In this Sunday’s Old Testament reading we hear a portion of the story from the book of Jonah. The selected reading doesn’t tell the whole story but the part you may remember is what happened when Jonah didn’t obey God. God told Jonah to go to the city of Ninevah because he had a message for them. Jonah didn’t want to go and instead went in the opposite direction. We can only speculate why he didn’t go. Was it too far? Was he frightened? Did he think he would fail? Was it too hard? We don’t know for sure. But what we do know is what happened next. Jonah hopped on a ship and sailed away from the direction of Ninevah. While on the boat a massive storm came up and the boat was being battered. The crew of the boat figured it was Jonah’s fault and asked what it is he had done to make God so angry. Eventually they threw him overboard and he was swallowed by a really big fish. Three days later the fish spit Jonah out on the shore very close to Ninevah. Eventually Jonah did as God requested and Ninevah escaped being destroyed because Jonah had carried God’s message to them.

I used to love that story as a child hearing it in Sunday School. Later on, as an adult I didn’t care for it as much. You see, God was calling me to go to seminary to become a pastor and I thought of every excuse in the book why it wasn’t going to happen. I remember my second year in seminary I was whining about how difficult my Greek class was. My supervisor said, “Fine Lu. Go ahead and quit. I’ll just come and look for you in the belly of a really big fish!” She was right and God was relentless in pursuing me. I did graduate seminary and here I am, a minister of word and sacrament…a pastor!

So, the question is, what is God calling you to do? It probably isn’t to go to Ninevah. It might be going to seminary or taking the diakonia course. But it’s probably something you know God has been calling you to do for a while now. Serve on a committee or church council? Teach WOW? Be a worship leader on Sunday morning? It could be a change in career or where you live. It could be to reach out and volunteer for an organization. Only you know what God is calling you to do. So, the question is, are you going to do it or can we expect to see a really big fish soon?

See you Sunday!