Gospel according to Matthew, heard this morning at 8:00 mass, St. Al’s. Short commentary to follow.
Matthew 10:7-15, (Speaking to his apostles, just previously named)
7 And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.
8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those suffering from virulent skin-diseases, drive out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.
9 Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with coppers for your purses,
10 with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the labourer deserves his keep.
11 'Whatever town or village you go into, seek out someone worthy and stay with him until you leave.
12 As you enter his house, salute it,
13 and if the house deserves it, may your peace come upon it; if it does not, may your peace come back to you.
14 And if anyone does not welcome you or listen to what you have to say, as you walk out of the house or town shake the dust from your feet.
15 In truth I tell you, on the Day of Judgement it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Several points caught my interest as I listened to the short reading, and then later at home as I thought about it. The first was the expression “Shake the dust from your feet.” I knew I’d heard it before, though I could not remember how or in what context; it might have been at a mass sixty-plus years ago when I was a kid. I recognized its figurative meaning right away: Don’t waste your time with people who can’t or won’t accept your message; go try it on someone else more receptive.
It had been a common idiom among the Jews for a long time. “In Biblical times, when leaving Gentile cities, pious Jews often shook the dust from their feet to show their separation from Gentile practices. If the disciples shook the dust of a Jewish town from their feet, it would show their separation from Jews who rejected their Messiah. The gesture was to show the people that they were making a wrong choice. The opportunity to choose Christ might not present itself again.” [Wikipedia].
The New Testament contains at least three other instances:
Mark 6:11: “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Luke 9:5: “And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.”
Acts 13:51: “But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.”
Clearly, it was meant as an insult and a reproach to those who had rejected the message of the Lord. Modern Christians have been eager to re-interpret the teaching in more relevant ways: Here’s something from 2021:
“Indeed, Jesus advises us to talk directly with those folks. But here’s the thing: sometimes we can get stuck in an endless rivalry with them. And that endless rivalry becomes a distraction from the mission. So don’t get distracted. Jesus says to his disciples, ‘If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.’
“It’s important to know that Jesus gives us permission to move on. Sometimes the conflict and polarization is too much. You have permission to move on from a conversation. Sometimes politics is too much, too frustrating, and nothing you can say will change his mind. And nothing she can say to you will change your mind. And so you need to shake the dust off your feet from that topic. Move on to a new topic – talk about their childhood or their work or their parents or children or whatever else you can think about.
“But sometimes even that isn’t enough. Sometimes you have to move on from that relationship. And so you have permission from Jesus to shake the dust off your feet and move on from that person. If you find yourself in that position, that’s a faithful response. Wish the person well as you move on.” [Adam Ericsen, Raven Foundation].
I wondered how it’s been used more recently. The expression has been used in the lyrics of several contemporary songs, perhaps most notably in Bob Dylan’s “Pressing On,’ written and performed during his Christian period. (1979-81).
“Shake the dust off of your feet, don't look back
Nothing can hold you down, nothing that you lack
Temptation's not an easy thing, Adam given the devil reign
Because he sinned I got no choice, it run in my vein.
Well I'm pressing on
Yes, I'm pressing on
Well I'm pressing on
To the higher calling of my lord.”
It appears also in the title of a feature documentary film “Shake the Dust” from 2014: “…that tells the stories of break dancers from conflicted "third- world" communities around the globe who, although separated by cultural boundaries and individual…etc.”
Just today (July 8) I ran across it (albeit in slightly altered form) in a sports article about my beloved Zags: “Mark Few had barely shaken the sand off his feet from his annual Maui sojourn when college sports lost its collective mind. The Gonzaga coach said he is equal parts concerned and curious about where this is all headed. Not so much for him or his program. The Bulldogs are in an interesting position of semi-power, or at least as much semi-power a school with no football can conjure these days.” (Dana O’Neil, The Athletic, July 8, 2022.)
Ms. O’Neil used it in more literal (or littoral) sense, probably not intending a biblical reference, but maybe she was subconsciously dredging up a Gospel reading from her youth. (That would put Mark Few, allegedly a Christian, on the same footing as the blessed apostles. Frankly, I don’t think he’s quite there yet.)
Another item of interest was the Lord’s injunction to his followers: 9 “Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with coppers for your purses…”
10 “…with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the labourer deserves his keep.”
In other words, if we are to take the text literally, to go about as mendicants, quite possibly barefoot, which, in such an arid climate, would make shaking the dust off one’s feet all the more necessary, though probably before entering a house rather than afterwards.
Finally, I was a little shocked at the Lord’s warning to those who would pooh-pooh his good apostles’ preaching: “Amen I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.” For those of us accustomed to regarding the main thrust of Jesus’ teachings as love and forgiveness, the Sodom and Gomorrha bit seems rather harsh, to say the least. However, I don’t presume either to put or take away the Words from the Lord’s mouth. If that’s what He said, then so be it. But still I wonder whether He really said it, or if it was Matthew and Luke putting the words in His Mouth.
Other Versions
KJV (+ the Latin)
7 Euntes autem prædicate, dicentes: Quia appropinquavit regnum cælorum.
And going, preach, saying: The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8 Infirmos curate, mortuos suscitate, leprosos mundate, dæmones ejicite: gratis accepistis, gratis date.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils: freely have you received, freely give.
9 Nolite possidere aurum, neque argentum, neque pecuniam in zonis vestris:
Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor money in your purses:
10 non peram in via, neque duas tunicas, neque calceamenta, neque virgam: dignus enim est operarius cibo suo.
Nor scrip for your journey, nor two coats, nor shoes, nor a staff; for the workman is worthy of his meat.
11 In quamcumque autem civitatem aut castellum intraveritis, interrogate, quis in ea dignus sit: et ibi manete donec exeatis.
And into whatsoever city or town you shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there abide till you go thence.
12 Intrantes autem in domum, salutate eam, dicentes: Pax huic domui.
And when you come into the house, salute it, saying: Peace be to this house.
13 Et siquidem fuerit domus illa digna, veniet pax vestra super eam: si autem non fuerit digna, pax vestra revertetur ad vos.
And if that house be worthy, your peace shall come upon it; but if it be not worthy, your peace shall return to you.
14 Et quicumque non receperit vos, neque audierit sermones vestros: exeunte foras de domo, vel civitate, excutite pulverem de pedibus vestris.
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words: going forth out of that house or city shake off the dust from your feet.
15 Amen dico vobis: Tolerabilius erit terræ Sodomorum et Gomorrhæorum in die judicii, quam illi civitati.
Amen I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
And two of the verses in Greek:
7. πορευόμενοι δὲ κηρύσσετε λέγοντες ὅτι Ἤγγικεν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.
14. καὶ ὃς ἂν μὴ δέξηται ὑμᾶς μηδὲ ἀκούσῃ τοὺς λόγους ὑμῶν, ἐξερχόμενοι ἔξω τῆς οἰκίας ἢ τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης ἐκτινάξατε τὸν κονιορτὸν τῶν ποδῶν ὑμῶν.
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