Shake It Off

Luke 10 1-11, 16-20

July 9, 2025

 

Last week, the apostles noticed that the Samaritans

weren’t really receptive to Jesus message.

And so James and John’s suggested to Jesus that they might

“Command fire to come down from heaven

and consume them.”

 

Hmm. I question whether any of the disciples could actually do that.

And in their question it sounded like maybe

they were asking for Jesus to give them that power,

which I don’t think would be a good idea at all.

And, thankfully, in response to the question,

the Prince of Peace rebuked James and John, the sons of Thunder,

and probably gave them a good side-eyed stare

that let them know that that was a crazy idea.

I’m not adding dialogue. I’m just adding stage direction.

 

This is not the last time Jesus followers have thought

that violence was the best way to deal with those who don’t

believe or don’t behave the way they think they should.

The most famous one is the various Inquisitions from the

Roman Catholic Church which went on for hundreds of years.

The Spanish Inquisition alone resulted in an estimated

5,000 plus executions by the church.

 

Even Protestants had their moments.
John Calvin the father of Presbyterians, Congregational, Baptist,

and other churches, was a great advocate 

of burning people at the stake for heresies and for not following his rules.

 

And, not to be outdone, even our own Martin Luther wrote a 

treatise against Jewish people that was so nasty, it was widely read

by the Nazis and was used as justification for the Holocaust.

 

And today, people still come to these disturbing conclusions,

that non-believers or just the non-receptive 

to their brand or interpretation of Christianity deserve to be hurt or killed

or banned, or shunned from places, or barred from political office.

 

Jesus, should we command fire to come down from heaven and 

consume them?? “No”, says Jesus. with his best side-eye stare. “No.”

 

But then we have this other side of the spectrum.

The side that thinks that we just need to make

a better effort to just get along .

That Christianity is about not taking any sides in anything.

That Christianity is about making peace with everyone, 

no matter what they say or who they are or what they do.

 

It’s the side of the spectrum that seems to scold me on social media

whenever I take a strong position on anything.

The ones that says, “not very Christian of you.”

and quotes: “judge lest ye not be judged”

(Always with the old English “ye” by the way.)

 

And less sarcastically, the one that always tries to calm rhetoric.

The one that attempts to understand

and to see the good in all people.

The one that says that a few really good conversation,

could repair everything.

I have to say I was that kind of Christian for a long time.

But I’m not sure that’s serving us or the Gospel right now.

I mean I’m always going to be in the “we’re all God’s children”

camp, but maybe not everyone wants to get along.

Maybe not everyone is aiming to understand.

Maybe a few good conversations will NOT make everything better.

 

Just this week, We have people who have gone out and killed 

political opponents in Minnesota,

and then political leaders who don’t seem to care that it happened.

 

And we have people who laugh and react with glee at the prospect

of detaining immigrants basically in concentration camps

whose only misdemeanor offense is coming across the US border.

 

And then this horrible bill that passed the senate and the house.

Which cuts funding for Medicaid and feeding programs 

for millions of people, which will decimate poor hospitals, close nursing homes,

and harm whole communities who need this care so badly

at the same time it’s given tax cuts to rich people and corporations,

and increasing the budget of ICE and immigration enforcement

to unprecedented levels.

 

And I understand that government is government,

and compromises have to be made and choices are

always going to be at least annoying and, at most, infuriating.

 

But some of our representatives that supported this bill,

did it with prayers, kneeling on the house floor thanking

God for its passage, instead of asking for forgiveness.

 

And that’s just this week. And that’s just in our country.

I mean if I go to situations in other countries

and in other weeks, we’d be here all day.

  

I’m not sure if I can pretend that some people

just have a different views of how to get things done

I’m not sure I can say anymore

that we have the same objectives in the end

and that we’re all really on the same side.

I mean, I thinking that maybe there are some people,

some Christian people, who just aren’t

hearing or accepting  Jesus message.

 

So, Jesus, should we command fire to come down

from heaven and consume them? Huh, Jesus?

No. (Side-eyed stare, and extra eye roll added from Jesus.)

 

This week, Jesus sends the apostles

out into the world to spread Jesus word and way.

He sends them in pairs,

he says that harvest is plentiful,

but the laborers are few.

 

He tells them to go into people’s house

and to offer God’s peace.

But it’s apparent from Jesus pep talk

sending them out that not everyone is

going to welcome them.

 

Not everyone is going to be receptive

to the message they have to share.

Not everyone is going to be on the same page.

He tells them that he’s sending them out

like “lambs in the midst of wolves”.

Meaning some people may even be hostile and

try to do them harm.

 

And Jesus says in response to those people say:

'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet,

we wipe off in protest against you.’

 

Or as it says in the similar passage in Matthew.

“Shake the dust of that town off your feet.”

Basically, shake it off and move on.

 

Jesus doesn’t tell the apostles to try and convert everyone.

They don’t have to psychologically analyze everyone

and figure out why this is happening.

They don’t have to understand why people have hate

in their heart for the most vulnerable people.

They don’t have to sort out why people

always have such distain for the poor.

They don’t have to try and convince people

that their way is the right way.

They don’t have to exorcise every demon.

They don’t have to convert everyone.

 

They just have to shake the dust off their feet

and move on, and keep doing

the work they were called to do.

 

I still thoroughly believe that, one day,

this world will see the reconciliation of all people,

I know that we will see the day when

“every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

 

And I think that the struggles that we have experienced and

are experiencing are the pains and wrestling

of the journey to that promised land.

This suffering will not be in vain.

But we’re not there yet.

Not by a long way.

 

And in this in-between time Jesus has given

his disciples a way to deal with those who

are rejecting the ways of Jesus and life

and following the ways of evil and death.

 

We are not asked to consume them with fire

and change people by threat or by force.

But we are also not asked to sit around in a circle,

holding hands and signing Kumbaya either.

 

Sometimes the best thing is to is just

shake the dust of them off our feet,

and go on with the work of the gospel

we’ve been called to do.

Repairing the breach.

Healing the sick.

Feeding the hungry.

Binding up the broken hearted.

Rectifying the damage that has been done.

And standing up for justice.

 

And one day we will see Satan fall like a flash of lightning.

One day the glory of the Lord will be revealed.