You have given me your shield of victory.
….Your right hand supports me;
….your help has made me great.
You have made a wide path for my feet
….to keep them from slipping. Psalm 18:35-36 (NLT)

Luke 11:31-32 (<<click to read the passage)
One thing that I discovered while working at Kohl’s was the number of international tourists that came to visit Ohio…Ohio! I specifically remember a family from Germany, and I think a family from Russia, as well. I just found it astonishing that Ohio would be a destination of choice when they could have gone absolutely anywhere they wanted!
Many times, it has been a point of discussion about how plain and ordinary Ohio is. We have lots of corn and soybean fields but nothing really tourist worthy.
The namesake for my blog is the song More than Useless by the group Relient K. Another song they wrote was about, of all things, the excitement of being from Ohio! (They are from the Canton area.) The song is Hoopes I Did It Again from their Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right… but Three Do album. Here’s a portion of the lyrics,

“Ohio has the flavor of a water chestnut
It’s not too crazy and it’s not the best but
We’re not setting forest fires just out of boredom
I’d rather see a movie if in fact I can afford one”

There are all kinds of special things to see and experience in Ohio from natural wonders to cultural events and world-renowned zoos, but many locals can’t wait to get as far away from it as possible. (Personally, I like water chestnuts, but they aren’t known for their zest and mouth popping flavor!)
In today’s passage, Jesus was telling his listeners like it was!

“The queen of Sheba will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen. The people of Nineveh will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent. Luke 11:31-32 (NLT)

A local guy was calling them out and they were less than thrilled. I’m sure they were thinking, “Who does he think he is, anyway?” Jesus met none of their expectations. Even His closest companions really didn’t understand all that He was. To many – not all mind you – Jesus “had the flavor of a water chestnut.” He just didn’t fit the bill for what everyone thought the Messiah would be. Many didn’t even think of Him that way because He didn’t.
The queen of Sheba – modern-day Ethiopia / Yemen– was wealthy and powerful beyond belief but she traveled to bring gifts to King Solomon of Israel and to hear his wisdom. He was a great and wise king but was far from perfect. He did pretty well at the start of his reign but crashed and burned badly in the end.
I mentioned Jonah yesterday (did you check out the BibleProject video on his book?). Even though he didn’t care a whipstitch about the lot of the Ninevites and really wished they would all perish, they repented at his message, such as it was.
And here is Jesus – the perfect Son of God -who, though they refused to acknowledge it, loved them more than they could ever have imagined. In spite of all He was, this “water chestnut” was rejected.
So, for us. is Jesus just a commonplace figure? Is He just another part of church that we go to because that’s just what we’re supposed to do? We know His name, but do we really know Him?
Lord Jesus, may we be as the queen of Sheba and the Ninevites. May we listen and repent and find the wondrous gift that You are. Amen.

June 23rd, 2020, Tues, 6:51 pm