Thoughts from St. Andrew's Episcopal Church • Birmingham, AL

Wednesday, March 04, 2020

Old Testament: Jonah 3:1-10

Gospel: Luke 11:29-32

Psalm 51:11-18

In Luke’s passage, he mentions “The Queen of the South.” After reading this I had to smile as there is a soccer team from Dumfries, Scotland called “Queen of the South.” This is not the greatest soccer team in the world, but their fans are some of the best behaved. Digging a little deeper, I found out that the Queen of the South and the Queen of Sheba are one and the same person. The ancient Sheba is generally agreed to be on the site of modern Yemen. The Queen of Sheba sought out the wisdom of Israelite King Solomon in First Kings 10:1-13 and Second Chronicles 9:1-12. Luke’s mention of the ends of the earth probably refers to the fact that Yemen is the most Southern point of the known world in the first century BC.

The historical Nineveh was a thriving city on the banks of the Tigris River in ancient Assyria, what is now part of Mosul in modern Iraq. Nineveh repented and was spared God’s wrath as documented in Jonah, 3:1-10. This relief was temporary as Nineveh was sacked and destroyed around 612 BC.

So, what are the messages that we can take from these passages? The Old Testament story behind Jonas’ passage is a bit patriarchal; with the Queen of Sheba seeking wisdom from an Israelite King. Jonas’ passage is a bit dissatisfying as the repentance of the citizens of Nineveh only led to a temporary delay in their ultimate destruction. Luke’s passage starts with Jesus condemning a whole generation “from a certain place” as evil, without defining which generation he means or where they are from. Intergenerational conflict has been the bane of human existence and is a chronic problem today.

Perhaps these two passages are coupled together to make us feel uncomfortable; to bring us out of our comfort zone and repent for things we have inadvertently done that caused pain to others. Which leaves us with Psalm 51: “Create in me a clean heart, O God” is the opening of a very comforting passage of this Psalm. We could all use a bit of comfort after stepping outside our comfort zone. Or, maybe like Queen of the South supporters, we can simply behave ourselves today. 

Ewan Tytler