# 9 - The Awakening
Jonah 1:6 – “So the
captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call
on your God; perhaps your God will
consider us, so that we may not perish.”
So the captain came to him, and said to
him
A Rude Awakening
When
the news of Jonah sleeping got to the captain’s ears, he came down himself to
meet Jonah. One of the worst things that can happen to someone who’s sound
asleep is for someone to awaken them with a loud voice and in anger. It
disorients a person and it takes time for the person to realise what’s
happening as he transitions from that blissful world into the world of reality.
One can imagine Jonah’s thoughts and feelings when he’s awoken out of his
slumber.
I’m
sure the Captain must have been amazed at the ability of Jonah to sleep amidst such
a terrible tempest. It must have also infuriated him that while he and his team
of sailors are battling to save the ship and their lives, that there’s a man
who can, not only be so oblivious to the situation, but could also be so sound
asleep. I’m sure with the combination of the emotions, of fear for their lives,
anxiety as to how to proceed further, and anger at Jonah sleeping, the Captain
must have been rather stern when he spoke to Jonah.
What do you
mean…
He
begins by asking Jonah what he means by sleeping. His question can mean one of
several things – I’ve just mentioned three possibilities below.
1. How
can you sleep amidst such a crisis?
2. Do
you think we deserve what we’re getting?
3. Are
you sleeping, hoping the problem will disappear or be solved?
We
can look at ourselves, The Church and ask ourselves the above 3 questions
1.
Are we
asleep amidst this global crisis?
When
people are crying out to their ‘gods’
for answers concerning this pandemic, when they’re being gripped with the fear
of death and when every area of their lives is being affected, are we, The
Church being complacent, living like nothing’s amiss or are we actively
involved in helping those around us the best we can? Are we doing all we can to
make God known to those around who are searching for the truth at this
earth-shaking time? People are a lot more open now than they’ve ever been to
the Gospel and we need to be as much involved as possible in sharing it in
love. The world is in need of love, encouragement, motivation and love more now
than it’s been in the recent past.
2.
Do we think
that people are getting what they deserve?
I’m
sure this thought has crossed some of our minds recently when we considered how
some cities or countries were worse affected by this virus than others, as if
it were an act of God to punish some more than others. We need to remember
Jesus’ words in Luke 13:1-5 where he
responded to those who told him about an incident where Herod had mingled the
blood of certain Galileans with their own sacrifices. Jesus said that they were
not worse sinners than all the other Galileans and went on to add that if the people
talking to him didn’t repent, they would perish in the same way. Jesus then
mentioned another incident, where the tower of Siloam fell on, and killed 18
people in Jerusalem, and He asked whether they were worse sinners than all
others who lived in Jerusalem, and he went on to say, ‘No,’ and added that unless the people speaking with Him repented,
they would perish in the same way. We can’t afford to be judgmental about
people as we’re all sailing in the same boat at the moment.
3.
Are we
sleeping, hoping this pandemic will disappear?
The
world around is in turmoil – without a proper understanding of how to proceed
through this period – lockdowns, openings up and more lockdowns are making it
rather hard to come to grips with, dealing with the grief of losing loved ones,
the fear of death gripping people’s hearts, losing jobs or being paid half
salaries, the stress of online studies and work, the separation from friends
and so much more. But through all of this the voice of The Church worldwide is
not heard loud enough. Are we enjoying a siesta, being concerned about no one
but ourselves at this time? Have we forgotten that the reason we were left back
on earth after our conversion was to help those around us in every possible way
and eventually point them to their Creator, who alone can save them from not
just physical death, but death eternal? Do we suppose that this Pandemic will
disappear, just like it appeared and that all will be well again? It’s not
really that likely that this is the way things are going to pan out. There
seems to be the hand of the Lord involved in this, and we. The Church, seem to
be the ones whose attention the Lord is trying to get to get us back on track
of fulfilling the Great Commission.
Sleeper
Have
you noticed how our reference to people depends so much on our feelings towards
them at that particular time? When all’s going well, we use pet names or
affectionate names to refer to them. When we get a little upset about something,
and there’s a tinge of anger, then we call them by their regular names or
sometimes, even by their full names and when emotions are high, then we rename
at our discretion, with names that best describe their behaviour at the moment.
In this case, it’s obvious that the Captain was in the 3rd category,
where his emotions were flying high, and he called Jonah by a name that best
described him at the moment – ‘Sleeper.’ There’s
nothing wrong in sleeping – it’s a God-given gift, but there’s a time for
everything, and when in a crisis, that’s the last thing you’d expect someone to
be doing.
If
the world were to look at The Church today, especially during this pandemic,
how would they refer to us? Would it be with beautiful names that express their
appreciation for all we do for them? Will it be with a tinge of anger for what
we are not doing for them? Or will it be with names that depicts their anger
towards our behaviour toward them during these tough times? Will they, by any
chance refer to us ‘Sleepers?’
Arise, call on your god
All the mariners had called on
their ‘gods,’ now it was time for
Jonah to call on his God. The word, ‘arise,’
seems to suggest that the first few words of the Captain were spoken to Jonah
while he was still lying down, after being rudely awoken from his deep sleep. The
Captain asks him to arise and to call on his God. Isn’t it surprising that
people who didn’t really know God were waking up someone who knew God, telling him
to pray?
As we interact with
unbelievers during these days, what we’re observing is that they are seeking
God a lot more now than perhaps some of us who claim to know the Lord. They are
also a lot more open to the Gospel now, than they’ve ever been, but the
question is, “Are we taking the time to
share it with them?” It’s as if the world around is shaking us up and
telling us to call on our God. It’s about time we The Church called on God
about this crisis in a way like we’ve never done before. We can’t afford to
remain asleep when the world around is in turmoil. The words of Jesus in Mathew 26:40-41 rings true for a time
such as this – “Then He came to the
disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you
enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak.”
Perhaps your god will consider us
Whatever the concept of God is
to the Captain, it’s clear that he seems to believe that God can have mercy on
them so that they don’t perish. They had tried all the ‘gods’ they believed in
and nothing changed, so now they ask Jonah to call on his God for help. Isn’t
it surprising that people who don’t believe in the true God, seem to have an
understanding that God is merciful and will answer prayer?
Do we, The Church still
believe in a God of mercy, who answers our prayers or has God been reduced in our
lives to a mere traditional, ritualistic, once a week affair, where He’s no
longer personal to us? Have we fled from God’s call on our lives and is the
Lord trying to get our attention to get back to Him and His calling for us?
So that we may not perish
It’s a well-known fact that
man’s biggest fear is the fear of death and during this pandemic this fear,
which lay low for so long, has surfaced like no other time in the recent past.
This fear seems to be the sailors’ biggest fear at this moment in the story –
the fear of death. It was so obvious, that the Captain actually verbalised his
fear, asking Jonah to call on his God,
“so that we may not perish.”
For us The Church, is death
still our biggest fear in life? Now that we have come to know the Author of
life – Jesus, we don’t need to fear death like the rest of the world. Death for
us is a step from life into life in eternity. Having received this amazing gift
of life from God Himself, we need to be a lot more concerned about the
perishing world around, and do all we can to ensure that they get saved.
Let’s stop and do a
soul-searching with the light of the Holy Spirit and be open to what He reveals
to us about our walk with the Lord, and about fulfilling God’s planned purpose
for our lives as individuals and as The Church at large. May we do all we can
to get back into an intimate relationship with the Lord – one that we enjoyed
when we first came to know Him.
Michael Collins
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