Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Sunday June 28th, 2015---Shake it Off

This Sunday, we come to the time in Jesus' travelings where he comes back home to Nazareth with a rather cold welcome. Actually, it wasn't really a welcome at all....

Does this ever happen to you? Do you ever go somewhere and expect one thing and get another? Are you ever disappointed in how someone receives you? Do you ever think "how could someone think they are so great?"

I imagine that Jesus was not very pleased in how he was received in his own hometown. There he was, teaching in the synagogue, and the townfolk thought "where the heck did he get so smart?" They were suspicious and surprised. They were repulsed, thinking "who does this guy think he is!?" And this appalled Jesus. Yes, he was disappointed to the point where he was only able to heal "a few people."

When we don't believe in Jesus, in God's work through Christ, this limits the impact God may have on someone. God uses us to reach and even heal people (although this does not mean God needs or relies on us wholeheartedly; Jesus is still able to heal without the faith of the people).

Jesus knows that a prophet will not be accepted in their hometown; he cites scripture and fulfills there in Nazareth. And he uses this moment to teach his disciples, and us today, a lesson:


"If a place doesn’t welcome you or listen to you, as you leave, shake the dust off your feet as a witness against them.”

I'm sorry, but I can't help but think of that catchy Taylor Swift song "Shake it Off." The song definitely speaks to different circumstances than the ones Jesus faced in his hometown, but it does invite us to simply be ourselves and be confident in who we are. If we take that a bit further---I think we can be led to a self-confidence that is grounded in the faith that God has uniquely shaped us, and has called us each to be who we are.

Jesus called his disciples to shake off the dust of the town that refused their message of the gospel. He called them to be confident in who they are as Christ followers, even if it means that some may not accept them or what they have to say. This is part of what it means to take up your cross and follow Jesus...to be willing to shake off the dust; shake off the shame; shake off the rejection...and follow Christ, speak the gospel; to turn your life around (repent) for God.

See you Sunday!

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