Prophets are kind of strange, mysterious people who play all kinds of roles in the Bible. But if there’s one thing that we could agree about – one thing that applies to all prophets is that they’re people who have a message from God that they need to tell somebody or somebodies. Jonah is…not our typical prophet.
Jonah is a prophet whose name means “dove.” This, I think, is an example of the Bible having a sense of humor. A little background on doves: doves and pigeons belong to the same family. The earliest evidence we have of people using pigeons to carry messages is from ancient Egypt, about 1350 BC. There’s a simple reason that this works: doves and pigeons like to go home. They don’t just like to go home, they have to go home. In the ancient world, they would transport the dove to the person they wanted to keep in touch with. Then, when they wanted to send their message, they would attach it to the bird and release the bird. Even from far away, they can fly 30-60 miles per hour to get home. Some pigeons and doves can travel hundreds of miles. Even today, we don’t understand exactly how they find their way home again, but they do.
So, Jonah’s name means “dove.” He’s a messenger, a prophet of the Lord. A real dove that has a message springs into flight immediately, soaring upwards faithfully. Our pal Jonah sprang up to flight, but he was fleeing – down, down, down into the fish. What kind of dove doesn’t deliver its message? What kind of dove runs away? And, if it were to run away, what kind of dove doesn’t at least know the way home?
When Jesus is baptized in the River Jordan, the Holy Spirit comes down like a dove and the voice of the Lord says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The Holy Spirit comes down like a dove – not just a bird of peace, but also a messenger. But what is the message? Jesus is God’s beloved Son. Baptism is important. But there’s a detail in this story that we often miss. When the Holy Spirit comes down from heaven like a dove, it doesn’t freeze mid-air like we usually see in paintings and stained-glass windows of Jesus’s baptism. It rests on Jesus – it lands, however briefly. The Holy Spirit tells us – Jesus is home. Jesus is home in God, home in heaven, a message beyond messages.
References:
–https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379971883_Nature’s_Apostle_The_Dove_as_Communicator_in_the_Hebrew_Bible_from_Ararat_to_Nineveh
– https://www.asorblog.org/2017/11/28/not-just-birds-pigeons-roman-byzantine-near-east.html
– https://unisapressjournals.co.za/index.php/JSEM/article/download/2546/1343&ved=2ahUKEwiF8MrAnIGSAxX5nCYFHZUwMnwQFnoECEIQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3y8CMzpic1sTcffl9wlQIl
– https://www.ooma.com/blog/communications-history-homing-pigeons/?srsltid=AfmBOornbGQzUTGbW1MiQ9wxF6tCb0qeA-TuQ4lxDlAIBmoUPTu8pERY
