Author: Administrador

God commanded the prophet of Israel to preach repentance to a faraway city whose evil was so great it rose up heavenward like a stench. Jonah’s vain efforts to refuse this mission and his bitter pain at its success have earned him the ridicule of commentators and preachers who call him petulant and small-minded, as … Continue reading “Jonah 3:10-4:11 Commentary by Anathea Portier-Young”

For reasons that make the book of Jonah a ripping good story, it takes a good while for Jonah to get to Nineveh. But when he finally delivers God’s message, the word spreads throughout the city. It even reaches the ears of the king, who proclaims a fast of both humans and beasts. “Who knows?” … Continue reading “Jonah 3:10-4:11 Commentary by Margaret Odell”

Not unlike the older brother of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-31), Jonah resents the graciousness of Yhwh toward the repentant inhabitants of Nineveh: He [Jonah] prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD! Isn’t this just what I said when I was still in my own country? That is why I fled beforehand to Tarshish. For I … Continue reading “Jonah 3:10-4:11 Commentary by Michael J. Chan”

Today is the day to tell the story of Jonah, for this is its only appearance in the regular lectionary cycle. Jonah is often thought of as a children’s story complete with a whale, but the real message of Jonah is an adult one with an opportunity to stretch our understanding of God and salvation. … Continue reading “Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Commentary by Beth L. Tanner”

“Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” It is difficult to imagine a less elegant prophetic oracle in the Old Testament. There are brutal messages of judgment and painful indictments throughout the prophets, and I can think of none so bare of rhetorical flourish as Jonah’s proclamation, yet this message inspires an entire city … Continue reading “Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Commentary by Callie Plunket-Brewton”

Jonah is more than just a big fish tale. Jonah is more than just a big fish tale. It is a humorous story with a point, and it is worth telling the whole story in your sermon, lingering on the details. If we follow the lectionary reading, we enter the story of Jonah right in … Continue reading “Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Commentary by Kathryn M. Schifferdecker”

The Book of Jonah is simultaneously pathetic and hilarious. It is pathetic because the character Jonah is so completely unfaithful. It is hilarious, first of all, because the narrator portrays so hyperbolically Jonah’s recalcitrance and the repentance of the people of Nineveh. And furthermore, the joke is on Jonah, since God fulfills God’s purposes by … Continue reading “Jonah 1:1-17; 3:1-10 (4:1-11) Commentary by J. Clinton McCann”

Commentary for these texts is forthcoming. PRAYER OF THE DAY God of the seas, sky, and land,When Jonah turned to run from you, you showed him that nothing and no one could hide from your presence. You are in all things, and you love all things. Show us the gift of your presence, and help us to … Continue reading “Jonah 1:1-17; 3:1-10 [4:1-11] Commentary by Roger Nam”

The old truism that “pride goes before the fall” (Proverbs 16:18) is, at least for Amos, gospel truth. God’s chosen people have become consumed by their pride and, echoing Micah 6, Amos condemns the unjust practices of a people who have lost their way. In verses 5-7 Amos puts words in the mouths of those … Continue reading “Amos 8:4-7 Commentary by Karl Jacobson”

The Theological Context of Amos 8:4-7: Justice This week’s Old Testament lesson from the prophet Amos offers a chance for preachers to explore with congregations the concept of justice, in order to “thicken” the church’s understanding of this central biblical concept.1  As most preachers are well aware, the eighth-century prophets Amos, Isaiah, and Micah were … Continue reading “Amos 8:4-7 Commentary by Rolf Jacobson”