“No Fair!”: A God Who Longs to Show Mercy–To Illegal Immigrants, ISIS, and You and Me

In our Old Testament reading, Jonah thought very much like you and me. Ok, fine, he was willing, finally, to go preach to the dreaded city of Ninevah–that Godforsaken place! But the only reason he was really doing it was so he could say, “I told you so!” when God rained down judgment on them. He never, in his wildest dreams, reckoned on the city repenting and God being merciful to them.

And so, when they did repent, and God was merciful to them, Jonah had a raging temper tantrum! How dare God be so kind to this wretched bunch? A friend who has traveled in this region recently reminded me that Ninevah is in the same region as Mosul, Iraq. It is one of the most dangerous areas of the world–and one of the most feared. Mosul has been plagued by ISIS occupations. Because both Ninevah and ISIS had/have similar reputations for brutality, this puts Jonah’s initial response to God into perspective! If God told you to go tell ISIS to repent, would you just do it–or would you run the other way? (Pretty sure I would do the latter!)

For many of us, the mere thought that God actually cares about the people who are in ISIS is anathema. We could maybe understand a bit of mercy to a peaceful lawbreaker (like a DACA recipient), but to ISIS? We would like to blow them off the face of the earth! They’re animals! Why would God care about them?

We think similarly on lots of other social issues. “I feel bad for refugees, but they aren’t my responsibility. Plus, they’re just freeloaders.”

“I am a man; I shouldn’t have to pay for maternity health coverage!” 

“Why should I have to fund welfare benefits for the poor? They just waste their money anyway!”

“I’d rather bomb Muslims than pray for their salvation. And if they must be saved, let it be far, far away from me.”

As Americans, the philosophy of self-sufficiency and pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps is engrained in us from childhood. Some of this is good: when American thought is at its best, it emphasizes the virtue of personal responsibility and caring for one’s family. Those are things to praise.

But American thought has its dark side too. Instead of simply and positively doing what we can to take responsibility in our own situations, we can easily become haughty and judgmental. We can ignore how being given so much impacts our success. We can fail to get in touch with our own need and vulnerability. We can fail to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes because we pridefully assume “I’d never be in that position! I’d be better than that!”

To us, God speaks a word of loving judgment:

And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left–and also many animals? (Jonah 4:10).

Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? (Matthew 20:15).

And as Martin Luther wrote, in his last written words, “We are beggars: this is true.”

Dear God, forgive us our haughtiness. Forgive us our clinging for dear life to the belief that we “deserve” things, more than other humans. Forgive us for forgetting our fundamental dependence on you and on our neighbor. Grant us the strength to never empower evil but to always yet be a people of mercy, refusing to be bound to the law by mere legalism. Lord, only you can grant us the peace of heart to be merciful; without you we are so enslaved by fear. Release us from it, Lord. Make us free. Do this for the sake of our neighbor–and for our own sake. Amen.