September 2: Moving On

But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region. So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. (Acts13:50-52)

This is not the first time that we have come to a text about shaking dust of our feet. Luke recounts Jesus telling the 70 who are sent out to spread the gospel that they should shake the dust off their feet from every village that didn’t receive them and the good news they bore.

There are two ways of looking at this act (actually I’m sure there are more, but two ways strike me as important at the moment). The first is to view this as an act of defiance and indictment as if to say to the Jews that stirred up the persecution that they have missed out on the good news. In modern times we might substitute it with an obscene gesture… or in a more comical mode it’s reminds me of the moment in Romeo and Juliet when the character Samson says, “I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it.”

I suppose this is a viable interpretation – except that it makes this response an act of spite, and I don’t really see Jesus spending a lot of energy on spite. Rather I think what this gesture meant to Jesus and now to Paul and Barnabas was a reminder to themselves… a reminder not to get caught up in this encounter and bear the weight of its disappointment with them. There is a world of opportunity out there – people who need and want to hear good news… so there is absolutely no reason to keep banging our heads against the ones that don’t want to.

Wow… what a message this might be to all of us disciples – and the church as a body – in this day. Just how many places are we beating are heads against a wall? Just how much dust are we carrying around?

One of my favorite Buddhist wisdom sayings is a story that illustrates this same point. This is my version of that story.

Two monks are walking together down the road. An older monk and his young student. When they come to a river there is no ferry to get to the other side. There is also a young woman who wishes to cross. The older monk offers to carry her across the river and when she accepts, he does so. After the three cross over the older monk sets her down and he and his companion continue down the road. After they walk for a while the older monk sees that his companion is becoming more and more visibly upset. He stops and asks the young man what is wrong. The young student explains that carrying this woman was a breach of their monastic vows and he cannot believe the old man has done it. The older monk looked at his student and said, “The difference between you and I is that I set her down at the river, and you are still carrying her.”

This story also illustrates the ways we can get caught up in the right and wrong – and we just won’t “put it down” or “knock it off”. We allow a disturbing event to affect us far longer than it should. We carry burdens that just aren’t worth carrying.

Jesus invites us not to carry them any longer. Paul and Barnabas witness this way of life for us as a living incarnational testimony. When these Jews become inhospitable Paul and Barnabas do not “hunker down” and wage war… they move on. They “set the women down” and continue the journey to spread good news to a world that doesn’t always want to hear it – making sure they spend energy finding those who do!

What dust are you carrying around?

How might anger, spite, and frustration be poisoning your relationships with God, friends, family and neighbors?

Are you ready to move along and spread good news?

Journeying God,
You invite us to be on the move with your word. Help us not to fortify ourselves in our arguments and stay locked in on singular objectives. In place of that invite us to be free to move along in our journey spreading good news, hope and love in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.