Written on February 20 and posted today as a Favorite . . .
In his sermon on the mount, Jesus tells us that we are not to throw pearls before swine. We are too precious to throw ourselves away or to allow ourselves to be used up in senseless waste. We walk a fine line between helping others and being abused, between loving those who hate us and enabling those who would use us. Today’s Noontime, and similar descriptions of these words of Jesus in Mark 6:10-11, Matthew 10:12-14, tell us that we are not meant to be doormats. We are to extend God’s peace to others and tell the good news of freedom brought by Christ. If we are rebuffed, we are to shake their dust from our feet in testimony . . . and move on. We are to journey on, witnessing, ministering, hoping, and enacting Christ – even to the point of suffering and death. This death in Christ is not pointless as some would have us think; rather, this dying to Christ causes our enemies to wonder – just as Herod does with Jesus – about our origin, our goal and our mission. If we live our lives as Jesus instructs the twelve today, our enemies may reject us . . . but they will keep trying to see us. They will keep trying to understand our motivation, our sustenance . . . and our joy.
Our lives of faith will cause our enemies to wonder about our source of strength and determination – even in the face of overwhelming odds – and this they will want to see and experience for themselves.
Our lives of hope will cause our enemies to wonder about our source of serenity and peace – even in the face of overwhelming cruelty – and this they will want to see and feel for themselves.
Our lives of love will cause our enemies to wonder about our source of compassion and mercy – even in the face of overwhelming pain – and this they will want to see and live for themselves.
Jesus sent the twelve, he sent the seventy, he sent the seventy-two, and he sends us . . . into the world to witness, to cure, to heal, to carry back those who hunger and thirst for the truth. We are part of his mission. We are part of his family. And we will want to act in such a way that those who seek God will look to us and know . . . that through us, they have seen, and touched, and felt . . . the living presence of God in their midst.
A re-post from September 8, 2011.