Pastor Tige
Jonah’s self-righteous anger and his cry for justice according to his standards is met by God’s patience and his call for Jonah to rethink his situation. As one commentator put, “Here the Lord of history, who rules the wind and sea…, who has converted and saved a formerly wicked metropolis, stoops down to hold conversation with a pouting child. What patience! What grace!” (Concordia Commentary on Jonah, Reed Lessing). The story ends without revealing whether or not Jonah turned from his anger. Such open-ended stories beg the question of our ongoing response to God’s mercy and grace in our own lives and for all people, even those we would rather he not save.
