Psalm 131

If we are looking for a psalm that’s got a bit of guidance, a bit of reassurance, and a bit of challenge, then I think we could accept Psalm 131 as a contender.  We live in a world where we are always being encouraged to try for something better, whether it is a better car, a tastier meal, a more compelling fragrance, more advanced technology or whatever, and we are effectively told that we need these things.  We live in a world of noise and speed.  We live in a world where, though many are flushed with over-confidence, many others plunge the depths of hopelessness and despair.  How do we function in such a world?  How should we function in such a world?  I want to suggest that I think this psalm will help us to get our perspective right.

G A F Knight describes this psalm as “a beautiful short meditation going to the heart of a human being’s reliance upon the God of love.”  Walter Brueggemann describes it as “a remarkable domestic metaphor” making “a stunning theological affirmation about the proper ordering of life.”  Brueggemann goes on to say: “If Psalm 131 were taken as the whole of our relationship with God, one might judge it to be naïve and romantic.  Without taking it for the whole statement, it does provide for us a remarkable metaphor for some dimensions of faithful living that are lost in many of our other images for our relationship with God.” 

We will explore that further, but let’s begin by getting a little bit of context.  It is commonly thought that this would be one of the songs that pilgrims sang as they made their way to the place of worship.  Thus, The Message lists it as ‘a pilgrim song’ and the NIV as ‘a song of ascents’.  Traditionally it has been ascribed to David, but most recent commentators suggest that the author is probably a woman because of the imagery that is used.  If it is not actually written by a woman, it is suggested that a woman is certainly being quoted.  As one commentator says: “The gentle words of Psalm 131 create a powerful image for relationship with God.”[1]  And that is why I have chosen this passage – because I think it says a lot that is helpful about our relationship with God.

Verse 1.  The psalm begins with a clear statement of humility.  Surely that is how we should approach God.  When we think about it, we know that well – but it is worth reminding ourselves just how counter-cultural such an approach is.  The way of the world is a way of grabbing position and status.  The psalmist here reminds herself of how much she needs God.  What is depicted is what might be described as “an attitude of grateful submission”.[2]  As Brueggemann puts it: “It is not a relationship between equals, but is one of subordination, submission, trust, which this speaker gladly accepts.”

It is key to our faith that God values us – we are important.  And I think that is recognised in the very possibility of this approach.  If the psalmist didn’t matter to God, she would not be able to approach him.  God provides us with a refuge, a safe place, and that allows us to take up the possibility of going into the unknown.  We may, for example, draw a parallel with the story of Jacob wrestling.  Like the psalmist, Jacob is wondering who God is – but, unlike the psalmist’s reflective approach, Jacob find himself engaging in a very active response.

In verse 2 we have rather a picture of contentment and peace.  This would seem to suggest that the humble approach has not come because of oppression or degradation.  One way of making folk crawl is to humiliate them but, though the root of the words is the same, this humble approach does not stem from being humiliated.  Indeed, the picture that is given is one of tender intimacy.  We see a weaned child with its mother and, as has been said, “We can almost feel the child snuggling into that calming embrace.”[3]  A child doesn’t understand why he or she feels safe, but that is how it is.  Brueggemann sees this verse as “an affirmation of serenity and well-being from one who trusts in God’s motherly care.”  We have already talked about the refuge, the safe place, in connection with verse 1.  Here it is.  This word picture offers a strong image of safety, allowing us to see ourselves as “humble, trusting recipients of God’s abundant grace.”[4]  We have also mentioned how this psalm can be seen as a pilgrim song, sung on the way to worship.  In worship we need to recognise, as verse 1 does, how awesome God is.  But we need also to recognise, as verse 2, how God cares for us as tenderly as a mother cares for her child.

