Multilayered stories go with us, offering insight into our circumstances. In part, Jonah’s story is about the Sacred Dark coming with an unexpected calling.
On the surface we may see Jonah’s darkness as the result of his disobedience. As we open to the depth of Great Mystery’s love, Jonah offers us another view.
Consider the personal challenges of facing shadow and growing into True Self.
The belly of Jonah’s big fish was surely dark, but it was also safe from the perils of the sea. What we originally saw as an underwater dungeon of shame, became a protective place for Jonah to grow. Interestingly, the story offered an animal (or fish) to guide Jonah away from his familiar foundation, down into flowing waters.
Moving beyond the obvious prophecy and making Jonah’s experience our own, we discover that fear wants us to run and hide. Even so, Abundant Life asks us to courageously live.
What if the something bigger that devoured and held Jonah, also swallows and holds us? And if we could see our lives resting in a lap of Love, would we then be willing to intimately merge with the narrative?
Whether we unite with or refuse our deepest callings, at some point, we will find ourselves in an ocean of uncertainty. As we allow Spirit to brood over us, we discover rich companionship in our loneliness, agitation and in spite of our transgressions. Thereafter, lack of predictability pales next to the inner light that faithfully burns.
If we enter the Sacred Dark, like Jonah and later Jesus, we can expect to appear irreverent to people who need to organize beliefs into static principles. Will we back up to avoid conflict or trust Spirit to move in and through us, with compassion?
Why do we resist unexpected callings? Perhaps because they frequently demand significant changes in both our paradigms and behavior. If we, like Jonah, discover the Sacred Dark inviting us to deepen, we will find ourselves responding to or resisting something more.
Sacred Ruminations*
Ponder how change can feel confrontational, not only for the one deepening, but also for everyone involved.