In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

The great German pastor and theologian, Helmut Thielicke, had an old photograph on his desk. It was a snapshot of the Christmas story. A group of rather grizzled looking men are wearing white robes and holding candles in their rough hands. Another group is kneeling before them, feigning terror. It is clear that they are supposed to be angels, speaking to the fearful shepherds.

This photograph was taken in prison, while Thielicke was a prison chaplain. The men in the photograph were all convicts, hardened criminals whose lives had been changed by Christ. These murderers and thieves were dressed like angels and shepherds.
 For Theilicke, the photograph was a parable, like the story of Jonah, which we heard earlier. It was a visible reminder of the awesome power of God to bring about change in us and in our world according to the kingdom of God.

And that is essentially what the story of Jonah is all about-the power of God to bring about change to the will of God. It is more than a famous story about a man being swallowed by a large fish even though it is this portion of the story that everyone remembers. It is a story that challenges our assumptions about our worldview, our vision of reality. It is a story about God’s grace and mercy. It is a story of repentance.

Now Jonah was history’s most reluctant prophet. He was commanded by God to go a preach to the people of Nineveh-these were the hated Assyrians. The kingdom of Israel where Jonah lived was an Assyrian province-it was occupied territory. Think of it of it as an ordinary Iraqi going to Washington to preach to George Bush and the city of Washington. At first Jonah naturally refuses, he jumps a ship to get as far away from the Near East as possible, refusing to be caught dead in a place like that among people like them.
So what does God do? reject him; let him go his way. No rather God persuades Jonah until finally Jonah is overcome.
Finally after spending three days in the belly of a large fish Jonah decides to go. In Nineveh Jonah preaches a short sermon, probably one of the shortest on record, it is one line “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown,”

And surprise. surprise. People rush up to him telling him that they are going to change their ways. The Bible tells us that everyone in the city repented, even the cattle repented. Have you ever seen a cow repent? I am sure you will admit that is pretty impressive preaching when even the cows are repenting. I preach for 10-12 minutes, no cows knocking down the doors yet.

Now you would think that Jonah would be feeling pretty proud of himself but in fact he was furious. His black and white worldview had been totally turned upside down- it was bad enough that the people of Nineveh had repented, but the fact that God would actually pour out his mercy upon them that was too much to bear. Jonah said that he would rather die than live in a world where the word of God is able to work such devastating change.

In many ways we are alot like our reluctant prophet. We talk alot about change and sometimes change can be a good thing. Stephen Harper is running in the current election on the basis that it is a time for change. We will see tomorrow just what degree of change we will experience as a country.

We say we want change. We claim to believe as Christians in the power of God of to make all things new. But do we really? Is there not a hidden assumption even within the church that things really don’t change? That even after two thousands years of announcing the kingdom of God things really haven’t changed?

Sure we complain about the present state affairs, we deplore the plight of the poor, we wring our hands over violence in the world. The AIDS pandemic saddens us. And yet for the most part we are quite comfortable with the good old status quo. Everybody has a place, always in the same pew every Sunday morning and for the most part everything fits and we know the facts. Essentially the more things the change more they stay the same. We think we know what God will do and what he won’t do. We know whom God loves and whom God wouldn’t stoop to touch.

And yet in our Gospel reading from Mark we hear the words of Christ; “The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.”
Now I ask you are the Kingdom of God real? Is there really a power loose in our world that is able to work more than we can think or say on our own?
Have you seen evidence of it?

Our reluctant prophet Jonah thought he had it all figured out. He thought he knew exactly what God was going to do and what God would not do. Jonah had all the facts. His black and white view of the world was firmly in place and yet Jonah got surprised by God.
I wonder, in your life right now, where are the places that are off limits to God? What are those issues for you upon which you have made the final decision? What are your sacred cows? Who are the people you have given up on, perhaps even within your own family, turned away from because you have lost faith that they will never change? What are the issues that challenge us that you believe will never change?

But still deep down there is there not that hope that change for the better will occur, that God is truly doing a new thing in our midst. The conversion of the people of Nineveh identifies our hope. The city did repent, as whole societies can.

Two centuries ago, the most civilized societies accepted the institution of slavery as necessary and even desirable. Three centuries ago the witchcraft trial were held in New England. And four centuries ago the church was burning heretics at the stake. Practices we consider inhumane and vile were taken for granted until society examined them closely and repented. Even in our own recent history we watched the government of South Africa repent of its racist apartheid system and seek reconciliation between blacks and whites.

Truth be told it takes a lot of courage to worship this God who makes all things new. This God whose grace and mercy extends even into the darkest areas of our world. We can understand Jonah’s reluctance to carry out his divine mission for the call of God challenges our vision of reality, our safety and our security. But God if anything is a persistent God who begins again and again until the call is accepted. Who in infinite patience sees that his will is done on heaven and on earth.

If he beckons you forth, would you go? Would you follow? Like Jonah, Simon and Andrew, James and John, would you leave everything behind to follow ever deeper into the kingdom of God?

THANKS BE TO GOD AMEN.