"Shake the Dust from Your Feet"

In today's first reading, Acts 13: 44-52, prominent women and leading men stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas "and expelled them from their territory." This past week a Catholic priest was fired by Speaker of the House, as his message of passing legislature that benefits the rich and poor alike was labelled "too political." Whatever the reason for the expulsions, Paul and Barnabas "shook the dust from their feet in protest" against their persecutors and moved on.

All of us, from time to time, will encounter those who oppose the good we want to promote, will   reject our stand for justice, and, in fact, will persecute us for our commitment to the Gospel. There will be times when, in spite of having put forth our best, we will need to shake "the dust" from our feet, forgive those who oppose our actions, let go and let God, and move on.  Given the obstacles placed in our way and a clear messages of being  unwelcome and in fact "expelled from [the] territory," we need to open ourselves to God's invitation to move on to other  "territories." This may mean moving on to a different ministry/job, letting go of a certain relationship and/or, in short, changing our determination to get what we want from "soil" that is unproductive, knowing that God has a future full of hope planned for us (See Jer 29:11)! But without letting go of and surrendering the past to God we will not know that future!