Recalcitrant

Jonah the prophet is a bigot:

Someone who is persistently prejudiced, especially about religion or politics, and refuses to tolerate the opinions of others (Chambers Dictionary).

We probably knew that, but did we know that etymologically the word means:

A superstitious hypocrite.

Poor Jonah.

He knows – and maybe loves – the true God of Israel, but he simply refuses to share his faith with others, and when he finally does, he is still recalcitrant with God.

The Book of Jonah is not history, but satire:

A literary composition, which holds up follies and vices for criticism, ridicule and scorn.

It is a ‘Jew playing jokes on his fellow Jews’ – including himself. The best book to read:

A Journey with Jonah: The Spirituality of Bewilderment (Paul Murray OP).

Contrast Jonah with Jesus:

Immediately Jesus called them, and leaving their father Zebedee in the boat, they went after him (Mark 1).

Contrast Jonah with the first disciples:

Immediately leaving the nets they followed him (Mark 1).

In our fearful, woke-world, we could all do with a good dose of satire:

We are taking ourselves too seriously.

Then again – and more importantly – we could all do with a good dose of Jesus.

Amen.