Verse 3 identifies Israel as the trusting child and encourages us to hope in the Lord.  Some commentators think that verse 3 is a later addition, and that the original psalm simply consisted of the first two verses.  Whether that is true or not, it is certainly the case that what we have is an encouragement or exhortation that could fit many contexts.  It is certainly a timely reminder that waiting on God, hoping in God, is the way ahead to which we are challenged.  And, as one commentator puts it: “our task here on earth is not to give easy answers or quick fixes, but to follow on the way.”[5]  The reason for the humility reflected in verse 2 is to encourage the listener to wait for God.  And that point is emphasised as we look back and take note of the fact that the psalmist compares the devout worshipper to a child, even though in that time children would be, at least, ignored, and quite possibly oppressed.  There are echoes, of course, picked up by Jesus when he talks about being like children.  It is also interesting that, in this relatively early passage, the work of mothering is compared to the work of God.  Brueggemann says: “Israel is able to hope and to receive good gifts from this feeding God.”

---

[1] April Berends – Feasting on the Word

[2] Alan Palmer & Debra Reid – Crossway commentary

[3] Lisa M Wolfe – Feasting on the Word

[4] April Berends – Feasting on the Word

[5] Michael B Curry – Feasting on the Word

Andrew's Story - John 1:25-39

It was exciting being one of John’s team.  The crowds used to call him the Baptiser.  That’s how he got his reputation – by encouraging people to get baptised as an indication that they knew they had gone wrong.  Baptising them was John’s way of saying that God forgave them.  We used to joke that it was always wet around John.  Certainly he was never happier than when he was in the river with people trooping in to be ducked under and claiming God’s forgiveness.  We were a bit like John’s bouncers.  We used to keep order – make sure he didn’t get rushed.  We also used to watch out for troublemakers, both the religious-toff-kind and the let’s-have-a-laugh-by-causing-trouble-kind.

They were good times.  We got on well.  You knew where you were with John.  We couldn’t imagine him not wanting us around.  Then, one day, he pointed out his cousin.  Jesus just happened to be walking by.  John didn’t miss a beat.  He just told us that if we wanted to get to know someone really special we ought to take a look at Jesus.  He said that Jesus was the one who God had marked out for something quite unique.  He called him the ‘Lamb of God’.  That seemed a bit strange.  Sheep are smelly, dirty creatures best left out on the hills.  Normally we only came across lambs when they were on our dinner plate, smothered in gravy and with a few nice vegetables.  That didn’t happen very often.  It was too expensive.  The only other place for lambs was as a sacrifice.

But John was clearly suggesting that we ought to check in with Jesus.  We hesitated for a moment in case John was just trying to get rid of us – but it quickly became obvious: not so.  John wanted us to have this new experience which was more than he could offer.

Well, of course I didn’t want Simon to miss out, so I rushed off to find him first.  Then it was all systems go on following Jesus.

At the beginning we just hung around to see what was happening.  Jesus noticed what was going on and asked us what we were looking for.  We didn’t know how to answer that, so we just asked him where he was staying.

He invited us to go and see, so we did and, as you know, the rest is now history.

Written at St. Beuno’s, 5/7/11.

Jonah 3:1 - 4:11

As we move into the second half of the book, chapters 3 and 4, we are, in a sense, back at the beginning of the story because, chapter 3, verse 1 – a second time the word of the Lord came to Jonah.  God certainly hasn’t given up on Jonah.  How wonderful that God doesn’t give up on us when we let him down.  Jonah had gone to considerable trouble to avoid God’s call.  But God still wants Jonah to work for him – and he even wants him to do precisely the same thing that Jonah has earlier walked away from.  However, though it might seem that Jonah is just back to square one, that is not entirely true.  This is not simply the word of the Lord coming to Jonah.  This is the word of the Lord coming to Jonah for a second time – and a second chance is not exactly the same as a first chance.  The reminder that this is a second chance is “an important reminder of one of the book’s major themes, that of repentance” and that even “repentance is grounded in God’s generosity.”[1]  What is interesting, though, is that in calling Jonah for a second time God graciously makes no reference to the prophet’s previous failure.  Nor does he remind him of his deliverance.  There is no rebuke, no threat – simply Jonah is called again.  The call respects Jonah.  It comes because God has confidence that Jonah is the person for this task.  It assumes that Jonah will take up this vocation.  But Jonah still has the choice.  Jonah is still free to say either ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

