大象传媒

<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />Please note:

This script cannot exactly reflect the transmission, as it was prepared before the service was broadcast. It may include editorial notes prepared by the producer, and minor spelling and other errors that were corrected before the radio broadcast.

It may contain gaps to be filled in at the time so that prayers may reflect the needs of the world, and changes may also be made at the last minute for timing reasons, or to reflect current events.

Opening Announcement [from Continuity] (For programmes on Radio 3, 4 and 4 Extra)

大象传媒 Radio 4.听 It鈥檚 ten past eight and time for Sunday Worship, from the Chapel of Rugby School.听 The service is led by the chaplain, the Reverend Richard Horner and opens with the hymn 鈥淎lleluia! Sing to Jesus鈥�.

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HYMN:听 Alleluia!听 Sing to Jesus听 (vv1-3 only)

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CHAPLAIN
Welcome to Sunday Worship.听 The framework of this morning鈥檚 service is the Old Testament story of the reluctant prophet Jonah.听 It鈥檚 a story from many hundreds of years before Jesus 鈥� but one which he knew and referred to.听 When some people challenged Jesus to prove himself by showing them a sign, he promised them what he called 鈥渢he sign of Jonah鈥�.听
鈥淲hat could he mean?鈥� his hearers must have asked themselves, while they called to mind the ancient story from the scriptures . . . . . .

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ELLIE
The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 鈥楪o to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.鈥�
3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port.
4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god.

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CHAPLAIN
So there was Jonah, sitting at home minding his own business, when suddenly God gave him this command: Get up, go to Nineveh and preach to the people there.

It was quite a scary thought for poor old Jonah.听 He decided to head for Tarshish, in the opposite direction.听 He went down to the nearest port and bought a ticket for the first boat he could find.听 He was determined to disobey the call of God.

He hid below decks, and eventually fell asleep.听 But he knew he was running away from the command of God, and it must have been a restless slumber for old Jonah.听 Soon the turmoil in his heart was reflected by the elements, as a storm blew up, with violent wind and waves, threatening to sink the ship.听

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BART
The sailors said to each other, 鈥楥ome, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.鈥� They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, 鈥楾ell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?鈥�

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CHAPLAIN
Who is the God of Jonah?听 That is the key question to the entire story.听 When the sailors asked him to identify himself, you might have expected Jonah to try to wriggle out of it again.听

But no, Jonah, perhaps having realised by now that resistance to God鈥檚 call is futile, decided to tell the truth which would seal his fate.听

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BART
He answered, 鈥業 am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.鈥�
11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, 鈥榃hat should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?鈥�
12 鈥楶ick me up and throw me into the sea,鈥� he replied, 鈥榓nd it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.鈥�

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CHAPLAIN
Jonah seems to have been completely transformed from the man who ran away from his responsibilities - into a man who looks them squarely in the face.听 This is my fault, he said.听 Pick me up and throw me into the sea.

To their credit, the sailors didn鈥檛 immediately do that.听

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ELLIE
Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the LORD, 鈥楶lease, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man鈥檚 life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.鈥� 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice and made vows to him.

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CHOIR: 听Psalm 107:23-32
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CHAPLAIN
The sailors took Jonah and threw him overboard, and, 鈥淭he raging sea grew calm.鈥澨�听 Wow!听 Who could have done that? Who is the God of Jonah?听听

The characteristic of Jonah鈥檚 God that comes through this first part of the story, is this 鈥� that he requires obedience.听 That鈥檚 not a particularly popular thought in these days of individuality and tolerance.听 Why should I obey God, says the modern person, can鈥檛 I make up my own mind about how I live?听 It鈥檚 my life.

Well, if you think obedience is an unpopular notion today, it was exactly the same in Jonah鈥檚 time too.听 It was disobedience that caused God鈥檚 anger against the people of Nineveh in the first place.听 It was disobedience that led Jonah to run away and try to escape.听 It was Jonah鈥檚 disobedience that led to the storm and the near loss of the ship and its crew.听 God requires obedience, and when obedience of a sort was shown by the sailors throwing Jonah over the side, then peace and life were the results.听

If that was the end of the story, it would be the story of a pretty unpleasant God.听 One who makes extraordinary demands on his people, who frightens them and threatens them and perhaps even lets them die.听

Thankfully this isn鈥檛 the end of the story, not for Jonah, and not for us.听 But we leave Jonah for now, hurtling headlong into the ocean, and as he splashes into the water, the credits begin to roll up the screen.听 Whatever will happen next?

ASSISTANT CHAPLAIN:
Almighty and all-powerful God, you call all things to obedience and even nature herself is stilled at your command; yet we your people turn always to our own way.听 We acknowledge our selfishness and our need of your forgiveness, and so we pray:

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father,
We have sinned against you and against our neighbor,
In thought and word and deed,
Through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault.听
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us,
Forgive us all that is past,
And grant that we may serve you in newness of life
To the glory of your name
Amen.

