Jonah reminds us that, as with any relationship, a real relationship with God brings forth many emotions, including sometimes anger.  For anger only arises with those we care about the most. But alas, Jonah’s anger is not the last word, because God always has the last word.  God ends Jonah’s story by saying in so many words “Jonah, this is hard for you to understand, but I did what I did out of love for the people of Nineveh, and love for you.” And here now is the last word, and the ultimate reason why the story of Jonah will forever ring true. We are all hard to love, and yet the story of Jonah is the story of God’s long-suffering love for humankind. God’s love for Nineveh is so strong that it suffers through their evil so they might find redemption. God’s love for Jonah is so strong that it suffers through his stubbornness, so Jonah might find God’s grace.  We are hard to love, yet God’s love was the first Word and it will be the last, in the story of all those who run, fall and are raised back up again; now and always and unto the ages of ages, amen.