A Change of Heart
A sermon by Brent J. Eelman
Abington Presbyterian Church
January 22, 2006

Jonah 3: 1-5, 10
    The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ² “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” ³ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. ⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” ⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
    ¹⁰ When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.* 

We live in an age where opinion is hardened and wavering from any type of doctrinaire position is seen as weakness. The media calls it “flip-flopping” and “indecisiveness”. This culture of sharp, ideological differences reached its apex in the news show “Crossfire”. The show consisted of two different perspectives on social and political issues. Advocates of these views would sit across from each other and spend their time arguing. It all came to an interesting end when Jon Stewart from the comic news show “The Daily Show”, confronted the participants with the predictable absurdity of each broadcast. One could watch and predict what the participants were going to say and how they were going to react. No one on that show ever listened to the other side, and no one ever said: “I never thought of that before…. You’re right. I was wrong.” Such is the folly of consistency.

We live in an age where changing your mind or having a change of heart is seen as inconsistent and weak. What I would like to do this morning is look at the story of Jonah from this perspective. There are three parties in the story: Jonah, the people of Ninevah, and God. I want retell the narrative three different ways to see what happens if each of these three parties were to act consistently: if they did not experience a change of heart. I will conclude with a observation.

I

Jonah was a prophet, called by God and appointed to deliver God’s Word to people. Most of us know the story: God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell them that God was not pleased with their evil ways. Jonah balked. He ran away, trying to hide from God and fleeing the task that God asked him to do. He boarded a ship sailing to Tarshish. A storm arose and the sailors on the ship determined that Jonah was the cause of the storm and so they threw him over. He was swallowed by a large fish and spent three days in the belly of that fish, until finally he was spit up on the shore. Chapter three of Jonah mirrors chapter one perfectly. In cyber language we might call it a “reboot” of the story. It starts all over again at the beginning. This time Jonah goes to Ninevah and preaches the 5 word message of God: “In forty days the city will be destroyed.”

Imagine if Jonah stuck to his guns. What would happen if Jonah acted consistently? The story might conclude this way: Jonah would either die in the belly of the beast or was thrown up on land and walked home to Judah. The people of Nineveh would not have heard that God was going to destroy the city and forty days later, Ninevah would be destroyed. Jonah would live with the knowledge that he knew and could possibly have forestalled the event. But he was consistent with his original position. He was not going to Nineveh, and thousands die.

II

The second party is the people of Nineveh. Let us suppose that Jonah had a change of heart and made it to Nineveh. He delivered the message that in 40 days the city would be destroyed. The people heard him out and then joked among themselves: “We have a great life here. We are secure. Our walls are high. Our armies are strong. No one will hurt us.” They kept living the way they were living. What would happen? The city would be destroyed. Jonah would have the opportunity to watch this calamity and consistent with his character he would experience some self righteous glee at the destruction of the city. They got what was coming; end of story.

But that is not the way it went. The Ninevites had a change of heart. They donned the traditional garb of those who repent: sack cloth and ashes. They vowed to change their ways. They listened to what Jonah said, and responded: “He makes sense. We better change what we are doing.” And they did. The city is spared.

III

The last party is the most important: God. Jonah could change his mind. The people of Nineveh could change their minds… but God was of the mind that Nineveh would be destroyed. He was going to bring calamity and destruction upon the city. Some of us may shrink with horror at such an image of God, but a number of people, even today, are of this mind. They believe that God will destroy cities and communities that don’t toe the line. Let’s play this one out: Jonah went to Nineveh and told the people that in 40 days God would destroy the city. The people listened to Jonah and responded by repenting and changing their ways. God saw what the people had done, but then says: “Too little, too late: I have to consistent. I can’t waffle on something I have vowed.” So God destroys Nineveh, even though the people have repented and changed their ways.

IV

My comment is brief. This great Bible story tells us a lot about prophets, people and God.
    A) It tells us that prophets don’t particularly like what God tells them to do and say. Read Jeremiah and you will learn first hand about a prophet who did not like what God was telling him to say. Remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? He wasn’t too excited about the cross!
    B) It tells us that people as a whole can change. The people of the evil city of Nineveh changed their behavior. They heard the message and they changed what they were doing. (Like people in Abington when they hear a sermon!) This story tells us that people can change. It is a hopeful story because there are many people, many communities, many cities and many nations that should change their behavior.
    C) Finally, it reveals to us something about God. God had a change of heart. God saw that the people repented and were sorry and so God decided not to destroy the city. We discover in this story that God is merciful, kind, and forgiving. We also learn that God is not necessarily consistent. God had a change of heart.

This story turns around three parties, Jonah, the People and God, All three have a change of heart. Today we might scorn them as being inconsistent, flip floppers, wafflers, and indecisive for not staying the course. What does that tell us about us? This is the challenge of the story of Jonah. It is at the heart of the message of Christ. Wrestle with it in terms of your own life, in terms of your community, in terms of your country, in terms of the world. Amen.

*The New Revised Standard Version Bible, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

Abington Presbyterian Church, Abington, Pennsylvania,  www.apcusa.org