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ASSISTANT CHAPLAIN:
Almighty God who forgives all who truly repent,
Have mercy upon us,
Pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness,
And keep us in life eternal,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.听
Amen

CHOIR: Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)

CHAPLAIN
With Jonah overboard and the sea calm, now comes the best known part of the story.听

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ELLIE
The LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.听 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. 2 He said:

BART
鈥業n my distress I called to the LORD,
听听听 and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
听听听 and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,
听听听 into the very heart of the seas,
听听听 and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
听听听 swept over me.
But you, LORD my God,
听听听 brought my life up from the pit.
So, with shouts of grateful praise,
听听听 I will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
听听听 I will say, 鈥淪alvation comes from the LORD.鈥濃��

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ELLIE
10 And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

CHAPLAIN
A thousand years later, Jesus would take the story of the giant fish and use it as an allegory of his own life.听 Some people came to him and asked for a sign of his supernatural power so that they could believe in him.听 He replied, no sign will be given to you except the sign of Jonah 鈥� and what he meant by that was to compare his own death and resurrection, three days in the tomb before coming out again alive, to Jonah鈥檚 three days in the belly of the fish.听 And don鈥檛 forget that Jonah willingly volunteered himself as a sacrifice to save others.听 That鈥檚 part of the sign of Jonah too.

Back to the story.听 The key question that needs to be answered is that question raised by the sailors on the boat 鈥� who is this God of Jonah?听 We saw from the previous episode that he鈥檚 a God who requires obedience.听 This next section of the story now reveals something new about him.听 Now we see that he is a God who calls people to repentance and offers a second chance.听 Repentance . . . and a second chance:

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鈥�
ELLIE
The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2 鈥楪o to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.鈥�
3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh, proclaiming, 鈥楩orty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.鈥� 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

When Jonah鈥檚 warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:
Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.鈥�
10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

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CHAPLAIN
Jonah wasn鈥檛 eaten up but the fish, but rather, he was vomited up onto dry land.听 He eventually got to Nineveh, despite his initial attempt to avoid it, and he delivered the message that he鈥檇 been given 鈥� the terrifying message, forty more days, and Nineveh will be overturned.听 And for some reason, and contrary to all that you might have expected, the people of Nineveh were ready to believe the message.听 Even the king himself issued a decree that everyone should give up their evil ways and their violence.
That is what repentance is 鈥� turning away from what is wrong.听 We probably think of being repentant as being sorry for something, because that鈥檚 what it means in the English language.听 But in the languages of the Bible, repentance is much more than that.听 In that culture, if you saw a platoon of soldiers marching along, and if you yelled out 鈥淩epent鈥� - they wouldn鈥檛 sit down and start sobbing into their handkerchiefs.听 No, on the order repent, they would turn around and start marching in the opposite direction.听 That鈥檚 what repentance means when the Bible talks about it 鈥� it means making a change in your life.

HYMN: Take my life and let it be
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CHAPLAIN
God calls you and me to repentance just as much as he called Jonah and as he called the people of Nineveh.听 We don鈥檛 know exactly what the Ninevites were doing which they needed to stop; but we all know what are those things in our own lives of which we need to repent.听 The actions and the attitudes from which God commands us to repent, truly to repent, meaning not just to feel sorry about, but to turn away and start walking in the opposite direction.

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And it鈥檚 a glorious thing - because tied up with the call to repentance is the offer of a second chance.听 Jonah was swallowed up by the enormous fish, not to be chewed up, digested and passed on into the Mediterranean food chain, but rather to be swallowed whole, given the shock of his life, then three days later spewed up onto dry land and given a second chance.听

There are plenty of people, including no doubt some of us, who have spent years running away from God as Jonah did.听 But his call still sounds, his word still comes to us.

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The God of Jonah is a God who requires obedience.听 But we often fail in obedience, and so God calls us to repentance and offers a second chance.听 Still he seeks the wanderers.听 What wonderful love.

