During this time of the year I start to get a little antsy, because I know vacation is just around the corner for me and my family. We have stayed in the same condo in Florida for the last fifteen years and as the commercial says "It's your home away from home", and for me it truly is. Much to Gary's dislike, besides my clothes, there are a few other essentials I pack in order to make the place feel more like home. Items such as my Teflon frying pan, cooking spices, a little bag of flour and sugar, coffee, laundry soap, potato peeler, pillow, and this year I have added a king size blanket. I also used to pack my paring knife until the airlines put a stop to it, they look at a paring knife as a weapon not as an instrument to slice tomatoes and chop up celery for spaghetti sauce as I do.
Everyday our life moves so fast it's nice to be able to have a place to go to where it is quiet, relaxing, and for me to have some consistence. This break is okay for about a week, but after a week I am ready for some changes.
When everything is quiet and constant nothing happens and when nothing happens, nothing changes and then I get really bored! So it's time to "shake the dust off my feet and stir things up."
This makes me think about the people in the towns that Jesus disciples went to, to spread the word of Chirst. Here the people were minding their own business, worshiping idols and thinking that this is what life is all about and then out of nowhere come these men who tell them that what they were doing is all wrong. These guys are saying stuff like "Jesus is the Son of God", "Jesus gives us everlasting hope and love", and "Jesus is the one you are to worship". Can you imagine how stirred up these people must have been? Then when the people didn't welcome the disciples or wouldn't listen to them, Jesus didn't want them to be hanging around the town so he told them to get out of there and to "shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town." The disciples didn't have time to win the people over. They had to tour the country as quickly as possible, and had to move on when there was not immediate welcome for the message they brought.
There is an old adage out there that says "opportunity knocks once in a lifetime." You know our opportunity is now, our consistency is over, and its time to get out there and be disciples of God. Ask that neighbor, friend, co-worker or whoever else you know to come to church with you during this Lenten season, they just might like what they hear. The time has come. We can't wait much longer, ITS TIME TO SHAKE THINGS UP!
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