The May/June 2000 issue of Preaching published an article by Rev. Timothy J. Peck called "Salvaging the Old Testament Biographical Sermon" that responded to recent criticisms of biographical preaching. Also included in that issue was a book excerpt from Dr. Sidney Greidanus' Preaching Christ from the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1999). Dr. Greidanus advocates abandonment of biographical preaching, and Rev. Peck's article drew on this text as his basis for appealing for preservation of biographical preaching.

In the November/December 2000 issue of Preaching, Dr. Greidanus offered a rejoinder to Rev. Peck's article, "Biographical Preaching Revisited." One of Dr. Greidanus' specific criticisms was that Rev. Peck did not provide any concrete examples of how biographical preaching on an Old Testament narrative can avoid the hazards of anthropocentrism, moralizing and ignoring authorial intention.

This biographical sermon based on the character of Jonah is presented as Rev. Peck's attempted approach outlined in "Salvaging the Old Testament Biographical Sermon."

Being Jerry's friend is like riding a roller coaster. As long as I've known Jerry, he's battled an addiction to drugs. Whenever life gets too tough, my friend Jerry begins to talk incessantly about moving away. Fortunately Jerry is working a recovery program today. For the last few years he has been trying to put the pieces of his broken life back together, after losing his job, his marriage, his financial security and many of his friends. In Narcotics Anonymous Jerry has come to understand the concept of a "geographic." A geographic, according to the 12-step recovery movement is moving to a new town in hopes to a new setting will help the addictive per-son regain a sense of happiness lost due to his or her addictive behavior. When the bills start piling up, relationships begin falling apart, the job starts bearing down, new scenery begins to look very attractive.

I think the notion of a "geographic" is also a helpful way of describing our tendency to run away from God's calling in our lives. And I think the clearest example we find of a "spiritual geographic" in the Bible is the story of Jonah. The story of Jonah is a story about God and his compassion for those outside of God's covenant community. But it's a also a story about Israel and her failure to embrace the vocation God had called them into existence for. Many scholars believe that the character of Jonah in the story represents the typical Hebrew of his generation, a kind of "everyman" character who embodied the attitudes that were rampant in ancient Israel. But the story of Jonah is also a story about us.

As a book, the story of Jonah is a literary masterpiece, filled with irony, satire, and the absurd. The characters of Jonah are provocative, and the action commands a reader's attention. This is why I view Jonah as a historical parable, a real story that also becomes our story as we encounter God through the biblical text. Approaching the book of Jonah in this way, the prophet Jonah becomes a archetype of every person who seeks to fulfill God's plan for his or her life. As we reflect on Jonah, his story becomes a mirror where we see our own image reflected back.