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CHOIR: Anthem 鈥� Wonderful Love (arr Bertalot)

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PRAYERS
HEADMASTER - PETER GREEN

Let us pray.
God who brought Jonah from the belly of the fish to new life, a new start and a new purpose; hear our prayer and send forth your call to a troubled world, that we might hear, and turn, and walk in your ways.
Out of the depths,
We cry to you, O God

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DEPUTY HEAD - SALLY ROSSER
For people who are running away from God; for the lonely and lost, the sick and the sad;
Out of the depths,
We cry to you, O God

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HEADMASTER - PETER GREEN
For the lands of Jonah鈥檚 story 鈥� the multitude of nations represented in the ship 鈥� and for Nineveh, which today is Mosul, a town at the heart of conflict.
Out of the depths,
We cry to you, O God

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DEPUTY HEAD - SALLY ROSSER
For the poor, the persecuted, for prisoners and refugees, and all who are in danger, and for the communities where we live.
Out of the depths,
We cry to you, O God

HEADMASTER - PETER GREEN
For our friends and families and all who love us, for our enemies and those who wish us harm, for all whom we have injured or offended, and in remembrance of those we have loved who have died.
Out of the depths,
We cry to you, O God

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DEPUTY HEAD - SALLY ROSSER
Out of the depths we cry to you O God, that you, who brought Jonah from the belly of the fish and Christ from the silence of the tomb, might lift us all with him from darkness into light, and that through us, reluctant prophets though we be, your message of love and life may be heard throughout the world; through him who let himself be cast out to death that others might live; Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen

CHAPLAIN
So we come to the last rather strange chapter in this story of Jonah, and it ends with our hero in the most enormous sulk.

BART
When God saw what the people of Nineveh did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD, 鈥業sn鈥檛 this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.鈥�

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CHAPLAIN
It seemed to Jonah the height of unfairness that such wicked people should simply be let off.听 Perhaps you think he had a point.听 Surely God ought to be consistent.听 If he opposes wickedness, then surely he should punish the wicked.听 We could look at the world around us and ask, as people often do, why do good people suffer and the wicked prosper?听 If God is real, why does he not act?听 Why does he not eliminate all evil from his world?

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Well, hang on a second.听 Suppose God were to announce that at midnight tonight he would do exactly that, wipe out evil from the world, so only that which was perfect was left?听 Would you expect to be at breakfast tomorrow morning?听 I certainly wouldn鈥檛.听 If God is anything he鈥檚 consistent 鈥� we can鈥檛 expect him to punish evil only when it comes nowhere hear us.听 No, I depend upon a God who forgives sinners - so did the people of Nineveh - and so did Jonah - and so do we all.
Who then is the God of Jonah?听 We鈥檝e seen that he is a God who requires obedience, and a God who calls people to repentance and offers a new start.听 Now we see the most important characteristic of all, the one from which the others spring 鈥� that he is a God of love.听

Jonah couldn鈥檛 bear it when God forgave the people of Nineveh.听 He said, I knew you would forgive them in the end, that鈥檚 why I ran away.听 Now you鈥檝e made me look a complete idiot in front of all these people, and he went off to sulk.

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ELLIE
Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.听 The LORD God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But when the sun rose, God sent a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah鈥檚 head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, 鈥業t would be better for me to die than to live.鈥�
God said to Jonah, 鈥業s it right for you to be angry about the plant?鈥�
鈥業t is,鈥� he said. 鈥楢nd I鈥檓 so angry I wish I were dead.鈥�

BART
But the LORD said, 鈥榊ou have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 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 鈥� and also many animals?鈥�

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CHAPLAIN
鈥淎re you angry?鈥� asked God.听 鈥淵es, I am angry enough to die!鈥� said stroppy old Jonah.听 鈥淲ell,鈥� said God, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e angry because you had a vine and now you鈥檝e lost it.听 If you can get so agitated about one plant, how do you expect me to feel about an entire city of people who have no idea how to live their lives?听 Think how much you loved that stupid little plant 鈥� and then think about how I love my plant, which is my people.鈥�

From start to finish the God of Jonah is a God of love.听
It鈥檚 because of his love that he reveals himself to his people through his prophets and through his word;
because of his love he opposes the wickedness in which people live, not knowing where it will lead them.听
Because of his love he calls us to repent, stop, turn, go another way.听 Because of his love he gives a second chance.听
And because of his love he is patient even with a moody, sulky, ungrateful, disobedient individual who just wants to run away and hide.

This is the God of Jonah, the God of love.听 Hundreds of years after this story was written down, there came another person sent from God to bring his message of love to a rebellious people, and that was Jesus of Nazareth.听 This messenger didn鈥檛 try to run away, but came willingly, and just as Jonah was thrown overboard and spent three days in the belly of a fish, so Jesus willingly accepted rejection and death, spending three days in the darkness of the tomb, before emerging in glory, the risen, conquering Son, the endless victory of the love of God.

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HYMN:听 Thine be the Glory

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CHAPLAIN:
May almighty God who from the belly of the fish brought his servant Jonah to obedience, repentance and a new start; and who from the darkness of the tomb brought his Son Jesus to triumphant resurrection, strengthen you to live with him his risen life; and may the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be with you all, now and for ever more.听
Amen.

ORGAN VOLUNTARY 鈥撎� Toccata in Seven by John Rutter