Last week, if you were paying attention to the reading assigned from the Old Testament, you would have noticed a question; it’s a question that has a very high value on the MIBS: the Mullen Interrogative Biblical Scale. The question comes from the Book of Genesis, the story of Joseph and his brothers, the sons of Jacob (well, most of them are half-brothers, really). Recall that Joseph’s brothers had been jealous of him, since he was sort of obviously their father’s favorite child, and he also made the unfortunate choice of sharing with his brothers his own dreams in which they (his brothers) are represented by sheaves of wheat that bow down to him, and in another, as stars that bow to him, acknowledging his superiority. Oh Joseph, thy name is sibling rivalry! Unsurprisingly, his brothers think Joseph is a brat, and they considered killing him, as nearly every sibling does when they realize their brother is a brat - ask my sister. But instead, they throw him into a cistern, then sell him into slavery, bringing back the report to their father that he was killed by a wild animal.
Joseph spent the next thirteen years or so (from his late teens till he was thirty) either in slavery or in prison, where he continued to interpret dreams. Eventually, it was this gift of interpreting dreams that brought him to the attention of Pharaoh, who asked Joseph to interpret his dreams, which Joseph did, resulting in the prediction of seven years of abundance in Egypt and the surrounding region, followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh was so impressed with Jospeh that he elevated him to be the Vizier of Egypt, the most senior position in his household and government. During the seven years of abundance, Joseph stockpiled grain. And when the famine came, as he had predicted, everyone had to come to Joseph to buy grain. And who should show up looking for grain in Egypt, because there is none to be found elsewhere, other than Jospeh’s brothers, whom he recognizes. But they do not recognize him. And Joseph does not reveal his identity to his brothers.
Much back-ing and forth-ing ensues, as Joseph manipulates the situation so that his brothers return home and bring their youngest sibling back with them. For, this brother, Benjamin, was the only other son of Jacob’s who was Joseph’s full-brother. In due course, Benjamin is brought to Egypt, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, there is a group hug, and their father Jacob is sent for. All these years, Jacob had believed that his favorite son was dead, devoured by a wild beast. But now, this son of his who once he thought was dead, is alive to him again!
So, there is joyful celebration when the entire family is reunited, and everyone lives happily ever after. Until Jacob dies. And when he dies, Jacob’s sons, Joseph’s half-brothers, ask the question that scores so highly on the MIBS. Cognizant that their brother’s deep concern had always been for the well-being of their father and their youngest brother Benjamin, and aware of the years in slavery and prison that Joseph had endured - what should have been the best years of his life - Joseph’s brothers asked one another, somewhat poignantly, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?” This is a great question! What if Joseph still bears a grudge?
And this great question occasions a spectacular answer from Joseph, as he considers all that he suffered as a result of the wickedness of his brothers, but also, the remarkable path that had made him Vizier of Egypt, and resulted in the wide distribution of grain during a time of famine and dearth. He looks at his brothers and he says to them (as the KJV puts it) “…as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.” This is a stunning moment, and a stunning reply to that worrisome question, “What if Jospeh still bears a grudge against us?” You intended it for evil, but God intended it for good.
I bring all this up from last week, when we were reminded, from different quarters of the scriptures, of the importance of forgiveness in God’s economy and in God’s heart, because today the Hebrew Scriptures offer us not just another question, but another perspective on these matters, in the story of Jonah.
The text today does not supply us with a question that ranks quite so highly on the MIBS, but it will have to do, and it’s not so bad a question to consider. This question comes after Jonah, who has tried hard to escape God, as you might recall, is sulking or pouting, or both after the people of Nineveh have actually heeded his call to repent, which he never really expected them to do. Recall that Jonah had been called by God to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh because of their wickedness. But Jonah wants nothing to do with this mission, so he high-tails it in the other direction, and sets sail on a ship for Tarshish. A dreadful storm arises that imperils all on board, and the sailors look for someone to blame. All signs point to Jonah. And so, the sailors eventually throw him overboard, whence he is swelled by a large fish, often thought to be a whale, and Jonah lives in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights before the whale eventually belches Jonah up onto the shore.
Beaten, Jonah gives in and goes to Nineveh to preach repentance. And before he can even get across town, the people of Nineveh, great and small, all put on sackcloth and repent of their wickedness, even the king. The text we heard today tells us that “when God saw what the people of Nineveh did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.”
You would think that Jonah would be pleased that he had been so successful, so fruitful in his ministry; that the people had heeded his warning and that God had spared them. But the story goes on to tell us how Jonah whines to God, when the people repent: “…this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.’”
Yes, Jonah is displeased and angry. And God asks Jonah the question for the MIBS, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
I suppose there are a number of ways to interpret what Jonah is angry about, but let me tell you what I think. I think Jonah is angry precisely because God refuses to bear a grudge against the people of Nineveh, and God refuses to pay them back in full for the wrong they did to him. Yes, I think that Jonah is angry because God refuses to hold a grudge.
Loopy as this sounds, there is, of course, a well-developed strand of Christian thought built on the premise that God holds grudges. It’s not a strand of thought that I have spent too much time with, and I don’t want to rehearse it for you here, but this possibility that some Christians have been taught to believe that God bears a mean grudge against us humans, his creation, and intends to pay us back in full for the wrongs that we have done, might sound familiar to you.
But it probably doesn’t sound much like love, does it?
All along, Jonah, who has a deep cynical streak in him, has known that he would end up being angry with God. And we heard him tell us exactly why: “I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.” God refuses to bear a grudge.
There was another question that occurred in the parable of the laborers in the UAW… I mean, the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. We haven’t got time for me to go through the story of Joseph and his brothers, the story of Jonah, and the parable of the laborers in the vineyard in detail. And I’m not sure that it much matters if I go through that entire parable; the question should be enough. It’s a question that I think gets a pretty high score on the MIBS, and this is it: “are you envious because I am generous?”
Now, it may be that the parable doesn’t quite line up labor and management the way we would like it, but it is clear that the owner of the vineyard wants everyone to be at work in the vineyard, and wants everyone to get paid generously. Let me say that again, I think the owner of the vineyard wants everyone to get paid generously. Everyone. Paid. Generously.
And the question in the face of generosity to those to whom generosity might not otherwise be given is this: are you envious because I am generous?
How is God generous? Ask Jonah, for he knows: I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.
Or ask God himself, who provides yet another question (this one rhetorical) that scores high on the MIBS: “should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left?”
What if God still holds a grudge against us for all the wickedness we have done…in our great cities, where there is such confusion… in our nations, where there is such discord… in so many places where we do not even know our right hand from our left?
Is it right for you to be angry that God does not hold a grudge?
Is it right to resent God because he is a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing?
Or are you envious because he is generous to those to whom no one else is inclined to be generous, even those who came late to the vineyard?
Is it right for you to be angry because God refuses to bear a grudge?
Preached by Fr. Sean Mullen
24 September 2023
Saint Mark’s, Locust Street, Philadelphia
Jonah leaving the whale, by Claude Joseph Vernet