Whisk Broom

I saw it hanging next to the door as I passed the house.
It seemed out of place, but it was practical, no doubt.
It was a whisk broom.

A whisk broom is usually made out of broom corn.
It is tightly sewn into a fan like shape, knotted, and bound in string.
The knot at the top makes a handle for the person using the broom.

I wondered why the whisk broom was hanging so prominently by the front door.
Was it for the cobwebs that are inevitably found in the corners?
Was it for the dirt that might be attached to your shoes?

I remember a whisk broom in my house when I was little.
It was never used for floors like our larger broom.
Rather, it was used to brush off clothes…especially wool winter coats.

I loved the sound of the whisk broom as it was brushed across the fabric.
Nothing got lint off clothes any better.
I had forgotten all about whisk brooms and was grateful for the memory.
Adhesive lint rollers are just not the same thing!

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to Him, He sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. These were His instructions: Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave as a testimony against them. (Mark 6:6-11)

Jesus elaborates a bit more when He sends out the Seventy-Two.

When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, “The Kingdom of God is near you.” But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you.” (Luke 10:8-11)

Jewish hospitality was vitally important.
Jesus told His disciples to take nothing with them.
He knew that they would be relying on Jewish hospitality as they traveled.
Jesus knew they would be taken care of when they were on the road.

If the town was welcoming, it was open to hearing the message of the Gospel.
The Kingdom of God is near you.

The Kingdom of now and not yet.
Now…in the presence of Jesus.
Not yet…until Jesus comes back and takes His people with Him.

If the town rejected the disciples, and rejected the message of the Gospel, they were ultimately rejecting Jesus Himself.

Shaking the dust of the town off their feet was a judgment against that town.
The people were rejecting Jesus and the Gospel.
The disciples were separating themselves from them.

Even back then, a good whisk broom was needed.

How about us?
Do we have dust that we need to shake off our feet?
Are there worldly particles sticking to us that need a good sweeping?
If the dust lingers there too long, it will build up.
Then it will be terribly difficult to remove.

Do we go places that reject Jesus and His Word?
Do we watch movies and read books that undermine the truth of the Gospel?
Do we just go along in order to fit in?

The build up of worldly dust will weigh us down.
We will get so used to it, we won’t even notice it after a while.
Perhaps a good shaking and sweeping is needed.

Maybe the owners of that house had it right.
A whisk broom, hanging by the front door, is appropriate.

Shake off the dust of the world before you enter here!
The Kingdom of God is near.