You Can't Run from God.

The Old Testament reading appointed for today’s Daily Prayer is taken from the Book of Jonah.  Jonah tried to run from God.  He finally realized he could not do it.  Many of us do the same thing.  We see where God is calling us, yet we decide to run from God.  God will catch us:

 

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.

 

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.’

 

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.

 

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. (Jonah 1:1-17)

The Book of Jonah is short, but with a powerful message.  You cannot run from God.  God is also merciful; he wants to bring people, all people, into relationship with him.  God sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach forgiveness and repentance.  Jonah did not want to go because there they were not Jewish.  In Jonah’s mind, God should not have been merciful to them.  Jonah eventually went and they changed their ways.  Jonah was not happy.  God had to remind Jonah that God’s mercy is open to all.

Let us pray:  Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE, AND ESPECIALLY TO LEE RUNION, FOR MAKING THE 6^TH ANNUAL ART SHOW A SUCCESS!

 

CALENDAR REMINDERS

 

Seaside Seniors will meet this Thursday from 11 AM to 1 PM in Sutton Hall.  The theme is Halloween, All Hallows Eve. 

 

Trick-or-treat at St. Augustine.  Please bring candy for our annual trick-or-treat for the neighborhood on All Hallows Eve (Halloween) on 31 October 2014 from 6 PM to 9 PM.

 

All Saints Day will be celebrated Sunday, 2 November 2014.  Please send any additions or changes to the list of names to be read to Mary at mawolter1@aol.com.

 

We will continue with our Adult Christian Education series, Islam in Focus, on Sunday, 18 October at 11 AM.

 

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Matt, the Putmans’ nephew and Godson.

 

Your servant in Christ,

 

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas 77550