A Sunday school teacher was proud of her lesson for the day. She thought she had presented the material quite nicely. Summing up, she asked the class, “And what do we learn from the story of Jonah and the big fish?”

Eight-year-old Suzy thought for a moment and answered, “Always travel by air.”

Well, I hope that’s not the only thing we learn from the story of Jonah.

Most of you know at least part of the story of the prophet Jonah. It is one of the most colorful and memorable stories in the Hebrew Bible. Jonah, of course, was the man who got swallowed by a big fish.

One of Gary Larson’s “Far Side” cartoons depicts a bearded man standing at his front door. He is dripping wet and his clothes are in shreds. His wife opens the door. She looks at the disheveled, bearded man with disgust and s…