One of the things that has happened to me since I married Kirk is that I have come to love watching team sports. My favorites have become rugby and American football (which we have found a way to watch here in Ireland). In addition to liking the usual things — the competition, the athleticism, watching my favorite team win — I have realized I also enjoy watching examples of leadership. How do the coaches and managers motivate and lead the team? How do the key players work with the rest of the team?
Today’s Bible readings raise some thoughts about leadership. The first reading is from the prophet Jonah. The Book of Jonah is a very short book, but it’s a great story. What you have probably heard of Jonah is that he got swallowed by a whale — actually, the story says a big fish. And Jonah was in the belly of the big fish for three days, until finally he prayed to the Lord and the fish spit him up on dry land.
Another famous story about Jonah is how he fled from the Lord. He is called the reluctant prophet. In ancient Israel, a prophet was a person who had a tough job of leadership. The prophet spoke the word of God to the people, usually telling people how they were straying from what God had commanded and what would happen if they continued in these ways. But when God gave an instruction to Jonah, Jonah got on a ship and fled in the opposite direction — until finally the ship ran into trouble and Jonah told the sailors he was the cause and to throw him overboard. Then the ship was safe, but Jonah was off the ship and he did not get to run from the Lord.
Today’s reading isn’t very well known, but it is the heart of the story. Finally, Jonah is doing what the Lord told him to do: he is to go to the city of Nineveh.
Now let me give you a sense of the places we are talking about. Jonah gets on a ship in Joppa, which is on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, just west of Jerusalem. He is trying to get to Tarshish, which is on the southern tip of Spain, say around Gibraltar. But he ends up back on land, when the fish spits him out, and he has to get to Nineveh, which is more than 1,000 kilometers away, even 1,300 kilometers. The modern-day name for Nineveh is Mosul, in Iraq; you might remember hearing it in the news a few years ago. Nineveh was the capital city of the ancient Assyrian Empire, and it had about 120,000 residents at the time. The Ninevites were enemies of the people of Israel, and Nineveh was said to be a very evil city.
So what God is asking Jonah to do is to trek a thousand kilometers or so across desolate land to an enemy city, and there proclaim to thousands and thousands of people that their city is about to be overthrown because of their wickedness. No wonder Jonah was a reluctant prophet. It sounds like a good recipe for disaster, if not death. But Jonah gives up running away and does as God commands.
And wonder of wonders, the people change their ways. Even the king repents and proclaims that all the people should fast and put on sackcloth — a sign that they are grieving their great sins. And God sees their repentance and decides not to destroy their city. Jonah was a successful prophet, as well as a reluctant one. His words actually had an effect.
That’s what leaders want, isn’t it? To have an effect. The notion of leadership has been much in the news in recent months. There was been a presidential inauguration in the States. I’ll leave it at that. On this side of the pond, we have had the difficulties and negotiations regarding Brexit for the past four years. We watch what government leaders around the world do in response to Covid-19; often how well a country is doing reflects the quality and character of the country’s leadership.
In the story of Jonah, the king sets an example by repenting and calling on the people to do the same. He pronounces decrees as to such repentance can be accomplished. He shows leadership.
Now Jonah would not be anyone’s ideal of a leader. He doesn’t want to do what he is supposed to do. He flees in the opposite direction. The last chapter of the book describes his anger at God for not destroying Nineveh. We don’t know why he is angry, but he is.
But still, reluctant or not, Jonah shows an ability to do what God asks him to do, and he is persistent in doing it. He makes the long trek to Nineveh. He puts his life on the line and walks into Nineveh, proclaiming his message of doom. And throughout it all, he keeps communicating with God — that shows up in the other chapters. He praises God, he argues with God, he knows that the ship to Tarshish runs into trouble because he is not doing what God wants.
The Gospel reading also is about leadership: it tells of Jesus calling the first of his disciples: Simon Peter and Andrew, and James and John, two sets of brothers. They will certainly end up being leaders — they will be the Apostles, those who after Jesus has risen from the dead and ascended into heaven will spread the message of Christ far and wide, bringing new life to those who hear and believe. At this point, as they leave their fishing boats to follow Jesus, they do not know what lies in front of them, what they will be asked to do. They just seem to recognize that Jesus is worth following, that he is more important than their very livelihood.
Leadership is about both leading and following: leading the people that one has been given to lead, and following the Lord God in whatever one has been asked to do. Many of us may claim that we are not leaders; we do not hold such positions. But all of us are given some measure of leadership. We can set examples in our families, and among our friends. As those who have promised to follow Christ, we set an example in the world, among everyone with whom we interact. We carry his word and his message of compassion and mercy in both word and deed. That is leadership. It is a high calling, and like Jonah, we might be tempted to flee in the opposite direction.
And that is where we turn to the Psalm for today. The psalm is a prayer, and a reminder to oneself, to wait on God, because God is our rock and our refuge. Do not depend on people, it says, do not trust in wealth or in power. That is where many leaders fall short; they rely on the wrong things. It is easy for any of us. Instead, as the psalm says,
“Wait on God alone in stillness, O my soul;
for in him is my hope.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken.”