Monday 9 October 2023

Today is Monday 9 October, in the 27th week of Ordinary time.

One Hope Project sings, ‘Where The Lord Dwells’.


The green grass on the other side
Looks so good but it won't satisfy
The grass is greener on the inside
Where the Lord dwells
Where the Lord dwells
Only you can satisfy
I looked elsewhere but i could not find
The meaning of this gift of life
True love is found on the inside
Where the Lord dwells
Where the Lord dwells
Only you can satisfy
Jesus living water
A well that never will run dry
Jesus my Saviour
Your love will always satisfy
The grave could not hold You in
You rose and conquered death and sin
That same power lives on the inside
Where the Lord dwells
Where the Lord dwells
Only you can satisfy
Jesus living water
A well that never will run dry
Jesus my Saviour
Your love will always satisfy
Jesus living water
A well that never will run dry
Jesus my Saviour
Your love will always satisfy
I'll be called home when it is my time
When I've run this race to the finish line
Where the Lord dwells
Forever You will satisfy




Today’s reading is from the Prophet Jonah. Our passage will be read in four parts, with reflections interwoven…


Jonah 1:1-2:2

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, ‘Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.’ But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so, he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

The tension that lies right at the heart of these 48 verses of Jonah simply put is this: it is a book about following a pilgrim God, who will not give up on his people, calling a settled and boundaried Jonah to be a pilgrim disciple.


Have you ever been aware of such tension? A calling that made you feel uncomfortable, asking you to cross personal boundaries, to answer the call of God? To go somewhere new…

Jonah flees. Instead of going East, he goes West on a boat to Tarshish.

But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. The captain came and said to him, ‘What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.


Events in the world can be frightening, as the sailors found. When were you last frightened? Share this with God now.


Did you cry out to God? Or, perhaps like Jonah you sleep, or perhaps your fear paralyzes you and leads to inactivity. Perhaps you are being challenged like Jonah, to wake up?


The sailors said to one another, ‘Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.’ So, they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, ‘Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?’ ‘I am a Hebrew,’ he replied. ‘I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.’ Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, ‘What is this that you have done!’ For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.

In this difficult place, community is formed, and truths shared. Reflect on a time when God was present in others, who spoke love and truth to you in a time of adversity. Give thanks for them today.

Then they said to him, ‘What shall we do to you, that the sea may quieten down for us?’ For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. He said to them, ‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quieten down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.’ Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. Then they cried out to the Lord, ‘Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.’ So, they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish.
Then the LORD spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land.

In this final section, care is shown. The sailors keep rowing hard to save Jonah, Jonah cares for the sailors by being thrown into the sea, God provides a large fish to swallow Jonah, even this is care!

Ultimately, it’s about God caring for a city far from him.


Become aware of the ways in which God has cared for you, even if some seem strange or misunderstood at the time. Talk to God as you would share with a friend.


Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.