Perhaps it’s an odd choice––especially for the day after Easter—but there is a verse in Jonah that caught my attention this morning. “Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land” (Jonah 2:10). What I find so interesting is that, just as it was with creation, God’s word has the power to direct and to guide. According to Genesis it was on the fifth day of creation that God called forth living creatures to inhabit the waters, including sea monsters and the fish that swarm in the oceans (Genesis 1:20-23). Now God speaks to the great fish, causing Jonah the reluctant prophet to be dislodged upon the land.
God’s speech, God’s creative and powerful word, did not become silent when Adam and Eve left the garden. God continues to effect our lives and our very being with speech. Thus, when we refer to Jesus Christ as the Word Incarnate we are reminded of God’s work in the world, guiding great events like wars and exiles, and incredibly minute details, such as Jonah being spewed onto a beach.
What is the word of God accomplishing in our world and in our lives today? How are we, on this side of the resurrections, being blessed by God’s work? I’m sure that being spewed from a fish’s mouth is not particularly appealing, but what it represents is grace-filled and merciful. The fish, like our own sinfulness, might have carried us away, might have left us with no hope. But with a word God is able to dispel the threat and to lead us to solid footing where we may strive again to do God’s will. The word of God is alive and at work in the big events of our lives and the small ones. Thanks be to God.
Prayer: Lord, by the light of the resurrection may we see the path you hold out to us, and by your word may we be guided on it. Amen.
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