As a child growing up in small town Oregon, we were not a very political or activist family, though we did have a decal on our front plate glass window. It was the end of the Vietnam era, the cold war was heating up – or chilling down. The window decal was in the shape of a dove with a US flag super-imposed on it. Below the dove was written “peace is patriotic.” I remember a stranger coming to the door one time and asking about that decal. This little sticker had become almost invisible to me yet I somehow knew it was important. And I didn’t have words to describe what it meant. Was it a kind of flag that we could pledge allegiance to? Did it mean we wanted peace in our house or in the world? Or both?

On this long weekend, many people in this country are feeling patriotic as we mark Independence Day. Some are even celebrating the new legislation that gives tax breaks to ultrarich people and obscenely increases the budget for detention and deportations of immigrants – and let’s be clear, it will be the brown and black people. As a follower of the Jesus way, these are not things I can celebrate. I am reminded again that my allegiance is not to this country but to something much older, to a tradition that did not originate from this land on which I live but from a land where the hue of people’s skin is darker than mine.

As a Jesus follower, I am not committed to how contemporary Christian Nationalism defines what it means to be Christian. Instead I want to celebrate, as my Catholic Worker friend said to me on July 4, “Interdependence Day.” I want to look to Jesus, and the places where the Fruits of the Spirit are lived out and flourishing. I want to keep looking to Jesus’ ministry as a guide and to be attentive to the Spirit that lives in each of us.

But this story of Jesus? How does this guide us? Jesus sending his disciples out two by two is one that has always seemed a bit over the top to me. It is hard to make sense of it in our time and place. Are we really supposed to go door to door like Jehovah’s Witnesses or Latter Day Saints, all dressed up and asking if people know Jesus?

The passage we heard today starts with a random number: Jesus sends out 70 followers. Whenever there are specific numbers in the bible it seems like a clue to pursue at least a little bit. Thank goodness for Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, a New Testament scholar from the Jewish tradition. She helps put the Christian tradition in its Jewish context.

Jesus sends 70 of his followers out in pairs. Why 70? Well, remember that Jesus is a Jewish rabbi, connected to his text and tradition. After the flood in Genesis, when life starts all over again, we read a list of the descendants of Noah and his sons. And how many names are listed in Genesis 10? 70. Then in Exodus and Numbers, Moses has elders that are part of the leadership who receive the Spirit; there are 70 of them. Jesus is in this prophetic lineage of 70 followers.

So I wonder why some translations say Jesus sent out 72 and not 70? Well, some ancient authorities have the number as 70; some others have 72. It depends which ancient text you consult. In either case, this is a numerical signal from the writer of Luke that connects Jesus with his religious ancestors, Moses and Noah. Luke is showing that Jesus is not some false prophet but is in the stream of the most ancient of the Jewish  prophets.

So while we may not be able to nail down the exact number of disciples who are sent out, what doesn’t seem to be in dispute is that these Jesus followers are sent out in pairs. They are sent by twos to prepare the way for Jesus in the neighboring communities. Jesus sends people into an uncertain, even dangerous situation – “like lambs in the midst of wolves.” And with nothing but the clothes and sandals they are wearing. These 70 don’t have a carry-on item that fits under the seat. They are definitely traveling economy. The only baggage they take is the friend they travel with.

I wonder if Luke is deliberately contrasting these vulnerable pairs of Jesus’ followers with Roman soldiers who would have traveled in larger groups, carrying shields and weapons, perhaps even wearing armor. The Jesus people rely only on the “power” of their vulnerability. You can imagine someone coming to the door and seeing these bedraggled travelers and wondering how harmful these empty-handed people could be. And then instead of demanding to be let in to a home, the travelers say, “Peace be to this house.”

The Roman soldiers go door to door but they don’t bring peace to a house. Like ICE agents who bang on doors or snatch people off the street, the Roman soldiers bring fear and dread. While Jesus doesn’t want to be a king, the reign of God that he and his followers proclaim is quite distinct from the disturbing violence that the Roman Empire and its representatives bring into a community.

Interestingly in Luke Jesus doesn’t say that the 70 should only go to Jewish households. (That would be Matthew where Jesus says he comes “only for the lost sheep of Israel.”) The 70 are just instructed to eat the food they are offered (kosher or not?) and stay at one house so they can get to know the residents. In this way they will find out what needs are present, what healing the household may seek. Importantly, they are to let the householders know that the kindom of God is near to them.

I wonder how this is experienced by the households, having two people show up and ask to stay for a while. In these small towns there may be no inns, (like in the story of the Good Samaritan which follows in Luke) so hospitality is probably a regular part of life. Maybe people are used to caring for travelers. Is it a relief for the households to be told that the Kindom of God is near, rather than the terrorizing Reign of Caesar? How does this message sound to people?

