![]() This reading makes sense of the great lengths that God has gone to in getting Jonah to this point. Is it because the city is excellent? Not likely? Why is Nineveh great? Some biblical commentators have argued convincingly that because of the construction of this phrase in Hebrew it is likely implying that this city is “great to God”, as in, God cares for this city. The book of Jonah opens with the phrase “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah” and here the “Word of the Lord comes to Jonah once more.” Jonah gets a complete reboot, he gets a second go at it all, and not only does he get a second go at it all, it turns out as we see this chapter unfold that this is a major theme of chapter 3 – the Ninevites get a second go too!ģ.2 God tells Jonah to get up and go to Nineveh, that great city and proclaim the message that I tell you. Today we’re going to explore some of the key points of this passage in Jonah and let it speak to us about “tone” – What is the tone of the Christian message about God? How do we understand and communicate themes like justice, judgement, repentance and mercy?ģ:1 – In these opening words of chapter 3 it’s as if the whole book of Jonah starts all over again. Jonah preaches a sermon – just five words – and I wonder about the tone? Was this all that Jonah said? Or is it a summary? What was Jonah’s tone and why on earth did the people respond so rapidly and positively? ![]() It’s this idea of tone that is really important in today’s reading. Tone is complicated and easy to get wrong. I was talking to someone recently who told me that if you send a text to a teenager and finish it with a full stop it communicates that you are cross or at least being direct. It’s not just when we speak – tone is communicated in body language and it can be communicated with written words too. ![]() Or if I said it like this, “nice one” you’d assume I was being sarcastic. If I say it like this “nice one” you might think I’m being encouraging, if I say it like this “nawh, nice one” you’d probably think I was being condescending. If I say “nice one” you could interpret a couple of ways. Tone of voice communicates so much more than we might think.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |