ABSTRACT
At seminary graduation exercises, it is customary for invited speakers to offer words of wisdom to graduating seniors. Many turn to the Bible to buttress their points. I recall a speaker who suggested to the graduating students that, like Jonah, they are likely to discover that they have been sent to modern versions of Ninevah and they, also like Jonah, are likely to experience dejection, frustration, and even anger. He proposed, however, that the most faithful among the graduates would return to their Ninevahs (as Jonah apparently did not) and would have effective and successful ministries in the very locus of their earlier defeats. Having listened to many such homilies over the years, I found myself wanting to endorse his “take” on the Jonah story while acknowledging that if I had been Jonah, returning to Ninevah would be the last thing that I would do.
