Father Richard describes the sign of Jonah as the pattern of death and resurrection that each of us must walk, as Jesus did:
This “hearing and keeping” of the Word of God is brilliantly illustrated by what appears to be a central metaphor for Jesus: “the sign of Jonah” (Luke 11:29–30). He says it is the only sign that he will give! (Take note, seekers of miracles, apparitions, and healings).
He seems willing to offend the “even bigger” crowd in front of him and says it is an “evil generation that wants signs,” something I myself would be afraid to say. Yet it is clear that Jesus is now clarifying the core of his message, the mystery of faith. Augustine later called it the “paschal mystery” and it is celebrated at every Eucharist: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”
Without the sign of Jonah—the pattern of new life only through death (“in the belly of the whale”)—Christianity remains a largely impotent ideology, another way to “win” instead of the pain of faith. Or it becomes a language of ascent instead of the treacherous journey of descent that characterizes Jonah, Jeremiah, Job, John the Baptizer, and Jesus. After Jesus, we Christians used the metaphor “the way of the cross,” though unfortunately, it became “what Jesus did to save us”—or a negative theology of atonement—instead of the necessary pattern that is redemptive for all of us. Jesus became the cosmic problem-solver instead of the teacher of the path.
This one great path has also been honored within traditions of Eastern religions: Taoism, yin and yang philosophy, the detachment of Buddhism, and Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and regeneration. The Jonah-Job-Jesus pattern has been hard for Westerners to recognize and accept, since we are always into ascending and continual progress. But the sign of Jonah is at the heart of the matter. [1]
In The Sign of Jonas, Thomas Merton (1915–1968) writes of the universal symbolism of the Jonah story, revealed in the imagination of children:
Frater John of God got a lot of kids’ pictures from a sister in a school somewhere in Milwaukee…. Most of them were of Jonas in or near the whale. They are the only real works of art I have seen in ten years, since entering Gethsemani. But it occurred to me that these wise children were drawing pictures of their own lives. They knew what was in their own depths. They were putting it all down on paper before they had a chance to grow up and forget. They were proving … that there is something in the very nature of [humans] that expects a Redeemer and resurrection from the dead. The sign of Jonas is written in our being. No wonder that this should be so when all creation is a vestige of the Creator but also contains, written everywhere, in symbols, the economy of our Redemption. [2]
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Sarah Young
Supreme Lord Jesus, I want to trust You enough to let things happen without constantly striving to predict or control the outcome. Sometimes I just need to relax—and refresh myself in the Light of Your everlasting Love. Even though Your Love-Light never dims, I’m often unaware of Your radiant Presence. I realize that when I focus on the future, mentally rehearsing what I will do or what I will say, I’m seeking to be self-sufficient. This attempt to be adequate without Your help is a subtle sin—so common that it usually slips past me unnoticed. Lord, teach me to live more fully in the present, depending on You moment by moment. I don’t need to fear my inadequacy; instead, I can rejoice in Your abundant sufficiency! You are training me to seek Your Face continually, even when I feel competent to handle things by myself. Instead of dividing my life into things I can do by myself and things that require Your help, I want to learn to rely on You in every situation. As I live in trusting dependence on You, I can face each day confidently and enjoy Your loving Presence. In Your loving Name, Amen
PSALM 37:5 HCSB; Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act,
PHILIPPIANS 4:19 NKJV; And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus
PSALM 105:4 NASB; Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually.
PHILIPPIANS 4:13 NLT; For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Young, Sarah. Jesus Listens (p. 101). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
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