It is quite common for people to flee from God’s call as Jonah does (Jonah 1-2). This is especially the case when God calls a person like Jonah to do a task that requires a person to leave their home and announce an unpopular message in an unfamiliar place where they would probably not be welcome. Jonah not only does not heed God’s call, he takes off in the opposite direction from the land to which God sends him. He cares little for the havoc that his disobedience creates for the people around him, sleeping while others fight for their lives (cf. Jonah 1:5). Only when Jonah admits that his disobedience is the cause of their troubles can a way out of the mess can begin to be discerned.
Jonah’s admission of guilt is the first step towards saving not only himself, but also those around him. But admission of guilt is not enough. Jonah must now be cast off the boat and spend time in the dark hell of a sea monster before he can begin to accomplish the mission to which God originally called him. This can seem fanciful, but anyone who might be tempted to dismiss this story because of its mythic trappings should recall that Jesus himself quoted this story: “Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights” (Mt 12:40).
Let us ask God for the grace to recognize those areas in our life where our actions have led us in the opposite direction from God’s call, and perhaps even to have a sense of how those choices have caused us to burden others. Only then can we begin that journey into the depths that will prepare us to proclaim God’s saving Word to those to whom are be sent.