How Shall We Live In Our Freedom?

Luke 10: 1-11

Roger Lynn

July 2, 2017

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

One of the ways to talk about what Jesus gave to his disciples is in terms of freedom. He freed them from the bondage of judgment. He freed them from the oppression of fear. He freed them from the burden of a concept of God which was vindictive and exclusive. He freed them to an expansive understanding of love and meaning and purpose. By living with them and sharing himself with them and allowing them to glimpse the God with whom he was intimately connected, he changed their lives forever.

This did not happen overnight, however. One of the great gifts of the Gospels is the way in which they offer us a picture of faith “in process.” Time and again we find the disciples starting down unhelpful paths, only to be called back again. The question, for them and for us, is “How shall we live in our freedom?” What does life look like when we really begin to allow this amazing gift of God’s freedom to percolate up to the surface of our living? Sometimes what we find in the Gospels are examples of what it doesn’t look like. In Luke’s Gospel, in the chapter just prior to our text for this morning, we see the disciples wanting to call down fire from heaven because some people weren’t as excited about Jesus as they were. Jesus let them know that such an approach was not helpful. At other times what we find in the Gospels are examples of what it does look like. Also in Luke’s Gospel we read about a man who was losing the battle with the demons which were tormenting him, until Jesus called him back to himself and thus restored him to full, rich living. And then there are the places in the Gospels (like today’s reading) where there is a little bit of both.

Jesus sends the disciples out on a little mission trip. (Notice that there are 70 of them – Jesus apparently had more of a following than just the twelve we usually hear about.) This is an opportunity for them to begin living into the freedom they have received. When your life is being transformed in this sort of dramatic fashion, there is often an impulse to share that good news with anyone who will listen. So Jesus sends them out. And Luke tells us about some advice that is offered as they are getting ready to head down the road, full of both confidence and trepidation. And it is important to remember that this advice comes to us by way of Luke, because this is one of those places where I think we have some helpful and some not so helpful material, probably as a result of Luke doing the best he could to process Jesus’ message for a different audience in a different time.

First of all, they are to keep in mind that the world will not always be a gentle place, but they are called to be a living example of gentleness even in the midst of a hostile environment. “I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves.” (Luke 10:3) And they are to travel light. There is a certain urgency about their mission and it will be helpful if they don’t allow themselves to get distracted by lots of “stuff.” They are to practice radical acceptance of other people. When they go into a new town they are to stay with whomever offers them lodging and eat whatever food is put in front of them. Please note that this is about more than just eating broccoli even if you don’t like it. This is being said to Jews who have traditionally set themselves apart from non-Jews by restricting who they would eat with and what they would eat. In this one simple sounding instruction Jesus tears down yet another barrier that has kept people separated. And then there is the message they are to proclaim. It is profoundly simple and overwhelmingly powerful all at the same time. “The reign of God has come near to you!” God is here, now, in your very midst! Nothing about what people must believe or say or do. Just the proclamation of God’s presence. 

Then comes the part that I believe represents Luke adding to Jesus’ advice. When they come to a place where they are not welcomed, they are to shake the dust from their feet and move on. Not everyone is going to receive the good news we have to offer. Maybe they have their own good news. Maybe they are in too much pain to receive any good news. There are lots of reasons why, but the bottom line is that sometimes we will not be greeted with warmth and enthusiasm. We can either dwell on it and let it get to us, or we can let it go. We can either spend our energy trying to convince someone that we have what they need, or we can move on. The act of shaking the dust from your feet is simply a symbolic reminder to avoid getting weighed down with things you can’t do anything about. It is another part of traveling light. So far, so good. But then Luke takes it a step further and goes beyond what we know of Jesus’ character and message. “We wipe the dust from our feet in protest again you.” This is certainly what we want to do sometimes when we feel that someone has rejected us. But is that really the most helpful response. It’s one thing to move on to more fertile ground. It’s quite another to yell at them on the way out the door. That seems to be just another form of calling fire down out of heaven. It doesn’t model the love we say we are proclaiming. And it doesn’t leave the door open for the possibility of a warmer reception somewhere down the road.  In the words of Tom Ehrich, from his web journal, “Shouting down the opposition in the name of God doesn’t make one virtuous or Godly. It just makes one noisy.” Ann Weems put it this way in one of her poems: 

It used to be she had no time for

   eating ice cream cones on frail afternoons

      or wading barefoot through tea parties.

Her time was spent in serious hurry

   and navy-blue practicals

with none left over

   for wrapping rainbows around children’s ankles.

When finally she saw

   icicles dancing on the back of winter,

      no one was listening for her clapping.

So . . . now she sits cross-legged in the snow,

   hoping someone will come cartwheeling by

      and touch her cheek.

O God, we shook the dust from our sandals once

   and went on.

Now that the scene’s changed,

   are we supposed to go back and get her?

(“Choose Life” from Searching for Shalom)

We have received the amazing gift of freedom. How shall we live in that gift? We can choose to do so with enthusiasm, and grace, and gentleness, and acceptance. Or we can choose to respond with judgment, and exclusion, and hostility. I pray we will choose gentleness. May it be so for us. May it be so for our nation. May it be so for our world.