How would that sound to us? This past week our household welcomed two travelers into our home, though they didn’t travel together and they weren’t strangers. They were here to participate in the Interfaith Action for Palestine. They didn’t follow Jesus’ instructions and stay a while. They each only stayed one night but we did share food and conversation. Neither of our guests explicitly said that the kindom of God is near in so many words. But we felt the peace they brought and caught a glimpse of God’s reign as we witnessed the depth of their faith, their dedication and commitment to the people of Palestine.

What if the 70 “Jesus people” come upon a household or even a whole town, that is loyal to Rome, that does not want the kind of peace that Jesus offers, that does not understand the kind of “vulnerable power” that the travelers offer. If this happens, Jesus gives his followers permission, even a mandate, to move on, to shake the dust from their feet even as they say “the kingdom of God has come near.” In the case of rejection, does this pronouncement sound more like a curse than a blessing?

This little episode in Luke doesn’t tell us about the specific experiences the 70 have as they travel throughout the villages. We don’t know who they meet, how many healings happen, how it goes traveling so light that they have to ask someone to wash their tunic for them. And while I sort of imagine that this is all pairs of men, scholar Jeannine Brown say that is not necessarily the case. There could have been, there must have been, some women amongst the 70. The writer of Luke often names women and explicitly says in Luke 8 that women traveled with Jesus and the twelve: “Among them were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and many others who provided for them out of their resources.” (Luke 8:1-3)

We don’t know who the 70 are, how long they are on the road or how long they stay in the homes that welcome them. All we know is that when the 70 return to tell Jesus about their travels, they are full of joy. What a rush to go on the road with nothing but one friend, instructed to be so focused in your travel that you not to talk to anyone on the road (like the instructions that Elisha gives in II Kings 4) and then be welcomed into a home. It is especially exhilarating to  cast out the demons that torment people and make their lives miserable.

Jesus listens to their excitement and acknowledges their joy saying that when they were welcomed, it was as if he himself was welcomed. And when they were rejected, it was as if he himself, as well as God, was rejected. (It sounds like the parable in Matthew 25 when people offer food, drink, and care to those who need it and it is as if they are offering it to Jesus himself.) But Jesus cautions them not to get too excited about casting out demons. Jesus says its not so much about the glory and triumph as it is about the process, being part of this kindom of God project.

“Casting out demons” is not usual language around here. What are these demons? A few weeks ago we read from Luke 8 about the Gerasene man possessed by the demons that identified themself by the name Legion. That name is not only a reference to the massive number of demons believed to be contained in the man but a reference to the battalion of Roman soldiers that oppressed the people throughout the land.

I wonder if the demons that the 70 cast out are similar. Are the people ready to receive the peace of Jesus, ready to have the reign of God come near because they are tired of the death dealing nature of the Roman Empire? Are people ready to be part of a community that offers peace and possibility? instead of the Empire that traps them with few options?

In the Empire there is one way, Caesar’s way, however many times he changes his mind, it is still the one way. But in the Reign of God there is freedom to choose, freedom to participate – or just let the Reign of God be near. This Jesus thing is non-compulsory. We are invited to follow, to travel lightly, even to crush snakes and scorpions under foot. But that doesn’t mean that there is rejoicing in that kind of destruction. Jesus reminds his excited disciples that even though they have the authority (and maybe even the ability) to smash what is seen as evil, there is no joy in that. Being part of the Jesus people is not a numbers game, it is not about how powerful they are. Being part of the followers of Jesus means creating room for all people no matter whether they decide to embrace God’s peace, no matter if they allow God’s peace to be part of their household or not

This seems especially important in our time, when what it means to be Christian is so contested, when cruelty is lauded and compassion ridiculed. Can we continue to offer peace, continue to remind everyone that the Reign of God can come near, is near?

Spiritual Director Amy Oden reminds us that if we do decide to try this Jesus way of engaging with people who we don’t agree with it means not treating people as objects upon which we act, but as sacred others with whom we are called to be fully and peacefully present. If they do not share this peace, Jesus does not advise reactivity, scorn or polemics. Instead, he reassures his followers that their peace is not diminished and cannot be taken away from them: “it will return to you.”

This is traveling lightly, with humility, without a lot of fancy facts to weigh us down. It means a lot of listening. It may mean exposing ourselves to things we are very uncomfortable with. And it may take a while, “remain at one house” Jesus says. And if there is no welcome, then, as Jesus says, shake the dust off your feet, even as you offer the reminder that God’s kindom is nearby, is present.

I wonder if there will be a real life opportunity for this kind of humble travel in the coming days at the Mennonite Convention. Pray for those of us who will be going to Greensboro for Follow Jesus 25. Michelle will be there with the youth: A, K, E, S and S; Emily will be there finishing up her time with the Executive Board of

MC USA; Eric and I will be there as well. (Kim was also going as our delegate but she fractured her ankle and now will be unable to travel.) Pray for Kim and pray for us that we will be strong in our commitments to Jesus and justice even as we offer peace to those we meet.

As you pray that we may travel lightly, you may also try offering peace to people you encounter: a word of gratitude; an observation of beauty; an unexpected act of kindness. These are signs of peace. And as we offer peace in the world, we walk one step closer toward the Reign of God.