He certainly has a clear call to which to respond.  Verse 2 – Go to the great city of Nineveh; go and denounce it in the words that I give you.  We need to remember where Jonah has been since last he heard these words.  In a sense he has been to hell and back.  He has plumbed the depths of anguish.  He may be free to make whatever responses he wishes, but surely there can be no doubt as to the response that he will make.  He is not going to want to repeat the experience that he has just had.  However, none of this makes this particular call any more enticing than it was first time round.  Maybe Jonah is going to respond differently second time round, in terms of what he does – but it seems highly unlikely that he will feel any differently. 

The whole question of call is one that comes up repeatedly in the Bible – and it is not always easy to deal with.  Of course, we should respond to God’s call.  But what if that call seems unreasonable?  What if that call is taking us places where we really do not want to go?  We can admire the first disciples of Jesus for their ready response to his call, but it certainly took them a difficult road.  Isaiah, when he first heard the call, really didn’t know what to do because he didn’t feel that he was good enough.  Moses argued that he wasn’t a good enough speaker.  Jeremiah suggested to God that he was too young.  But when God calls us he calls us.  It may be that “the call takes us into the frighteningly unfamiliar, which tests our faith.”  It may be that “we learn of its strength and authenticity when we are weak and vulnerable, walking along unknown roads and among strange people.  ... God calls us to places where we will be weak, vulnerable and exposed to the cross, to death, for only then can we know the power of his resurrection.”[2]

Before we continue with the text, let us explore a little the question of why Jonah was sent to Nineveh.  After all, that is certainly the question that Jonah himself was asking.  God speaks of it as ‘that great city’.  The real point, though, is probably nothing to do with Nineveh as a specific place.  This is about God’s love spreading out to everywhere and to everyone.  That is what Jonah needed to learn.  God’s love is far bigger than we expect it to be.  It reaches way beyond what we can see.  Jonah’s problem, as one commentator rather unkindly, but accurately, put it, is that he was a religious bigot.  He “could not bear the idea that God (Yahweh) might want to extend his kindness to people who were not members of his own religion, and especially if those people were living in great sin like the people of Nineveh.”[3]  Nineveh, in a sense, represents the Great Commission.  Jesus told his first disciples, Matthew 28:19 – Go therefore to all nations ....  Jonah needed to learn that God’s love is not subject to restrictions, geographical, national, or any other.  God has a mission for Jonah.  “The word ‘mission’ is not found in the pages of Scripture, but there is a good deal in the Bible about God ‘sending’ men and women into the world.  ....  The particular insight concerning mission which we discover in the book of Jonah is that the prophet is not simply sent to the house of Israel.  Surprisingly, he is sent to the pagan city of Nineveh.  .... Mission is about extending the boundaries of our life, whether it be the life of a church or an individual believer.  ....  This inevitably leads to a loss of control on the part of those called to engage in God’s mission, but their task is to be obedient to God’s call, not to control it.”[4]  I think this is a really important point.  There are few, probably none, of us who would not agree that we ought to be responding to God’s call – but there is a question as to whether, sometimes, a bit like Jonah, we want to give God a bit of advice as to what that call ought to be.  We need to learn to just leave it to God.  We know that God knows best, but let’s live that out!

Jonah could have said ‘no’ again – but he didn’t.  This time Jonah does as God directs.  Verse 3 of chapter 3 – Jonah obeyed and went at once to Nineveh.  It was a vast city, three days journey across.  If we are to take this literally, this suggests a massive city, perhaps forty miles across.  And, in fact, we know that it was nothing like as big as that.  “Excavations indicate that Nineveh in the eighth century BC was a walled city .. with a total perimiter of about seven and a half miles.  The longest distance across the city was about two and three quarter miles.  Does this statement mean that Jonah wandered to and fro through the city?  Or does it include a day for coming in through the suburbs and a day for returning?  Or is it a storyteller’s exaggeration, for effect?”[5]  I think it is fairly clear that it is this last.  The writer is wanting to let us know that this is a big city, and so this is a big project that has been given to Jonah.  As one commentator says: “The reader is not supposed to do arithmetic.  He is supposed to be lost in astonishment.”[6]

