Sunday Stretch: Vol. 65

Start off your week with a grounded take on Bible, prayer, the world, and your life ...

Hi Readers,

Starting off this Sunday with a quick “welcome” and “thank-you” to the new subscribers and new paid subscribers in the

I'm Listening

community! I received a few really heartfelt notes along with your subscriptions last week, and the way I get them doesn’t provide a simple way to respond to you directly - so I wanted to say publicly here how much I appreciate you and your encouragement. Week in and week out, with wars and stress continuing to mount in our world, I find so much inspiration from all of you! Wouldn’t it be great if we could all meet in person sometime? I know all of you would be likewise inspired and encouraged by one another. Contrary to most of the headlines we read, there are so many of us who are seeking connection and understanding with one another and with the world. And we need each other more than ever. All that to say - I’m glad you’re here!

Let’s get to the texts …

Mosul, Iraq / whose urban sprawl encompasses what is today the biblical town of Nineveh

Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images

Bible Stories

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Jonah 3:1   The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying, ² “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” ³ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. ⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” ⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

Jonah 3:10   When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

Something I’ve always done when reading Bible texts is to try and locate them on a modern-day world map. This practice became even more real to me after 2010, when I was fortunate to visit the Holy Land with a seminary trip. But even before then, I always wanted to see where Bible places were located today. I think it helped me to have the stories become real: they had a real location, space, and time. Even though some Bible stories likely use composite characters or take liberty with hard facts and data to tell deeper stories about the truth of God, at the same time I think it’s important to realize that these stories were set in a particular place and time, among particular people.

I think too - as an American Christian - that it’s instructive to remember that our faith is