As Christians we credit God with gracing humanity with freedom—freedom, even to reject his love and the salvation he offers so freely. Jonah’s experience, however, seems to challenge this notion of inviolable human freedom. For, he is literally coerced into delivering God’s warning to the people of Nineveh. Similarly, at Vigils this morning, we heard about Moses being pressured to accept the great task of leading the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. Admittedly, in the face of Moses’ objections God allowed something of a compromise by appointing Aaron to be Moses’ mouthpiece—but still, God insisted on Moses’ compliance. One way of understanding this apparent divine contradiction is that, paradoxically, God’s actions were actually in the service of granting Jonah and Moses greater and truer freedom. For, Jonah was entrapped in his hatred for the Ninevites, whereas Moses was entrapped by his fears, insecurity, and lack of self-confidence—something he would soon outgrow in complying with God’s instructions. We would, thus, do well to remember this next time we feel that God is encroaching upon our freedom and ignoring our protests. For, whatever it may feel like at the time, God is actually nudging us towards ever greater and more perfect freedom.