Jonah: Religion, Politics, Prophecy
Thursday, July 10, 2025
Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz describes Jonah’s actions as a protest, driven by both faith and politics:
What does it mean to protest? Protesting expresses the opinion that there is something wrong with the ways of the world. At the same time, an act of protest is also an optimistic step to take, signifying our conviction that human actions can be held accountable, human institutions fixed, and society changed. Protest attempts to fight inequity, hatred, greed, and maybe even fear. Why is this relevant?
The Book of Jonah opens with the idea that religious actions can be politically subversive. In the first two verses, God calls upon Jonah to become a religiously motivated political activist: God speaks to Jonah and implores him to remonstrate against an unjust society. While we often imagine public political protest to be a secular phenomenon, in the Book of Jonah God calls upon the prophet to initiate religious action. [1]
Richard Rohr considers how prophets are often criticized for being “political”:
We must not be discouraged when people say, You are making the message political and not spiritual! The prophets speak about misuse of power, but always from an inspired basis, and at a higher level of morality. Think of Martin Luther King Jr. calling for civil rights; Catherine of Siena’s advocacy for reform of the clergy and peacemaking; Sojourner Truth’s activism for the abolition of slavery and civil rights for African Americans and women; César Chávez’s work in organizing farmworkers. Their critiques and promises were stated in concrete historical terms, but with a clear spiritual meaning and motivation. Their messages were received gladly by the powerless and then exploited or rejected by prideful profiteers and narrow nationalists.
Jonah was a patriotic nationalist who wanted Nineveh to suffer; true prophets are always internationalists working to realize what Jesus will call the “reign of God.” In their “political” advocacy, prophets point out and confront the power equations that are always corrupting human relations and the divine relationship, too. [2]
Yanklowitz honors the weight that prophets carry:
Many of us may feel that we do not do enough. We may feel exhausted and tired of carrying the heavy weight of that universal responsibility. That’s not just us. We see that even a prophet can feel similarly, and in response, he tries to run away from his responsibility. [3] Jonah is us. We are Jonah.
It is not easy to be a prophet. The prophet is neither cool nor popular; the prophet is not the life of the party. The prophet is an anxious personality juggling the demands of God with the needs of humans. Constantly risking alienation or even death, the prophet is isolated and lonely. But we are not allowed to turn away. [4]
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Jesus Calling; Sarah Young
I speak to you continually. My nature is to communicate, though not always in words. I fling glorious sunsets across the sky, day after day after day. I speak in the faces and voices of loved ones. I caress you with a gentle breeze that refreshes and delights you. I speak softly in the depths of your spirit, where I have taken up residence.
You can find Me in each moment, when you have eyes that see and ears that hear. Ask My Spirit to sharpen your spiritual eyesight and hearing. I rejoice each time you discover My Presence. Practice looking and listening for Me during quiet intervals. Gradually you will find Me in more and more of your moments. You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me above all else.
RELATED SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 8:1-4 (NLT)
1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens.
2 You have taught children and infants
to tell of your strength,
silencing your enemies
and all who oppose you.
3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?
Psalm 19:1-2 (NLT)
1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
2 Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
1 Corinthians 6:19 (NLT)
19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself…
Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)
13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
Additional insight regarding Jeremiah 29:13: According to God’s wise plan, his people were to have a future and a hope; consequently, they could call upon him with confidence. Although the exiles were in a difficult place and time, they need not despair because they had God’s presence, the privilege of prayer, and God’s grace. If we seek him wholeheartedly, he will be found. Neither a strange land, sorrow, persecution, nor physical problems can break our fellowship with God.
