Saturday, November 22, 1997

'Oh, Jonah!' a whale of a tale

By Lauren R. Stanley

Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service

"We're going to have a musical sermon in mid-November," someone at church told me. "You're going to really like it."

"OK," I said. "What's a musical sermon?"

"It's a sermon sung by the Junior Choir. This year it's 'Oh, Jonah!' " my friend replied. "You're really going to love it!"

As the day approached for "Oh, Jonah!" I watched a flurry of activity spread throughout the church. The Junior Choir - 75-plus children in grades three through eight - was assisted by parents and adult friends who practiced the music, built the "set," made the costumes and prepared the sanctuary for the visit by Jonah and the whale.

With all the activity came a build-up of excitement.

"You're really going to love it!" became the refrain of the congregation.

And on the morning of the big event, that refrain proved true.

For "Oh, Jonah!", written by Allen Pote and Carole McCann, indeed is a whale of a tale, told by youngsters with love and enthusiasm not for the play itself, but for spreading the Gospel.

This wasn't just some cute presentation by a children's choir that we, the congregation, agreed to endure in order to encourage the children in their faith. It was PREACHING - telling forth the word of the Lord who is active and at work in our lives - by a group of youngsters who believe that to be true!

Oh, the musical sermon itself was quite the delight: a little jazz and some razz-matazz; the heartfelt cry of Jonah caught in the belly of the whale matched by the loving-kindness of the Lord in reply. There were sailors and angels and Ninevites, and a "big, bossy, whale," 9 feet long, 6 feet high, 3 feet wide, made of plastic tubing and fabric skin, with a mouth that opened and a tail that swished.

But what made the sermon so memorable was not its catchy tunes, nor the "cuteness" of the choristers, nor even the magnificent whale as it moved through the congregation.

What made it so memorable was watching and hearing these children impart the faith once entrusted to them in a way that captured an entire congregation. They were able to preach the Word of God in faith, with passion, believing every word they sang and spoke, and in doing so, also were able to convey the message of responsibility and God's love for creation to all who were blessed to see the production.

I'm a preacher, so I know how hard it is sometimes to tell the story of God at work in God's creation in a way that touches people personally. But when Jonah cried out from the belly of the whale, "Dear Lord, I'm a little bit afraid ... No, Lord, make that VERY MUCH afraid. Do you think it might be possible that your servant Jonah could be saved?" there were few dry eyes in the church. We-3/4ve all been in the position of crying out to God, "Can we be saved?" And to hear the beautiful voice of the Lord reply, "When you pray to the Lord, then I am near," tugged at the hearts of many who either have heard that reply in their own lives, or who still long to hear it.

Yes, "Oh, Jonah!" was a whale of a tale, not because of the funny way in which Jonah tricked the whale into "releasing" him (by getting the whale to sing "Alleluia"), but because it was presented by children who believe in God, and who want to share that belief with everyone.

It was a whale of a tale because it showed that once again, "Out of the mouths of infants and children, God's majesty is praised above the heavens." (Psalm 8:2)

And it was a whale of a tale because we had a rollicking good time watching and listening as these children told a story from our faith that many have heard but few really apprehended into their own lives.

There is no doubt, we really DID love "Oh, Jonah!" I can hardly wait for the next musical sermon.

(The Rev. Lauren R. Stanley, a former assistant news editor for the Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, is a deacon at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Burke, Va. Readers may write to Stanley care of Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, 790 National Press Building, Washington, D.C., 20045.)

(c) 1997, Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.