Loren Hague, Intern
King of Peace Episcopal Church
Kingsland, Georgia
August 7, 2005
 

Fast Food Theology
The Book of Jonah

When I was fourteen I went on a trip to the Florida Keys with my mom and my aunt. They couldn’t wait to swim in the Gulf…I was more interested in lounging on the beach. I’ve been terrified of the ocean my entire life. One day they somehow convinced me to go on a group snorkeling trip around a coral reef. We boarded the boat and headed out into open water. Really open water. Much deeper and much farther away from land than I had any desire to be…ever. I swam around with my aunt, who had lots of snorkeling experience and really wanted me to enjoy it as much as she did. The plan failed. I was scared out of my mind. I wouldn’t look under the water because I didn’t want to think about how incredibly far away the bottom was. There were two to three foot waves that day and we were tossed around, water pouring into our snorkels. I was a mess. All I could do was pray that I would make it back to the boat in one piece. Finally I convinced my aunt that there was no was she was going to convert me into an ocean lover and my mom decided to take me back to the boat. As we started back I was holding on to her so tightly that we couldn’t really swim. I was afraid that if I let her go I would sink. She kept telling me that we would get to the boat much faster if I let go of her and just swam on my own…I finally gave in and I was off. Adrenaline took over and I swam faster than I had ever thought possible. The whole way I was saying to God “please let me get there, please let me get there”. I reached the boat, elated to be back to a solid surface, and looked around for my mom…but I couldn’t see her anywhere. I suddenly went from being scared of drowning to being scared that my mother had done so. Not really my idea of a sense of relief. As it turned out, I just swum so fast that I had left her far back in my wake, she was completely fine. But that feeling of terror replaced by terror stuck with me. I had prayed that I would be safe…not that I would be safe and worried about my mom. The salvation I got was not at all what I had imagined. The situation certainly didn’t fit my wishes at and even though the end result was fine, it was difficult to handle.

My way of praying that day is what I like to call “fast food” theology. A system of following God that’s like pulling up to the drive through window…going to God at one’s own leisure and placing a specific prayer order, not wanting to be inconvenienced in the process. Not the best way to function. Like going to McDonald’s or Burger King it’s quick and easy, but doesn’t have benefits in the long run. Jonah, who’s prayer we heard in the first reading today, was a big proponent of this fast food philosophy…he wanted life to go HIS way.

God charged Jonah with the task of telling the people of Nineveh to repent. When Jonah received this order he was absolutely scandalized. Nineveh was the enemy, plain and simple. Jonah would have liked nothing more than to see Nineveh destroyed with no warning, far out of God’s good graces. He couldn’t fathom the idea that God would ever want to help such a city. God knew the people of Nineveh had strayed, but wanted to give them another chance, regardless of Jonah’s feelings on the matter. Jonah knew he could do nothing to change God’s mind. Rather than listening to God’s will, Jonah jumped on a ship and went the other way, unwilling to open his mind to any worldview outside his own. He hoped to hide from God and forget all about the task that was set before him. On the journey the ship was thrown into a terrible storm, showing everyone on board the amazing power of God. Everyone except Jonah. He slept through most of the storm, waking only when the others on the ship asked him to pray to his God for deliverance. While he admitted his wrongdoings and asked to be thrown overboard to save everyone else, he still refused to live into the mission God gave him. In spite of this, God provided a vessel to keep Jonah safe from the terrors of the sea, rather than let him suffer; a great fish to swallow him whole. Jonah saw this action as a punishment…his idea of salvation didn’t have anything to do with being in the belly of a fish.
The prayer we heard today is the moment that Jonah finally realized that God was looking out for him, that he should listen to God’s word. He was spewed onto land by the fish, safe and whole, and proceeded to Nineveh to proclaim God’s message. Just as he feared they repented…and God forgave. Jonah, who proclaimed from the depths of the fish “salvation belongs to the Lord!”, was furious. He KNEW God would be just and merciful and save Nineveh but didn’t want to believe it. He felt that mercy should belong to his people only, that his enemies should never be shown such compassion. He was so angry he wanted to die, thinking he could not live in a world where Nineveh was so loved and where his prayers were not answered in the ways he felt were best. Throughout his entire journey Jonah was only happy when he thought he was being taken care of in accordance with his wishes. When God’s will was different from his own he got angry and turned away from God. “Um, excuse me, this isn’t what I ordered!”

We often ask things of God knowing full well what we want to happen, hoping things will go our way…bit of fast food theology. “Thy Kingdom come (as long as it doesn’t interfere with my weekend, I’ve got plans). Thy will be done (unless it’s not what I want to do)…give us this day our daily bread (right away please), and forgive us our trespasses (although some of them were really necessary), as we forgive those who trespass against us (unless it’s someone I really don’t like). And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (preferably in the way that I want to be delivered, something that doesn’t require inconvenience or sacrifice on my part)”. The problem with buying into the fast food idea is that it’s not unusual for our prayers to be answered in ways that we don’t expect. And it’s an unsettling feeling when that happens. By placing our own agenda on God we get into dangerous territory. When our plans don’t go through it’s easy to believe that God is ignoring our desires. But…salvation belongs to the Lord. Regardless of our own intentions, God’s will for us is infinitely better than anything we could dream up on our own. Jonah had the opportunity to realize that, to have a hand in saving thousands and appreciate God’s infinite mercy in the process. But it was up to Jonah to make the leap and give up his preconceived notions of what it meant to be taken care of by God. In being unable to do so he missed out on the joy of living into his calling.

We are called to learn from Jonah’s journey, to see that amazing experiences come from following God’s will. Whether that will comes in the form of an unexpected answer or a giant fish, God has our best interest at heart. Having faith in that, giving up the fast food window and listening for what GOD wants, we are enabled to be open to lives free from our own selfish desires and full of abundant grace.

Amen.