It is a big city.  It is also interesting to note that we are told that Jonah gets on with this task ‘at once’.  Having finally decided to do that which God is asking of him, he doesn’t use delaying tactics.  He doesn’t spend a lot of time planning and preparing.  He just gets on with it.  And so, verse 4 – and Jonah began by going a day’s journey into it.  Then he proclaimed: ‘In forty days Nineveh will be overthrown!’  This is a pretty stark message.  There is nothing here that offers the people of Nineveh any kind of positive message.  It is a bad news day.  It is a short sermon – just five words in Hebrew, seven in English – ‘in forty days Nineveh will be overthrown’.  It is a message of doom.  Jonah is doing what he has been told to do but, unlike most preachers, he doesn’t want anyone to listen to him.  Jonah is just going through the motions.  One commentator suggests that Jonah “makes his message as vague and as blunt and as offensive as he possibly can.  It is suggested that he delivered a message that would make it almost impossible for the people to respond positively.  And yet they do so in a manner quite beyond the realm of human calculation.”[7]     Jonah gets a big response – to his horror!  Jonah’s message for the people of Nineveh is that they have no future as a people.  They will be overthrown.  Only it is not going to happen – because the next four verses, 5 to 8 – describe a response that Jonah, for one, certainly did not expect.  The people of Nineveh took to heart this warning from God; they declared a public fast, and high and low alike put on sackcloth.  When the news reached the king of Nineveh he rose from his throne, laid aside his robes of state, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.  He had this proclamation made in Nineveh: ‘By decree of the king and his nobles, neither man nor beast is to touch any food; neither herd nor flock may eat or drink.  Every person and every animal is to be covered with sackcloth.  Let all pray with fervour to God, and let them abandon their wicked ways and the injustice they practise.  Here the people of Nineveh follow in the path of the sailors who appear earlier in this story of Jonah.  They just need a single glimpse of God – and they immediately believe.  “Of their own accord the people of Nineveh undertook to be reconciled with God.  They did not wait for orders from their king.  It was they who inspired the king to join them in the act of contrition.  A ruler both influences and reflects the public opinion of his subjects, for good or ill.  Their response could not have been more different from Jonah’s initial reaction to God’s call.  The contrast is stark.”[8]

Not only do the people respond, but even the animals are brought in to this act of repentance.  The narrator certainly stresses Jonah’s success.  “St Francis preached to the animals, but only Jonah in the history of preaching ever brought about the prayer and repentance of sheep and goats.”[9]  It is an amazing picture.  There is solidarity throughout Nineveh.  There is a mass turning to God and the ways and worship of God.  The people don’t follow Jonah in terms of the question of how to respond to a call.  But they do recognise his role as God’s mouthpiece and the fact that this is something to which they must respond.  This is something which will change them.  When God wants to change us, how quickly do we respond?  “Rather like the disciples by the Sea of Galilee who, on hearing the call of Jesus to ‘Follow me’, immediately left their nets to follow him, so the people of Nineveh respond unquestioningly.”[10]

So that is part of what happens.  The other part of what happens is what God does.  The king has suggested, verse 9 – It may be that God will relent and turn from his fierce anger: and so we shall not perish.  And what happens?  Verse 10 – When God saw what they did and how they have up their wicked ways, he relented and did not inflict on them the punishment he had threatened.  The king’s encouragement towards a change of behaviour is an expression of hope.  The king and the people hope that God may just choose to spare them from that which had been indicated as coming their way.  “The truth which the Ninevites recognise is God’s readiness to be merciful.  They cast themselves on his mercy and discover that he is merciful.  ‘Deliverance belongs to the Lord.’  Perhaps one of the most wonderful truths lying at the heart of the book of Jonah is that God turns to those who turn to him.  Even more wonderful is the truth that he does not turn away from those who, like Jonah, turn away from him.”[11]

