Thank you for joining us here at Resurrection Parish as we begin the fourth week of our new message series for the New Year, “Defining Moments.” We have noted that for most people, they do not evaluate an experience as a whole. Rather we tend to judge and evaluate experiences or seasons of our life based on specific moments that come to stand for the whole. Some of these moments matter even more, and we call them “defining moments,” because they help us to identify where we are and where we are going, especially when it comes to our faith.

Last week we looked at the prophet Samuel. His whole career as a prophet of God was launched in a single moment when he learned how to discern the voice of God. God had been trying to communicate with Samuel, but Samuel had to learn to slow down and listen.

Today we are going to look at another defining moment that we all face in our lives. We’re looking at those times when we are forced to grow by stepping up to meet a challenge and stepping out of our comfort zone. These are times especially when our character can be tested and challenged to do something that is different or difficult or uncomfortable. These are defining moments in which God will challenge you and make you uncomfortable; sometimes even allowing your discomfort. Why is that? Why would he do that? Two related reasons. 

First, growth is always outside our comfort zone. If you are never uncomfortable, you will never grow. Just as you only burn fat or grow a muscle through the discomfort of working out, you cannot grow emotionally, spiritually or intellectually without getting uncomfortable. God knows this and so God, who is provident, will set up or allow situations in our lives that lead to our discomfort. 

This leads to the second reason God allows us to be uncomfortable. Our character is the single thing, the only thing, we get to take with us to heaven. If we’re not actively developing it, sometimes, in his mercy and love, sometimes God helps us out.

This is also “Word of God” Sunday, so we are going to look at these types of defining moments by looking at the Scriptures, especially from today’s first reading from the Book of Jonah. If you are familiar with the Bible then you probably know something about Jonah, or maybe you know it from a Veggies Tales. Either way, you likely know that in part of Jonah’s story he got swallowed by a whale.

We could spend a lot of time on whether this really happened. Many Scripture scholars do not see the book of Jonah as an historical book but an allegory much like Jesus’ parables. The Bible is made up of all kinds of different literature. There is history, but there is also poetry and allegories which convey meaning through symbols, symbolic actions and symbolic events. You are also free to believe that the story of Jonah is an entirely true story. After all, if God can raise his Son from the dead then pretty much everything else is easy to believe.

We are starting with the third chapter of Jonah, “The word of the LORD came to Jonah….” Actually this is the second time the word of the LORD came to Jonah. The first time God spoke to Jonah he ran away, going in the opposite direction of where God told him to go.

God was working to grow and stretch Jonah as a prophet and a leader after his own heart. A heart full of mercy and compassion, as opposed to Jonah’s heart. Jonah was actually somewhat hard hearted and rather judgmental.

The first time God spoke to Jonah he told him to go to Nineveh, which was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. At that time, the Assyrians were the bullies of the Middle East; especially towards Israel. The Ninevites were also renown for their wickedness and debauchery.

There was no way that Jonah wanted to go to Nineveh, so he ran away. This is when he tries to escape from God by boat and gets swallowed by the whale. Finally after praying to God, the whale spits him out, and then we get to today’s passage when God speaks to Jonah for a second time, “Set out for the great city of Nineveh and announce to it the message that I will tell you” (Jonah 3:2).

“So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD’s bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, ‘Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed’” (Jonah 3:4-5).

The message was obviously a difficult one to hear, 

but apparently the Ninevites were ready for that moment and they took it. They started to repent of their wickedness. It even reached the king, who covered himself in sackcloth and ashes, and ordered everyone in the city – even the animals – to do the same. In response, God decides not to destroy the city.

While today’s reading from the Book of Jonah only comes from chapter 3, in chapter 4 we read that at first Jonah is ticked off that God is not going to destroy the city. It turns out that God did not only want Nineveh to repent, but he wanted Jonah to step out of his comfort zone and grow. Jonah does eventually grow in his understanding of God, as he acknowledges: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in love” (Jonah 4:2).

Often we are wary to hold people accountable and point out something they are doing wrong, but sometimes people are just waiting for us to say something. One courageous word, said in love or in obedience to God, can turn them back to him. 

In today’s gospel Jesus calls his first disciples, Peter and Andrew. It’s quite a moment. They’re in the midst of their daily work, they’re just doing their jobs. And Jesus call them to leave everything and follow him. A moment of decision, that changes everything. Just like the story of Jonah: a moment of decision that changes everything. 

Throughout our lives we have moments like that: Moments in which we can either choose 

to rise to the occasion and grow or resist growth and change and just stay the same. The moments we experience may not be quite as miraculous and dramatic as Jonah’s was, but God can still use them to point to the areas of growth we need. 

Jonah needed to learn the Lord’s mercy. We may need to learn other values from God. The moments when you are most tempted to shut down a conversation or to tune out what someone is saying to you, or just run away, those might be the issues you most need to address. That was Jonah: running away from growth.

Running away from growth will never yield happiness and satisfaction. If you live just to be comfortable, you will never be satisfied with life because its not the life God shaped you for.

How do you prepare to seize moments of growth? First, when a challenge presents itself, 

and ignore the initial response to run. Push past the first feeling of discomfort. Stick with the moment instead.

Second, rather than run lean into the moment. That’s what the Ninevites did, they leaned into the moment, they got involved and engaged. 

Three, give someone you know, someone who is smart or insightful and cares about you, give someone like that permission to challenge you about or in the moment. Receive their challenge with the honesty and humility.

At the end of the day, God cares more about your character than he cares about your comfort.