The Belly of the Fish - April 10

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!

I was surprised when I opened the lectionary today, to see the reading from Jonah.  Jonah has run from the Lord’s command, boards a ship with some people headed to Tarshish, and when storms begin to make their trip treacherous, Jonah is cast into the ocean where a large fish swallows him whole, and he remains in the belly for three days and three nights.  Chapter two begins with his prayer in the belly of the fish.  It’s not exactly what I expected to read on the first Monday in the Easter Season!

Today is the season when we celebrate the victory of Christ.  Easter is often filled with beautiful colors, festive shouts and pronouncements of Alleluia, parties, and so much joy.  Jonah’s prayerful crying out in this passage doesn’t seem to capture the joy of Easter. Yet, as I read it this morning, I am more grateful than I realized for this passage showing up.

Jonah is stuck in a belly of a large fish.  He has been saved. He has also been forced to travel where he didn’t want to go, but he also has much more work left to do to share God’s love.  And, I imagine, he isn’t very pleased being in the belly of a fish.   

I love Easter and the joy of it all, and the Victory of God doesn’t mean we are left without the challenges of our life.  The friend with cancer, the aging parent, the challenges of work, all still exist.  We may feel as if we are trapped in a belly of a fish being forced to continue on God’ journey, without the agency or autonomy we so desperately desire.  And…. we have been saved.  Thanks be to God.

Today and tomorrow will bring the same challenges as they always have. Easter doesn’t solve our earthly problems.  But it does promise us there is life on the other side.  And that is Good News. No matter what we face, God will be with us and has promised to deliver us to perfect freedom.  Alleluia, Christ is Risen and you still might feel like you are in the belly of giant fish, trapped in the cycle of the challenges of our earthly life. But that trap might be the very rescue you and I need too.  Thanks be to God.

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection: What is the “belly of the fish” for you? Are there places in your life you feel trapped or unable to make progress in? How can Easter be Good News?

Daily Challenge: Try praying the Serenity Prayer. It can be found here.