Jonah 2: God is always listening (Jonah 2); Patrice Berger

Jonah 2: God is always listening (Jonah 2); Patrice Berger

Sermon: Jonah Chapter 2

Very interesting text

Today’s text is super interesting, especially in relation to the baptism experienced previously.

Spiritual gesture = psychological echo

Finally, is this story of baptism only a human story that echoes certain aspirations for one or the other that would be more sensitive, more spiritual?

We hear these kinds of ideas and proposals, sometimes they are shorter: “If it makes you feel good, do it…”, as if it were a remedy, as others play sports, walk in the nature or mediate.

Horizontal vision

So we stay on the horizontal plane, on the plane of the things we manage to explain, denying what we don’t see.

At the same time, call upon the service of the hereafter

And at the same time, the same people will run to a fire helmsman, someone who does secrecy or watch all the series with parallel worlds.

It’s a revealer

It might be weird, but it reveals one thing.

We call on the beyond

Even if we can’t demonstrate it materially, there is something in us that appeals to what we don’t see.

Bottle in the sea ?

But is this call in a vacuum?

Do the gestures, the prayers, our attitude of respectful life, our praises, our adorations go into a vacuum?
Is baptism a gesture that really gathers an echo beyond the circle of friends that we form?

Answer in text

It seems to me that today’s text will give us a certain answer.

Indeed, we take the continuation of what we saw the last time.

True story of Jonas

The true story of Jonah authenticated by Jesus Himself, through His resurrection.

Jonah, prophet of God, refuses to preach repentance to his enemies, fleeing by boat 4000 km from where God calls him! A storm stops this flight, to avoid shipwreck, Jonas, who is the cause of this cataclysm, is thrown overboard, and the storm stops. Jonas in the middle of the sea is swallowed by a large fish.

Let’s read on:

Jonah Chapter 1

1 The Lord brought a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish. 2 From the belly of the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God, 3 saying, “In my distress I called on the Lord, and he answered me. From the midst of Hades I called for help, and you heard my voice. 4 You threw me into the abyss, into the depths of the sea, and the currents surrounded me; all your waves and all your waves have passed over me. 5 I said, ‘I am driven out of your sight,’ but I will still see your holy temple. 6 The water covered me until it took my life. The abyss enveloped me, the seaweed wrapped around my head. 7 I have descended to the roots of the mountains. The bolts of the earth bound me forever, but you brought me up alive from the abyss, Eternal, my God! 8 When my soul was crushed within me, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you in your holy temple. 9 Those who cling to weak idols drive goodness away from them. 10 As for me, I will offer you sacrifices with a cry of thanksgiving, I will fulfill the vows I have made. Salvation comes from the Lord.” 11 The LORD spoke to the fish, and the fish vomited Jonah onto the ground.

Extraordinary episode!

Attention scientific explanation: fish

I’m not going to go out and play the average scientist to prove the plausibility of a man’s survival in the belly of a fish. We know nothing more than what the Bible tells us, and we know that it is just as true and just as inexplicable to our knowledge and reason as the resurrection of Christ.

God in total control

Instead of stopping at sterile speculation, let us marvel at the total mastery that God has over all creation.

Elements like the sea
The animal world like the fish (“brought poison.” “The Lord spoke to the fish”). The book of Jonas is certainly one of those which shows the gaze that God has on the animal world.
Human like Jonah.
God is in control and He is not stopped by anything on this planet!

invisible god works

In this we already have an answer to our original question:

what we do not see is acting;
what we don’t see is much stronger and more active than what we can.
Would man be a toy for God

OK, but are we the playthings of the goodwill of what is beyond us? Is there an interaction between men and what is beyond us?

Here again, this morning’s text gives us clues

Jonas knows he is listened to

Jonas knows that God is listening to him and following his prayer, God orders the fish to spit out Jonas.

Conclusion

There is therefore interaction: man through prayer can speak to God.

Let’s take a closer look.

Prayer comes to God

Prayer is not a bottle in the sea but the words reach God, God hears them, God answers them.

Verse 3

“In my distress I called on the Lord, and he answered me.

From the midst of Hades I called for help,

and you heard my voice

Verse 8

and my prayer has reached you,

Circumstances

It is still super interesting to note the circumstances in which this prayer is received.

