Christ Jesus, teach me how to shake off the dust from my feet...

Mark 6:7-13
                                         
As I go through life proclaiming the Good News of Jesus by walk and word, I encounter three kinds of responses.  When I speak about Gospel mysteries to brothers and sisters in Christ we enjoy a time of joyful communion. Perhaps the majority of those I encounter dismiss any reference to God or to mercy, as they busily chase new comforts and passions, new accolades or possessions. A handful of people react aggressively against stories of faith, diminishing both the messengers and the message of God’s mercy. What does Jesus recommend his followers to do when their teachings and testimonies are rejected? He didn’t recommend that his followers announce the people’s disbelief and shame them publicly. Nor did he counsel his disciples to call down fire and brimstone on their households. Jesus didn’t even tell his disciples to try harder to convert other people. Instead, he simply told those he sent out to proclaim the good news that “When any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” When any one or any locale does not welcome the good news of God’s mercy, it is up to me to simply depart and leave behind anything that would hinder my leaving or soil my ‘shoes of peace’. Have I had the grace to leave behind aggression and indifference and to shake off the ‘dust on my feet’ of malingerings, misunderstandings or resentments? Christ Jesus, teach me how to shake off the dust from my feet.   
                                                                              
What shall I return to the Lord for his bounty to me?  I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.   (Psalm 116:1)
 
Persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard...
St. Paul to the Christians in Colossae
 
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Soli ad gloriam Dei