God responds positively to the positive response of the Ninevites.  There is a direct parallel here.  As they have turned from their evil ways, so God has turned from what he was going to do in view of their previous behaviour.  “Jonah’s approach to Nineveh was simple: the city was wicked and should be punished.  God’s approach to Nineveh was simple: the city had changed and should be delivered.”[12]  Jonah expects God to be predictable and consistent, rewarding the good and punishing the bad – that is only fair.  But God rather operates from a basis of unqualified love.  The basic theological issue between God and Jonah is God’s justice – “God not treating people according to what they deserve.”  “God is much too free with his mercy.”  “God should be more strict.”[13]  According to Jonah, mission needs to be limited and to exclude the truly wicked.  According to God, there are no limits.  God’s love will go where God wants it to go.  It is not for Jonah – or anyone else – to put up barriers that will restrict it.  The Ninevites may have done a lot that was wrong, but their view of things has now changed.  The way they behave has now changed.  And God wants to respond to where they are now.  This chapter closes with the dramatic announcement of God’s change of plans.  And the people of Nineveh can rejoice in the deliverance.  And Jonah ...   well, Jonah is quite disgruntled. 

The final chapter of the book explores something of what happens with and to a disgruntled prophet.  Jonah is not happy that his preaching has been so successful.  The first verse of chapter 4 simply states Jonah’s anger and displeasure.  “That the Lord shows mercy to Nineveh is confused by Jonah with favouritism to Nineveh over Israel; and Jonah is profoundly jealous and angry.  It is clearly not fair that God should behave in this way and abandon his people in favour of sinners.”[14]  Jonah is completely at odds with what is going on now.  He feels that the Ninevites have had an escape which ought not to have come their way.

In verses 2 and 3, Jonah prays to God – It is just as I feared, Lord, when I was still in my own country, and it was to forestall this that I tried to escape to Tarshish.  I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, long-suffering, ever constant, always ready to relent and not inflict punishment.  Now take away my life, Lord: I should be better dead than alive.  Here Jonah confesses how he feels.  He recognises God’s good attributes.  Indeed, his prayer really amounts to a confession of faith as he describes what God is like.  However, despite this understanding, he remains upset and angry at what has happened.  He explains his previous action in running away by saying that this current situation is precisely what he had wanted to avoid.  “While he was still in his home country of Israel and was given the Nineveh assignment, he had suspected that the people of that city might repent.  Because he knew something about the nature of the Lord who gave him the assignment, he also suspected that if they did repent, the Lord might call off the punishment.  Jonah did not want the people of Nineveh to repent and be forgiven, which is why he tried to run away to Tarshish.”[15]  “It seems, therefore, that Jonah’s distress arises out of the very nature of God and the implications of God’s nature for Israel as well as himself.  His responses are transparently honest, exposing human self-interest and the need for security.  God’s relenting over Nineveh undermines Jonah’s security, forcing him to speak face to face with God himself.  Jonah was called to push out the boundaries of his experience of God.  He was called to teach the people of Nineveh about their Creator.  Through the Ninevites, however, God teaches Jonah that he is at liberty to act as he will with whom he will.  The story underlines God’s freedom and the finitude of human beings in understanding the ways of God.”[16]

God responds with a question.  Verse 4 – ‘Are you right to be angry?’ said the Lord.  I wonder if God has any questions for us and, if he has, how we are responding.  It is interesting that God doesn’t just say – ‘don’t be angry!’  God rather tries to take Jonah to the roots of his feelings and, in this simple question, encourages him to explore and question what he is feeling.  Here we listen in on an exchange between Jonah and God which takes us to the root of what God is doing and also of how Jonah is reacting.

