by Barbara Cooper
It took Jonah some time to get his act together. He didn't really
want to go to Nineveh. After all, Nineveh was "those people":
strangers, pagans, enemies. So Jonah tried to run and hide from God.
We all know it didn't work out well. The ship he sailed on was
threatened by a storm, he was thrown overboard and swallowed by a
big fish. After sloshing around in the fish's belly he was thrown up
on land and reluctantly went to Nineveh "according to the Lord's
bidding."
What was most galling was that "those people" repented and God
didn't destroy them.
The fishermen in Mark's gospel seem not to hesitate at all when they
are called by Jesus. They immediately leave what they are doing and
go. I can imagine the shock felt by Zebedee and the others. "Oy,
where are you going? What about the fish? What about the nets? Our
livelihood? Your responsibilities?" Followed by a few choice words.
And what was going through the minds and hearts of Simon, Andrew,
James and John? Maybe they already knew Jesus from a common interest
and following of John the Baptizer. Maybe it's Marks way of saying:
"We don't have time to muck about like Jonah did. The Kingdom of God
is at hand. It is urgent that people know."
The early Christians expected Jesus to return and establish God's
Kingdom soon, even "today". Their idea of what that Kingdom meant
varied over time. For many it meant restoring Israel to a position
of power in the world, like the days of David and Solomon. It was
the same kingdom, just with them at the top instead of Rome. They
longed to see this happen. They waited, and waited, and waited. They
received God's Spirit. They wondered what God's Kingdom was about
... that kingdom that hadn't arrived as they expected.
As the centuries passed, we lost the urgency. But the Spirit is
still at work. We know that the Kingdom of God, that Kin-dom
community, is here. It's not what we expected. Jesus hasn't come and
destroyed those we judge to be evildoers. God's Kingdom is not
associated with any particular Country or government. It is much
more intimate.
What we looked for was, all along, near to us - within our own
hearts and lives. The Kingdom is not a political system established
by a triumphant Jesus, but the living of Be-attitudes by us,
individually and in community. It is the blessings of the poor, the
peacemakers, the non-violent, those who hunger and thirst for social
justice.
But the urgency is greater than ever. The other kingdoms that we
have served are leading us to destruction, not by God but by our own
choices. We are destroying our planet, killing our brothers and
sisters in ever more efficient ways, caught in a whirlpool of
unsustainable consumption. As with the Ninevites, God does not want
our destruction.
The thing is, what do we want?
(Comments to bcoop60@yahoo.com)