What we just read are instructions
Jesus gave to his 12 disciples before sending them out
to minister - by themselves.
I imagine that might have been a
little scary for them, don’t you? It was like Jesus was
saying: “ok, you’ve seen me do it, now its your turn.”
Go and heal like you’ve seen me do, go
and tell them about the Kingdom of God just like you
heard me preach it.
What was that message again? Something
along the lines of: Proclaim good news to the poor that
God has listened, that God cares and that there will be
relief.
And to the oppressed and marginalized,
tell them that God has seen their plight, that God is on
their side and that there will be justice, God’s
justice. And there will be liberation from the yoke of
the oppressors.
Is it just me or does this sound like
a democratic platform? You know….offer healing to the
sick (affordable healthcare for all), preach good news
to the poor (justice and equality for all, a livable
minimum wage….)
And then Jesus says these words about
“shaking the dust off their feet” when they are not met
with hospitality.
What does that actually mean? How does
that translate into modern English? “Shake the Dust of
Your Feet”
Eugene Peterson translates this phrase
in his translation, the Message, with “shrug your
shoulders.” [1]
Hmm. To me, shrugging of shoulders
indicates a “whatever” attitude. I’m not sure that Jesus
meant to say that.
The Dictionary by Farlex interprets
this phrase to mean: “leave a place indignantly or
disdainfully” Which expresses quite the opposite of
an “I don’t care” attitude. [2]
The symbolic “shaking off of dust”
could therefore be more correctly understood as a
“casting off the dust of your feet against them as a
testimony” as one theologian, put it. [3] This makes
sense because of Jesus’ statement about the judgment at
the end of our reading.
So, if the phrase really means “be
indignant,” what are we supposed to be indignant about?
Let’s not forget, Jesus message was a
message of justice, liberation and peace. The oppression
and marginalization of people at Jesus’ time was
widespread and rampant.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Does this make you think about what’s going on in our
nation right now? The inequality, marginalization seems
widespread, though it may be not as overt as it was in
Jesus’ time.