Context

If you were the boss and your employee didn’t do what he was hired to do, and what’s more, went thousands of miles away from his place of work, not only would he be fired, but more, you would not want to hear any more about this sad sire, especially so that you come to help him out because he got into trouble by fleeing!

Exactly God / Jonah

This is the context in which Jonah prays: he has put himself in distress, this leads him to rub shoulders with death (verses 3, 4, 6); it would make sense for the relationship with God to be severed, for God to forever shut off the tap of His blessings (verse 5)

Psychological plan

Psychologically, Jonah is a spoonful (verse 8).

Not an excuse not to pray

And yet on the edge of this precipice, fatal on all counts, Jonas knows he can:

talk to God,
cry out to God,
pray to him,
beg him,
implore it.
Honestly, when it’s vital, we stop the useless “tralalas” and we rely on what is certain.

Jonah Knows the Character of God

The text says that he “remembered”, not that he had forgotten the Eternal.

Because he knows the Eternal, His personality, everything in His hand is possible:

    You threw me into the abyss (verse 4).

And at the same time, he knows that God can get him out of this impasse:

    but you raised me alive from the abyss, O Lord my God! (verse 7)

Conclusion

Prayer, even in the worst circumstances, even if it is we who are responsible for it and even if it is because we have challenged God, is heard by God.

Our aspirations, our gaze towards the beyond is not a word that is lost in the echo of our voice, we do not tell it to ourselves, it is heard in a certain way.

Baptism of September 2, 2018

In this, the baptism of September 2, 2018 is not just a story of man, God took it into account.

Jonas knew it

Our “jerk” Jonah knew this because he had a relationship with God. He calls him “my God”, not that he invented this divinity

(besides it would have been useless in such circumstances, as in all other circumstances as he says in verse 9). No Jonas calls him “my God” because he has come to know Him and cultivates a habit of relating with Him even if he does anything. Cultivate a relationship with God, so that even in difficult circumstances, these do not take over the reality of God, of His character, of what He likes, of what He can do. To illustrate that God listens even if we challenge Him, we do the opposite, Jesus told this story:

Luke 15 /11-24

11 He said again, “A man had two sons. 12 The youngest said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the inheritance.’ The father then shared his property with them. 13 A few days later, the youngest son picked up everything and left for a distant country, where he wasted his fortune by living in debauchery. 14 After he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country and he began to be in want. 15 He went and served one of the inhabitants of the country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would have liked to eat the locust beans that the swine ate, but no one gave him any. 17 He began to reflect and said to himself, ‘How many workers at my father’s have plenty of bread, and I, here, am starving! 18 I will return to my father and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you, 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son, treat me as one of your workers.’ 20 He got up and went to his father. While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion, he ran to throw himself on his neck and kissed him. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring [quickly] the best garment and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and put sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the calf that has been fattened and kill it! Let us eat and be merry, 24 for this my son was dead and has come to life again, he was lost and is found.’ And they started to party. treat me as one of your workers.’ 20 He got up and went to his father. While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion, he ran to throw himself on his neck and kissed him. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring [quickly] the best garment and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and put sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the calf that has been fattened and kill it! Let us eat and be merry, 24 for this my son was dead and has come to life again, he was lost and is found.’ And they started to party. treat me as one of your workers.’ 20 He got up and went to his father. While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion, he ran to throw himself on his neck and kissed him. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring [quickly] the best garment and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and put sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the calf that has been fattened and kill it! Let us eat and be merry, 24 for this my son was dead and has come to life again, he was lost and is found.’ And they started to party. he ran to throw himself on her neck and kissed her. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring [quickly] the best garment and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and put sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the calf that has been fattened and kill it! Let us eat and be merry, 24 for this my son was dead and has come to life again, he was lost and is found.’ And they started to party. he ran to throw himself on her neck and kissed her. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring [quickly] the best garment and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and put sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the calf that has been fattened and kill it! Let us eat and be merry, 24 for this my son was dead and has come to life again, he was lost and is found.’ And they started to party. 23 Bring the calf that has been fattened and kill it! Let us eat and be merry, 24 for this my son was dead and has come to life again, he was lost and is found.’ And they started to party. 23 Bring the calf that has been fattened and kill it! Let us eat and be merry, 24 for this my son was dead and has come to life again, he was lost and is found.’ And they started to party.