What does Jonah do?  Well, sadly, he walks out on the discussion.  Jonah has no words with which to answer this question from God.  Actions often speak louder than words and what Jonah does speaks volumes.  Verse 5 – Jonah went out and sat down to the east of Nineveh, where he made himself a shelter and sat in its shade, waiting to see what would happen in the city.  “In silence Jonah had fled God’s presence.  Now, in silence, he walks away from God’s question and finds a more comfortable place to be.”[17]  Jonah just walks away and waits to see what will happen.  Maybe he thinks that some catastrophe will still strike the city – and is waiting to be vindicated.  It is interesting that he doesn’t just disappear.  He still seems to have some kind of engagement with the city, or feeling towards it, as he waits to see what will happen. 

Then there is the little incident of the plant.  For the second time God offers Jonah some kind of rescue.  The last occasion was much more acute – the great fish that rescued him from the sea.  Now it is a plant to provide him shade from the hot sun – and Jonah is grateful for this provision.  Verse 6 – The Lord God ordained that a climbing gourd should grow up above Jonah’s head to throw its shade over him and relieve his discomfort, and he was very glad of it.  And this offers us a fascinating insight into Jonah’s varying response to God’s provision.  “God’s gracious provision for him brought Jonah great joy; God’s gracious provision for Nineveh brought him great anger.  Despite this anger, God had not deserted his prophet.  He came to comfort him.  ... God’s provision of a plant to shelter Jonah was the high point of the prophet’s experience in this story.  That he found no joy in the repentance of the great city of Nineveh points to his fundamental unease with God on this matter.  Jonah and God did not see things in the same way; their goals did not coincide.”[18]

But then catastrophe hits, not the city, but Jonah.  It is a small catastrophe in the great scheme of things, but it has a huge significance because God wants to use this to speak to Jonah.  What happens?  Verses 7 and 8 – But at dawn the next day God ordained that a worm should attack the gourd, and it withered; and when the sun came up God ordained that a scorching wind should blow from the east.  The sun beat down on Jonah’s head till he grew faint, and he prayed for death; ‘I should be better dead than alive,’ he said.  Jonah suddenly finds himself in an entirely different situation.  If he had never had shade, he would have been suffering from the heat, but he wouldn’t feel, as he does, that something had been taken away from him.  Part of the point of this story is that God has all things in hand but, as we will see in a moment, there is also a significant lesson for Jonah to learn.

This really takes us into the final verses of the chapter – verses 9, 10 and 11.

“The story ends as it began, with a word from the Lord.  ...  The Lord points out that Jonah cared deeply about a plant, over which he had not laboured and which he had not nurtured.”[19]  Again the issue is Jonah’s anger – though I think that the anger is just a symptom and that the fundamental issue runs far deeper.  It is a question of Jonah’s understanding of God and the nature of God.  Jonah can say great things about the nature of God.  He has a high doctrine of God.  But he has a huge problem in translating this into practical action. 

What happened next?  We don’t know.  Did Jonah see reason and come to a better understanding of God?  Was Jonah given another mission?  What happened in the city of Nineveh?  Was the life of the city transformed in a way that remained effective?

It would be nice to have all those answers – but we are not told.  Because this isn’t about a neat story with a happy, or even a sad, ending.  It is about reflecting on the challenges which Jonah found himself having to explore and about reflecting on our understanding of God and where and whether that needs to be broadened.  For sure, God is bigger and greater than we can grasp.

---

[1] T A Perry, p. 41

[2] Rosemary Nixon, p. 158

[3] Paul Murray, p. 53

[4] Rosemary Nixon, p. 160

[5] James Limburg, p. 78

[6] Wolff, quoted in Limburg, p. 78

[7] Terence Fretheim, p. 108

[8] Rosemary Nixon, p. 166

[9] Terence Fretheim, p. 111

[10] Rosemary Nixon, p. 172

[11] Rosemary Nixon, p. 171

[12] Rosemary Nixon, p. 174

[13] Terence Fretheim, p. 24

[14] D Peter Burrows, p. 129

[15] James Limburg, p. 89/90

[16] Rosemary Nixon, p. 185

[17] Rosemary Nixon, p. 194

[18] Rosemary Nixon, p. 195

[19] James Limburg, p. 97