Shake the Dust off your Feet
Matthew 9:38-10:15
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

What we just read are instructions Jesus gave to his 12 disciples before sending them out to minister - by themselves.

I imagine that might have been a little scary for them, don’t you? It was like Jesus was saying: “ok, you’ve seen me do it, now its your turn.”

Go and heal like you’ve seen me do, go and tell them about the Kingdom of God just like you heard me preach it.

What was that message again? Something along the lines of: Proclaim good news to the poor that God has listened, that God cares and that there will be relief.

And to the oppressed and marginalized, tell them that God has seen their plight, that God is on their side and that there will be justice, God’s justice. And there will be liberation from the yoke of the oppressors.

Is it just me or does this sound like a democratic platform? You know….offer healing to the sick (affordable healthcare for all), preach good news to the poor (justice and equality for all, a livable minimum wage….)

And then Jesus says these words about “shaking the dust off their feet” when they are not met with hospitality.

What does that actually mean? How does that translate into modern English? “Shake the Dust of Your Feet”

Eugene Peterson translates this phrase in his translation, the Message, with “shrug your shoulders.” [1]

Hmm. To me, shrugging of shoulders indicates a “whatever” attitude. I’m not sure that Jesus meant to say that.

The Dictionary by Farlex interprets this phrase to mean: “leave a place indignantly or disdainfully” Which expresses quite the opposite of an “I don’t care” attitude. [2]

The symbolic “shaking off of dust” could therefore be more correctly understood as a “casting off the dust of your feet against them as a testimony” as one theologian, put it. [3] This makes sense because of Jesus’ statement about the judgment at the end of our reading.

So, if the phrase really means “be indignant,” what are we supposed to be indignant about?

Let’s not forget, Jesus message was a message of justice, liberation and peace. The oppression and marginalization of people at Jesus’ time was widespread and rampant.