One of the aspects of this Easter Vigil that I enjoy
is sitting in near darkness and hearing significant passages from
Old Testament history. In the darkness of this space I can imagine
being in the chaos of the world as God begins the process of creation.
One of the traditional readings we use sometimes is the story of Noah's
flood. I can imagine being aboard Noah's ark, surrounded by continuous
rain, while sitting in this dark sanctuary. One year that imagination
was aided by a thunderstorm passing by right at that moment. And in
the darkness of this space I can imagine being with Jonah in the belly
of the great fish. Yes, I said "great fish." The Bible doesn't say
"whale"; the Old Testament says "great fish," and the word in the
New Testament that used to be translated "whale" is now translated
"sea monster." Whatever creature is intended by the story, in this
darkened space I can imagine being with Jonah in its belly.
I don't know exactly why the reading from Jonah was
selected as one of the twelve traditional readings for the Easter
Vigil, but what it reminds me of is the time when some of the religious
leaders who opposed Jesus asked him for a sign, Jesus replied that
they would receive no sign but the sign of Jonah. In the Gospel of
Matthew "the sign of Jonah" means that Jesus will be in the "heart
of the earth" for three days and three nights just as Jonah was in
the belly of the sea monster for three days and nights. So "the sign
of Jonah" may simply be a symbol of Jesus' death and resurrection
on the third day.
I'd like to extend "the sign of Jonah" to suggest
what Jesus' resurrection means for us. Of course, in the book of Jonah
the incident with the great fish wasn't all that pleasant. The sailors
pitched Jonah overboard, God provided this mythic creature to swallow
Jonah, and then God had the creature vomit Jonah back on shore. In
the book of Jonah this incident meant that God was not going to give
up on sending Jonah to deliver the message of repentance to the people
of Nineveh. The meaning of Jesus' resurrection is more pleasant than
being beached by a sea monster's belch but it also does mean that
God doesn't give up on us. God's sending Jesus in general was a sign
that God doesn't give up on us wayward humans, and in particular Jesus'
resurrection demonstrates that God doesn't give up on us and seeks
a relationship with us that can't be overcome by the power of sin
or death.
God didn't give up on Jonah because God had a mission
for him to perform. God doesn't give up on us because God has a mission
for us to perform as well. In our Baptism God called us to be God's
own child and gifted us with the Holy Spirit. We all have gifts and
abilities and opportunities for living out our baptismal identity.
Affirming our Baptism tonight is not only a reminder that we were
baptized but also a reminder that God calls each of us to live out
our baptismal identity day by day. What that means varies for each
of us. That baptismal call has something to do with the gifts and
abilities we each have. It also has something to do with our relationships
and situations in life that offer us arenas for living out our faith.
In general what this means is another aspect of "the
sign of Jonah." The main message of the book of Jonah is that "God
is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast
love." Jesus' resurrection presents us with this "sign of Jonah" as
well. His death and resurrection is the ultimate demonstration that
God is gracious and merciful and abounding in steadfast love, and
God's mission for us is to live by and share that steadfast love as
an expression of our Easter joy.
God help us to live out the "sign of Jonah"! Amen.
Sermon
Texts