The story of Jonah and the Whale is complex. It leads us to ask: where is God in suffering? When Jonah is sitting in the pitch dark in his whale, with only the smell of decomposing fish for company, a long, long way from the light of the sun, he sang a psalm of both lament and praise. Is God somehow active in the dark night of the soul? Read more at http://cafechurch.org/content/jonah-and-night-journey

1. Jonah and
the
Whale*

2. * Yes, I know the text says “fish”.
Don’t be a dull pedant.

3. Gratitude
For what are you grateful?

4. Jonah and
the Whale

5. Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, ‘Go at once
to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has
come up before me.’ But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence
of the LORD.
But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm
came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners
were afraid, and each cried to his god…. He said to them, ‘Pick me up and
throw me into the sea; then the sea will quieten down for you; for I know it is
because of me that this great storm has come upon you.’
So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased
from its raging. Then the men feared the LORD even more, and they offered
a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.
But the LORD provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in
the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
Jonah 1:1-3a, 4-5a, 12,15,17

6. Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish,
saying,
‘I called to the LORD out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
You cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me…
Then the LORD spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry
land.
Jonah 2:1-3, 10

7. The Night Journey
Out of control, a long, long way
from the light of the sun. The
journey of suffering and grief
takes you away from where you
wanted to go. Is God absent?

9. The Word of the
Lord
Does God send suffering to
people?

10. Christological Theology
Whatever we can say of Jesus,
we can say of God.

11. Suffering
Is God present
in situations of
suffering?

12. Traumatic Suffering
The overwhelming of three domains of our being-in-the-
world
The first is that the world is a meaningful and coherent whole and
not a basket of coincidences. The second is that the world is
benevolent toward us and not inclined to do us harm. The third is
that I am a person worthy of care and love.
Tedeschi & Calhoun

13. Transformation
Can suffering lead to
transformation?

14. “exposure to major life crises does indeed increase the risk
of developing psychiatric problems…. we have been finding
that reports of growth experiences in the aftermath of
traumatic events far outnumber reports of psychiatric
disorders." The five domains of posttraumatic growth are:
greater appreciation of life and changed sense of priorities;
warmer, more intimate relationships with others; a greater sense of
personal strength; recognition of new possibilities or paths for one's
life; and spiritual development.
A surprising discovery about these five domains is that they
can co-exist with ongoing suffering.
Tedeschi & Calhoun

15. Theological Framework
Dorothy Soelle
1. Silent, inarticulate
– The Ocean
2. Psalmic
– The psalm in the whale
3. Action
– Preaching the word in Nineveh

16. Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are
yours
now and for ever. Amen.

17. Go in peace;
may you carry God’s Wisdom,
speak forth God’s Word,
and embody God’s Presence
wherever you are.
In the name of Christ. Amen.

19. References
• Sölle, Dorothee. Suffering. Philadelphia: Fortress Press,
1975.
• Tedeschi, Richard G. and Lawrence G. Calhoun.
"Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and
Empirical Evidence." Psychological Inquiry 15, no. 1
(2004): 1-18.
http://www.jstor.org.divinity.idm.oclc.org/stable/20447194
.