B105 - Repentence, Mercy, Call (Jonah 3 and Mark 1:14-20)

The book of Jonah is deceptively simple. It is often reduced to a children’s tale when, using the vehicle of humour, Jonah delivers challenging themes about the abundant mercy of God – mercy that sees not only our enemies blessed, but that we, like Jonah, might actually be the instrument of that blessing. Repentance, while an implicit theme in Jonah, is more explicit in the Mark passage (1:14-20), and we refer to a theologically nuanced understanding of repentance in contrast to unhelpful, individualistic notions. We speak about the ambivalence amongst many western churches to engage in ‘fishing’, and note the way repentance, good news and evangelism cannot be separated.  We refer to an article by Rebecca Giggs Inner Space Ched Myers’ Binding the Strong Man.