Do You Overpack?

~~~Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time~~~

~~~Amos 7:12-15~~~Psalm 85~~~

~~~Ephesians 1:3-10~~~Mark 6:7-13~~~

 ...take nothing for the journey

but a walking stick—

no food, no sack, no money in their belts. 

They were, however, to wear sandals

but not a second tunic. 

I believe that our airlines have taken 

these verses a little too literally.

When it comes to luggage;

 it seems there is an additional fee for all luggage.

Some carriers are even charging for carry on.

As general rule we all tend to pack more than we need for a trip.

I know we are guilty of taking too much.

Even though I try to downsize my packing,

it just seems to multiple more and more.

I begin to rationalize about this or that item of clothing.

I begin the 'what if' game with myself.

What if...I spill my soup on my skirt?

What if...I sit on a dirty chair?

What if...the weather changes?

We want to be prepared for any 

situation that may arise

so we over pack. 

...take nothing for the journey

but a walking stick—

no food, no sack, no money in their belts. 

They were, however, to wear sandals

but not a second tunic. 

I don't think we could ever travel without money.

Knowing that an ATM machine is readily available 

helps ease the stress of running out of cash.

Jesus did instruct the apostles to wear sandals.

It is the custom in many cultures to remove your shoes

 when entering the home.

Wearing sandals makes it much easier to remove them.

You can quickly slip you feet right out of sandals.

Of course there are many health benefits

 in keeping your bare skin away from the ground.

The apostles were walking many miles each day.

They were walking across the countryside

 along with horses and donkeys.

Allowing sandals was taking care of their health.

Everything prescribed by Jesus

was to make the journey more efficient.

Jesus did not want them to be preoccupied 

with what they might need on their journey.

Jesus wanted them to trust him and 

to rely on his care for them.

The message is the same for you today.

You do not need to carry with you a stuffed suitcase.

Jesus is all you need, along with your sandals and walking stick.

Jesus goes so far as to instruct us to even shake the dust from our feet.

Sandals do allow dust from the road to accumulate on the feet.

There is to be nothing to keep you 

from proclaiming the good news of salvation.

Blessed to be free from extra baggage.

All you need is love.

~~~Peace~~~

Kick Off the Dust

~~~ Proverbs 30: 5-9 ~~~ Psalm 119 ~~~ Luke 9:1-6 ~~~

 

"...shake the dust from your feet..."

 

This is a great visual that I can relate to a few things in my life.

We tend to carry our extra baggage within ourselves for a long time.

Mostly it is emotional hurts or misunderstandings that we just cannot let go of.

 

What if, as on the airlines, you had to pay a price for

carrying around this extra baggage?

What if you were limited to just how much

you could carry in your heart?

 

Well guess what, you are paying a price;

it is a price with no monetary value so it may go unnoticed.

You pay the price with a heaviness in your heart that just won't go away.

 

After some time of carrying this extra baggage you may also become physically ill.

 

Did you ever watch a duck dunking itself in a pond?

It dives in head first and then pops up.

The water runs right off its back as if it were not even in the water.

 

Thus the origin of the saying 'like water off a duck's back'.

 

Sometimes I wish it were that simple to let go of offenses.

 

Kicking the dust from your feet is something that will need to be done

many times through out this journey we call life.

 

Luke also writes about taking nothing for the journey...nothing material.

 

The psalmist sings...

"...thy word is a lamp to my feet."

 

If we keep our eyes on Jesus and keep his word alive

within our heart and soul;

we will manage to kick off the dust.

 

IF we allow the 'dust' to accumulate on our feet we risk

becoming distracted from the real goal.

The real goal here is too walk with the Lord...

to spread his good news.

 

 

This rich image of feet causes me to also reflect on the feet of Jesus.

Everywhere he went, other than the times he was in a boat, Jesus was walking.

His feet too became 'dusty', but he never let it deter him from his mission.

 

I am reminded of a song titled How Beautiful by Twila Paris

The lyrics speak of the hands and feet of Jesus.

He walked along the lone dusty road to Calvary.

 

He kicked off the dust through the mercy he graciously extends to us.

What better image of forgiveness than to 'kick off the dust'?

Once the dust is kicked off it falls back to the ground...

it is no longer part of our 'baggage'.

 

Next time you want to react to a hurt or a wrongdoing

'kick off the dust'

and let it fall to the ground.

 

Kicking off the dust is equivalent to Forgiveness.

 

How beautiful the feet that walked the dusty roads to the cross.

Take nothing but the words of the Lord.

He will provide all that you need for the journey.

God Bless you and Keep you.

Shake off the Dust

~~~ Acts 13: 44-52 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ John 14: 7-14 ~~~

"They shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium."

Things were going well...the good news was spreading among the Gentiles...and then the Jews came along and began to incite the prominent women of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas. These circumstances caused them to leave...

"They shook the dust from their feet..."

Sometimes when things are negative and you are feeling persecuted the best you can do is move on leaving the problems behind. To me the message of shaking the dust from your feet is to let everything go carry nothing from the past ahead with you.

Free yourself from the unwanted burdens;

 the useless baggage and move on into your future.

If you leave behind even the tiny particles of dust you can begin with a fresh outlook. It often serves no purpose to carry around those things that no longer serve a purpose in your life.

If the dust is gone the slate is also cleared. What is written in the dust can be blown away even if it is on your feet. When we walk we are either walking toward something better or walking away from something no longer satisfying.

Dust is not permanent...dust is not solid...you cannot build upon dust...

When we are faced with disappointments and are hurting we can make the decision to

'shake the dust from our feet' and let it go.

Holding on to 'dust' takes more energy than it is worth.

Next time things start to bug you or get under your skin...

'shake off the dust' and save your energy for better endeavors.

Holding grudges only keeps you feet covered in the dust.