Dining with the dead?

     Are you dining with the dead today?  If not listen to these words.  Jesus, after recruiting disciples told them to" go into cities or towns and inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go hence.  And when ye come to into a house salute it. And if a house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it not be worthy, let your peace return to you.  And whosoever shall not receive you nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake the dust off of your feet."  Curious words? Harsh?  Yes they are!
    But here is the thing.  We carry with us just like Christ, the power of an unseen kingdom that has broken into our present world that beckons like a lighthouse to those in a place of deadness.  And because this is so we can labor as Christ did and discern just where our words fall.  On deaf ears, yes many times, or on receiving ears that will sense what we carry in these earthen vessels.
     In our democracy today Christians can and are viewed skeptically because we can draw lines of distinction in what we do.  We have a forerunner that went before us and taught many things that are not necessarily democratic in nature. Jesus also told a young disciple wanting to follow him,  but first had to bury a father "to let the dead bury the dead." This again is seemingly harsh and probably would raise eyebrows if overheard in our society today. If then we are directed to go and make disciples of all nations as Christ directed his very first followers, then it must be done with a presentation of love,reason and with a sense of just who our audience is at the time.  Not every one will like the words of Christ because they can be offensive and target something in our natures that will be repelled by them.
     However, we,(I included) have a desire for those who want to be free, like Christ who went about tirelessly, preaching a kingdom here and now, with signs, that followed him wherever he went and also causing a stir to those who were upset with his words.  He ate with "publicans, sinners, the poor and yes even those with different belief systems but was unfazed by any of his accusers.  Because this was a joy he brought to those who would hear.  So I dine daily with the dead, according to Christ, not with a superiority complex but with humility knowing I was dead too at one time...and then a young man came and shared a message of hope to me at a time I most needed to hear it, changing forever my point of view.