The little Book of Jonah is a pearl of the greatest price. It can become for Christians a parable of the church - or at least the role of the believer in an unbelieving world. In a gentle and humorous way, it is the most powerful commentary on sectarianism - where religion and national identity can combine to make people lethally uncaring and ignorant of others. As such, it is one of the few books in the bible to offer a realistic criticism of the wrong sort of religious zeal.There are many other implications for the contemporary church as it struggles with disappointment, low numbers and loss of face - and as it anxiously works to identify its continuing mission and ministry when so much has been stripped from it. The text of Jonah is written after such crisis, and raises the question of how those who possess the historic faith should operate in vastly changed circumstances. In such circumstances, the choice is between ever-narrowing introversion, and catching a wonderful vision of something new, far greater than anything perceived before.The Book of Jonah shows us that the 'love of God is broader than the measure of man's mind'. It stands as a constant rebuke to our divisions, partitions, denominations and dissociations, and it rebukes with love, humour and patience - thus providing a model for our work of reconciliation and peace building. It is a book for our times.Includes 4/5 illustrations
The Rt Revd Dr Richard Henderson is Bishop of the United Dioceses of Tuam, Killala and Achonry.
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