In the stories of Jonah proclaiming God’s judgment to the Ninevites and Jesus calling fishermen to be his disciples, the lectionary provides us this week with two stories of God sending a simple, pointed message -- and against what might seem to be common sense, the targets for those messages actually responding to them. After all, Nineveh was a big enough city that its residents likely did not have to worry about its security -- and yet the people “turned from their evil ways.” And the fishermen at the Sea of Galilee dropped their nets and followed Jesus into a highly uncertain future.
