Jonah, Yom Kippur, and Lent

St-Takla.org Image: The whale throws Jonah on the beach, by Gustave Dore

I’ve been thinking lately about my dear friend Susan, who passed away two years ago…stories of times shared…conversations, events, rituals. Our commitment to friendship was honored through the joys and the challenges of our lives. 

One of Susan’s annual rituals occurred during the Jewish Holy Day of Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, follows ten days after the New Years or Rosh Hashanah. These 10 days are marked as a time for self-reflection and examination.  In the afternoon, Susan would go to a nearby river to spend time in meditation and prayer, and afterwards she’d toss the reflected-on misgivings she had written down into the water, and then spend time giving thanks.

Yom Kippur is the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar.  All-day Services usually include reading the Book of Jonah, while offering praise for God’s many blessings and asking for God’s mercy.  It was always stressed upon us that having a grateful spirit was/is not dependent on receiving God’s mercy.

The story of the Prophet Jonah is both simple and complex; and perhaps even magnified to emphasize its message, with its narrative format and “mythical style” images.  If you leave the pages of Jonah and move forward to the Gospels, you will also find Jesus teaching the Disciples and gathering crowds in the form of parables and stories. Narration can be a powerful medium. While Jonah was a Minor Prophet, the message given is the only one of the Twelve Prophets told in narrative form.  

The Message?  Heading God’s call in our lives, regardless of our perspective?  Having a grateful spirit? Bearing reverence for God’s gift of grace? Perhaps good thoughts to reflect on during this upcoming season of Lent.

This week as we study Jonah, I am reminded of Yom Kippur, and Susan’s yearly walk to the river.  Long before and after I was baptized, she sometimes talked about feeling closer to God near the water and finding this a very healing place to be.  I too am drawn to river.

It’s been many years now since I was baptized in the waters of God’s grace. I pray that I remain mindful of how I reflect on my own misgivings and God’s call in my life?  Wherever I am, God help me to rest in your righteousness and mercy, for myself and for all, giving thanks for the blessings of life. Amen.

Shalom,

Susan M.