“MOVING FROM A TENSE PAST TO A PAST TENSE LIFE”
LUKE 10:1-11
10:1 After this the Lord appointed
seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.
2 He said to them, "The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
3 Go on your way. See, I am sending
you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals;
and greet no one on the road.
5 Whatever house you enter, first
say, 'Peace to this house!'
6 And if anyone is there who shares
in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.
7 Remain in the same house, eating
and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house.
8 Whenever you enter a town and its
people welcome you, eat what is set before you;
9 cure the sick who are there, and
say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'
10 But whenever you enter a town and
they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say,
11 'Even the dust of your town that
clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom
of God has come near.'
One of the things that I’ve
noticed over the last several years is that my memory isn’t what it used to be.
Now I can just hear some of you saying to yourself, “Just wait until you get to be my age,” but it’s
true. I used to be able to remember everything. Now I have to write things down
so I won’t forget. I guess that’s one of the things you have to accept
as you get older. Your memory isn’t going to be as good as it used to be.
Although that isn’t true for everyone.
Some people have minds that are still sharp when they’re in their 70’s and 80’s and sometimes even
when they’re in their 90’s. A man found that out one day while he
was in the grocery store. He noticed that a little old lady seemed to be following
him. Every time he turned around the little old lady was staring at him. That
continued all the way to the checkout line. At that point the little old lady turned around and apologized. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I hope I didn’t
make you too uncomfortable. It’s just that you look exactly like my late
son.” The man nodded his head. “That’s
alright,” he said, “I understand.” “You know,”
the little old lady whispered, “this will probably sound a little silly, but it would do my heart a lot of good if you
could wave as I leave the store and say, ‘Good bye Mom.’” The
man smiled. “I think I can do that for you,” he said. So, as soon
as the woman’s groceries were back in her shopping cart she made her way to the front door. The man waved and said “Goodbye, Mom.” The little
old lady turned around and waved to the man, then walked out of the store. The
next thing the man heard was the cashier’s voice informing him that his groceries came to $121.85. The man was shocked. “That’ can’t
be right,” he said, “I only bought five items.” Now it was
the cashier’s turn to smile. “I know,” she said, “but
your mother said that you were going to be paying for her groceries, too.”
Most of the time
that’s what you want. You want a mind that’s sharp; a mind that remembers
things. Sometimes though, you’re better off when you have a mind that is
able to forget. That’s essentially what Jesus said when he sent those 70
followers of his out to preach and proclaim the Good News.
You see Jesus knew that they
weren’t always going to receive a warm reception. He knew that some people were going to be hostile and hateful and
downright inhospitable. So, Jesus said, “whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you. Go out into its streets
and say. ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you.’”
Do you hear what Jesus is
saying here? The advice that he gave to his followers back then is also good
advice for you and me. Simply put when someone puts you down or lets you down,
and there’s nothing you can do to change the situation, the best thing you can do is wipe the dust off your feet. You wipe the dust off your feet so you can forget about it and move on with you life.
Jesus knew that if you don’t
do that you’re going to go through life carrying a lot of excess emotional baggage.
You’re going to go through life carrying a lot of unhealthy and unnecessary anger and embarrassment and bitterness. In the back of your mind you’re always going to remember the boy or girl in
high school who dumped you right before the senior prom. You’re always
going to remember the spouse who left you for someone else, the friend who took advantage of you, the sister who wasn’t
honest with you, the son who let you down.
If you can’t change
what happened then the best thing you can do is follow the advice that Jesus gave when he sent those 70 followers of his out
to preach and proclaim the Good News. The best thing you can do is wipe the dust
off your feet so you can forget about it and move on with your life.
Several years ago psychologists
at Duke University
did some research on what you need to do to achieve a healthy peace of mind. What
you’ll find at the top of their list are three things that are closely related to the advice that Jesus gave to his
followers.
The top three things on their
list were as follows.
1.
Don’t hold on to suspicion and resentment. Nursing a grudge is a major
factor in unhappiness.
2.
Don’t live in the past. An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures will
lead to depression.
3.
Don’t waste time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away
from it.
That Jesus sure was a smart
man. He knew that when someone lets you down or puts you down, and there’s
nothing you can do to change the situation, the best thing you can do is wipe the dust off your feet. You wipe the dust off your feet so you can forget about it move on with your life.
