Whenever you applied for work, study, or funding, what were some of the trickier questions you had to answer as part of each admission process? If you have ever sought employees or students, granted funding or casting, what did you truly want to know about your candidates? I recall that the question I most consistently had to answer as part of every interview was, “why do you really want this?” I learned to take it as an opportunity to contextualize my wishes and aspirations within my skill-set and experience, as well as to discern whether I would realistically accept the job if offered. Today, we heard snippets of a couple of interviews: Rabbi Jesus admitting his first students, and God recruiting a new prophet. Let’s look at what questioning and discerning took place as part of each process.  

How did Jesus acquire his first students? Maybe, Jesus simply said, “follow me”, and they did (Mk, Mt). Or, they needed to be convinced by the miraculous catch of fish Jesus provided (Lk). Or perhaps, it was the disciples who “applied”, rather than Jesus who invited them, as they wished to go straight to the source, as opposed to learning about him from John the Baptist (Jn). As we know from the synoptic accounts, John became imprisoned and later executed, so it was definitely time to switch tutors. They “inquired where Jesus was staying”, which was a polite way of asking a rabbi if one could study with him. Jesus, who had just spent some time praying in the mountains, perhaps already wondering what students would make a good fit, asked, “What do you seek?” (I.e., “why do you want this job?”) 

Having pondered the question, Andrew and Simon, successful fishermen, weighed their sense of purpose against its costs, and chose to accept the offer, leaving behind their business, boats, equipment, and significantly, an area of expertise. In my experience of having changed vocation, the first cost is the perception that all the previous learning becomes irrelevant. As the disciples might have, I appreciate Jesus’ words, “you will still be fishers – now of men.” I like to think that people and organizational skills developed in business, personal qualities honed through all stages of life, and knowledge from every teacher all come in handy eventually. They left the nets, but not who they were. As long as we maintain integrity and authenticity, no positive experience is ever wasted; and even some of the traumatic, negative ones may be redeemed. 

Now over to Jonah. The book is only 48 verses, but he is one of the most familiar biblical characters. I think it’s because the guy appears very human: in declining the job, he seems much more similar to us, cautious and sometimes spiteful people, than the idealized fishermen who dropped their nets at the first call. At first, Jonah appears simply afraid of the costs involved in facing the enemies of his people. That’s like standing up to a bully in your class, or telling a boss about mistreating your colleagues. But later in the book, we find out the real reason: in fact, he didn’t want the Ninevites to be saved. All along, he suspected that if he told them of God’s anger, they would try to appease him; and he didn’t like that it might actually work. He remarked, upon Nineveh’s pardon, “That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish, as I knew that you are gracious and compassionate”. In response, God challenged him: “Is it right to be angry that someone is forgiven?” And again, when the bush, under which he sat in the noonday sun still hoping to watch the destruction of the city, withered: ““Is it right to be angry that you lost what you did nothing to create?” 

We never find out Jonah’s answer or any further details about him, but we know that we, too, become angry when others get undeserved gifts, and we lose whatever we may have done nothing to earn. That’s when we learn to consider what we might truly seek. Every fork in the road is a step in the life-long process of growing up, in which there is no distinction between spiritual and material: new jobs, schooling, hobbies, changing churches or moving, committing to a partner or having a kid… These are all practical elements of life, but every change contributes to what psychologists call “self-actualization” – a fancy term that, I believe, is what the scriptures capture through every metaphor that involves emerging OUT of somewhere: the ark, Egypt, whale, lion’s den, womb, tomb… These are tight, dark places. To escape, gain the freedom of movement, see the light, acquire new life involves everything that any birth would: pain, labor, risk, mess, dying to self. Is change, forgiveness, growth, self-actualization what you truly seek? If so, who will help you deliver, shed the light, roll away the stone… disentangle yourself from the nets, force open the whale’s jaws? If you’re happy, or just don’t see any more possibility for change, what helps you discern and live your purpose wherever you are?

Reflection Questions

1. Jonah was supposed to tell the Ninevites that God judged them for all the suffering that they had inflicted on the Israelites, and he ran away, first, seemingly, out of fear. How do you see this reason playing in similar, contemporary situations? For example, could it apply to witnessing or experiencing bullying in schools, workplaces, and social groups, and being afraid to become the next victim, etc.

2. Jesus asked the first disciples in John’s gospel, “What do you seek?” How would you answer this right now? What do you seek in life in general, and what do you seek in terms of connecting with God, with the church community, and with your loved ones?

3. The first followers of Christ transitioned to him from following John the Baptist, who, far from being upset by the loss of his following, encouraged them. Do you have the experience of having mentored someone and knowing it was time for them to learn from someone new? Is there a sense of loss when your student moves on, even if it’s right for them?