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Out of Our Depth: What Jonah Teaches Travelers

Out of Our Depth: What Jonah Teaches Travelers

Last updated on: March 25, 2025 at 7:43 am by C. Don Jones

Out of Our Depth: What Jonah Teaches Travelers 2025-03-25T07:43:23-06:00 C. Don Jones

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Overseas Traveling

We just returned from a nice trip overseas. Now I am pondering what we learn from such travel.

It helps to go to a country where a different language is spoken. None of the schools where I was raised offered courses in Norwegian. It is helpful to the traveler when I find that nearly every person in the service industry speaks English. Yet, signs and menus can be a problem for the traveler. It is sometimes frustrating. The frustration, however, can become positive if we allow it.

Overseas Questions

Travelers ask themselves one question. “What am I supposed to do now?” Usually, this question comes to mind when we arrive at the airport. Where am I supposed to go? What line should I stand in? Do I show my passport or my declaration form? And of course, “Why did I think this was a good idea?”

The questions we are asked are usually standard. “Where are you going and what will you do while you are there?” We already know those answers. We want help deciding whether to use Uber or a taxi.

Out of Our Depth

Our trip included a cruise up the coastline of the country. I cannot help but consider Jonah. Let’s face it. For a prophet of God, Jonah was lacking good theology. Jonah tried going overseas to get away from the God of his people. He was foiled in this endeavor. Then he tried having his fellow travelers drown him. He realized he did not want to die.

God gives Jonah a ministry to foreign people. The Assyrians were a mortal threat to Israel. Yet, God wishes to be gracious to them. The people of Nineveh need a prophet to bring the word of warning to them. Jonah is God’s choice. No one else will take his place. Jonah must go.

Now it is time to be gracious to Jonah. He is out of his depth. Why would anyone in Nineveh listen to this Israelite? Who is going to believe the Israelite God can overcome the Assyrian gods? Israelites like Jonah were not sure about that, either. When it comes down to it, Jonah wants the Assyrians destroyed.

Vulnerability When Overseas

The truth is Jonah is as vulnerable as any foreign person in a new land. He has no shelter. If one wants to live in another country, the first question is not where do I find shelter? It is who do I trust to help me find shelter, food, and a way to meet my needs. A paying tourist with a little imagination should consider how difficult this would be.

I think about our refugee resettlement ministries that are struggling without federal help now. Refugees do not come demanding anything. They come asking for aid while trying to learn who they should trust. Building trust with traumatized people is difficult. It requires two attributes Jonah does not possess. It takes patience and empathy. Knowledge of how the immigration process for refugees is essential. The refugees do not know how this works. They must trust someone to tell them.

Helping and Overcoming

To help someone else, a person must know how to help. I think this is why the cabin crews of airlines tell passengers, in the event of a depressurization, put your own mask on before helping someone else. Overcoming difficulties means one must now help others overcome the same difficulties. The author of Jonah has this lesson in mind. Ultimately the story of Jonah is not about the prophet’s lack of compassion. It is about how we learn to be compassionate by struggling with our own troubles and developing the experience to share it with others.

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Travel and Religion

About C. Don Jones

C. Don Jones grew up in East Tennessee. He graduated Alcoa High School in 1984. He attended The University of Tennessee for a couple of years before receiving the Big Orange boot. He is the only student ever dismissed for spending too much time in the library. Ten years later he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible and Ministry from Oklahoma Christian University. Since it is a fundamentalist school, he often says he received his BA in BS which can mean Biblical Studies. He received his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Candler School of Theology, Emory University. His soul was saved by learning a more rational theology. Don is an ordained Elder in Full Connection in the Holston Conference of The United Methodist Church. He has served churches throughout Eastern Tennessee. He loves preaching and teaching. He also loves writing. Don is active in alcohol and drug recovery work. But he claims no special expertise other than an interest in helping other people overcome their personal addictions and dealing with their darker sides. His memoir The Sun Still Shines: The Legend of a Drunken Pastor can be ordered at www.thesunstillshines.com Pastor Don is interested in progressive Christianity including Liberation Theology. Don has experience in labor and management relations and once participated in a labor contract negotiation team while working for Levi-Strauss and Company when there was a plant in Knoxville, Tennessee. During the negotiations, Don used a tactic he learned from his father when buying a car from a dealership. He stormed out of the negotiations and stood in the plant parking lot until someone came out to make what he considered a decent offer. He was a proud member of the United Food and Commercial Workers local then. He continues to advocate for the rights of working-class people and the poor which are too often the same people. Don is a strong advocate for children’s ministries. His doctoral project Starved to Death for Love: Working with Children in Poverty is available from Pitts Theological Library at Emory University, Atlanta Georgia. He is interested in food ministries including the work of food banks and helping people overcome food insecurity. He enjoys science fiction, old films, hard rock music, and fishing. He is passionate about History and the biographies of leaders in politics, religion, and the sciences. You can find his personal webpage at http://www.lifeonturtleisland.com You can read more about the author here.

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