and resurrection three days later. Remember that the Gospels were written decades after Jesus’ life and ministry. For many believers at that time, the resurrection became their “proof positive” that Jesus was anointed (endorsed and empowered) by God. The Jewish leaders, however, dismissed this “Sign of Jonah” altogether, claiming it to be a fabrication, or covering up what they couldn’t understand. They didn’t experience the resurrected Christ, and certainly didn’t want to change their lives based on the ramifications thereof.

History has a way of repeating itself, especially when those who are living fail to give due attention to their own history which always informs the present. Prophets of old are not to be looked upon like wizards with crystal balls who can foretell the future. Prophets were and are those who are so familiar with the vision of God, the heartbeat of God, the harmonies of God, the authenticity of God that when they see something that is out of line with the vision, sense that there is a miss-beat, hear something off key, and smell something foul they simply call it to attention. Jonah was a joke of a prophet given his prejudice and hatred, mirroring the prevailing attitudes of the people he represented and served (can it ever be dangerous for leaders and their followers to simply echo each other?). The writers of the story perhaps took this approach because the temperature in the room was too hot to speak directly, like Melville writing about serious issues thinly veiled in his whale of a tale. What would the writers of Jonah see today? What would they hope would be considered by a country that claims Christian roots? Given their vision of God, what might they wonder about how we are treating each other in the public square? Women’s rights to their own bodies? The LGBTQ’s freedom to live authentically and love who they love? The treatment of human beings hoping to work for a better future here and abroad? Nuclear threat? Our role in global warming and our reluctance to take it seriously because of money? Our care of the environment to ensure that we don’t ruin it for the generations to come? How about income disparity? Obsession with arms while wanting greater peace? And of course, our ongoing reluctance to own and address America’s greatest sin – the enslavement of others with the blessing of the Church.

Statistically, American Christianity is Jonah. Publicly, Christians – painted with one wide brush – continues to be viewed not for their desire to live into shalom, but for the disturbance of it. It is no surprise that we are witnessing more people leaving not just church but the faith than ever before. Why would someone consider Jonah when the sailors enroute to Tarshish, and the ruler, people, and animals of Nineveh appear to be more aligned with shalom than the one who is supposed to proclaim it?

As Jesus followers – and as people of faith in general – we are called to live by the vision of shalom. For everyone and everything. Are we taking any time to wonder what that looks like and compare it to our personal lives, our family systems, our work and friendly relationships, our community governance, our country, and our world? The presence of God woos us ever forward toward shalom. Are we paying attention? Do we care?