Journey through Lent with Jonah

"Jonah" by Naomi Spears  http://ARTcnet.com

Lord God Almighty can fix the thing.

Can fix hard head

Can fix weak back

Can fix crooked leg.

God can fix anything.

Hear how He fix Jonah.

        -Liberian folktale (recorded by Lorenz Graham)

Friday

Naomi Spear's woodcut is hardly the calm image I usually seek to guide me through the end of winter and season of Lent.  

But doesn't the sharp contrast of light and dark ring true if we're willing to own up to sin?  And the  Jonah figure, a crooked little guy with scrawny hair, is humble enough to say, this could be anybody.

Tonight the news is showing video of the Dalai Lama leaving the White House via the back door (as evidenced by the pile of trash bags).  There's a flurry of comments, ironic and indignant:  how discourteous, how dumb to think no one would notice; what an effort to avoid diplomatic meltdown.

I just keep thinking, what a great image for Lent.  Does anyone think it matters to the Dalai Lama what door he goes in or out?  With his sense of humor and humility it seems perfect.

Lent opens a backdoor and invites us into Jesus' salvation journey to the cross.

Jonah's story reminds me how strange that salvation journey can be.   After all, he's saved by a fish's gaping mouth, hmmm, wonder what the trash situation was in there....

May humble humor accompany you where-ever God provides space for grace this Lent.