Jonah Cried out of the Depths

Who can express the hardship that Jonah experienced? In the belly of the great fish, Jonah was enclosed as if in a tomb. His egotistic thoughts, might and capabilities all died. He did not know what to do; he could not comprehend what might befall him. Imagine it: when the whale surfaced, Jonah could breathe in some fresh air and see a glimmer of light. Then the whale would dive down deeper and Jonah would find himself in complete darkness once again. The whale would open its mouth and Jonah would be drowned in salty water, and then the whale would spit out the water and Jonah could breathe.

Thus Jonah lived for a few days. But for the grace of God and His care for him, every second of these days would resemble a heavy mountain that would crush Jonah’s spirit, making him yearn for death.

At any rate, in his tribulation, Jonah became one with the buried Lord through symbol and shadow. He rose in his heart and mind beyond the whale to higher places, to God, praying as though he were before the Holy of Holies in Heaven: “Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.” (Jonah 2:1)

Previously, Jonah called the Lord “God of Heaven.” (Jonah 1:9). Yet, in a time of oppression, he called God “the Lord, his God.” Thus, the Lord is attributed to Jonah as his God. He is the Lord of the oppressed and the sufferers, as though He leaves His heaven and descends to help Jonah in his oppression. In other words, He transforms Jonah’s life to a heaven inhabited by the Lord his God. Our Lord, the Lord of Jonah, is the Lord of every bitter spirit. St. John Chrysostom says, “We should not be obsessed with a certain place, but we should think more of the Lord of the place. Jonah was in the fish’s belly and God heard his prayer. Pray, wherever you are, pray and do not demand that you must be in a particular place in order to pray, because your spirit is a temple.”

The Church designates a physical building to pray in as an icon of heaven. We also carry heavenly trends in us, so we must also look upon our internal spiritual building, and our eyes would be lifted up to the Holies that are implanted within us by the Holy Spirit, especially in times of affliction and pain.

Affliction is Golgotha, where we are crucified with our Lord Jesus, so that by Him, we may attain His glory and be with Him and in Him in the bosom of the Heavenly Father in the Holy Spirit.

*This excerpt is taken from a larger work by Father Tadros Malaty entitled, "Jonah".