22nd. August. 2022. Daily Devotions.
And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Matthew 10:11-14
Christ charged us, and anointed us, with what is called the Great Commission. Our job is to go into the world and proclaim the Good News of salvation through Christ, so that all the world may hear it and have a chance to know it. But not all who hear it will receive it. Many will reject it, some vehemently and with mockery and sarcasm, and even violence. This is not our problem.
If we read the first verse of the quote carefully, we might suddenly realize an enormous implication to the words “find out who is worthy in it.” Christ does not tell us, “harangue those who scoff and argue until they agree with you.” He does not tell us, “Make them accept your words by threats and bribes.” He tells us, rather, that it is they who must show whether they are worthy, not we who must prove that Christ is worthy. We are not trying to sell them something. We are trying to give them life.
If they reject our message, it is not a reflection on us. We must not become frustrated (although we might be disappointed or sad). It is not part of our Great Commission to fit a round peg in a square hole.
Secondly, consider the implication of “let your peace return to you.” Christ seems to intend this to mean, “Do not attempt to bless a house that rejects your message.” But we might extend it to our own state of mind: “Be at peace when you bring the Word of Christ to someone, and they reject it.”
We cannot let a refusal disturb our peace; we should not feel frustrated. It is human nature to argue and try to win an argument, when you know you are right, and to feel frustrated when someone will not listen to you. We are not selling ourselves; we are not trying to prove that we are correct or smart or wise. We seek their victory, not our own. Those who will not hear us have not rejected us; it is prideful to cast the rejection in such terms. They have rejected Christ, not us.
It is not our job to save the world; it is rather our job to inform those in the world so that they might accept salvation if they want it … Judgment is not ours to make, and redemption is not ours to give. God’s Holy Spirit will flow from us to anyone who willingly accepts Christ, and nobody else. Taylor Swift.
Lord, let me be bold in witnessing to salvation through Christ, and at peace when someone rejects it. Amen.
Give to us, Lord, the peace of those who have learnt to serve you, the joy of those who are glad to obey you and the delight of those who rejoice in your praise; through Christ our Lord. Amen. Aidan of Lindisfarne (d.651)
Jesus our guest, none of our communities include everyone. There are many places we set aside for our own safety, identity, or privacy, or through prejudice or presumption. We find it hard to make space for people we consider unsavoury – people who use obscene language or who hold views we find offensive. How often have we shut out others just by our presence, never mind our words and actions? Lord have mercy. You alone will open the longed-for space for all in your commonwealth of love and grace, when you judge the nations, heal our divisions, and transform our communities. What you started in Galilee, continue now. Through your Spirit, come, be our guest. Widen our circle again. Amen
God of love, we pray you give us love: Love in our thinking, love in our speaking, love in our doing and love in the hidden places of our souls; love of our neighbours, near and far; love of our friends old and new; love of those with whom we find it hard to bear, and love of those who find it hard to bear with us; love of those with whom we work, and love of those with whom we take our ease; love in joy, love in sorrow, love in life and love in death, so that at length we may dwell with you, who are Eternal Love. Amen. From Canterbury Cathedral.
May God be your comfort and your strength, your hope and your support, today and every day. Amen.