Luke 9:51-62 Prioritize your service in the kingdom of God!

As they were walking through their neighborhood, one of the kids found a rock. The rock had a unique shape and color, so it was taken home. Later, while the little girl was playing with the rock, her mom asked if she would like to go to the park, but she said, “No, I have my rock.” Then, her dad asked if she would like to go to the pool, but she said, “No, I need to give my rock a bath.” Finally, her older sibling asked if she would like to ride bikes, but she said, “No, I am telling my rock a story.” Life was passing the little girl by and all because a little rock was her priority.

Rearranging our priorities is rarely as simple as choosing between a rock and going to the park. As we grow up, our options for things to care about grows exponentially. No longer are we choosing between a rock and the park, but between things like a career. You might think you will follow one path in school for a certain job but come to find you want to switch majors or pursue a trade or enlist in the military. Or you may have been at a certain job for years, then face a promotion or another opportunity, which forces you to consider how you prioritize things like money, time, family, friends, relocating, proximity to church, etc. In our Old Testament reading from 1 Kings 19, we hear about a major change in the life of a man named Elisha.

The prophet Elijah came to Elisha and commissioned him to succeed him as prophet. He was a farmer, but he trusted in God’s new calling, so we read, 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.” “Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?” 21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant. Elijah knew the path Elisha was now on would be difficult, but Elisha showed his commitment to God’s calling by having a BBQ that puts most July 4^th BBQs to shame. Burning the plow equipment, slaughtering the oxen and giving the meat away showed his total devotion to his new path as servant to Elijah and to the Lord.

Prioritizing our work in the kingdom of God bounces around like a rock falling down a mountain. Rather than a straight and direct path to its final resting place, a rock falling down a mountain hits trees, bushes, dirt, other rocks, a bear, etc. God wants our priority to be work in his kingdom, but as our Gospel reading shows even Jesus’ own disciples struggled with their priorities. In Luke 9, Jesus sent some of his disciples ahead of him to announce his arrival to a Samaritan village, but the residents wanted nothing to do with Jesus. Rather than a patient, peaceful and prayerful response, two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John, asked, 54 … “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village. The overreaction of these two disciples showed they were not angry for the kingdom of God, but for worldly reasons. The kingdom of God is not of this world, but God’s rule in our hearts. Worldly anger or vengeance is not the kingdom of God response when someone does not want to hear about Jesus.

As they continued to the next village, Jesus exposed more worldly priorities. After the disciples displayed their worldly priorities, we hear about three other men in Luke 9, 57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” This first man who approached Jesus knew enough about him to be eager to follow him, but Jesus made sure the man understood the cost if he was to follow him anywhere. Then, we read, 59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

When Jesus called his man to follow him, his words seem harsh, but this was not a universal command to skip funerals. Instead, Jesus opened the eyes of the man to see the big picture that proclaiming the kingdom of God must be our priority. And when it is, it is what gives hope to those mourning the dead that there is eternal life through our Savior. And, we read in Luke 9, 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” With this last man, Jesus addresses the halfhearted follower who may be able to look the part of a follower, but whose heart looks back longing for another path. With these three men, Jesus exposed what may take priority over the kingdom of God in our hearts.

We all have rocks that take priority over our work in the kingdom of God. It might be easy for you to give up spending time with your pet rock to go see the Rockies, Big Bend National Park or the Grand Canyon, but other choices are not so easy for us. God established his kingdom in our hears with the gift of faith, so we not only know but trust and hope for forgiveness of our sins and eternal life with God in heaven. What waits for us after we leave this world behind goes beyond what we can imagine, so one would think it would be easy to prioritize the kingdom of God. It is not. Prioritizing the kingdom of God is a spiritual struggle, not a logical formula or emotional overwhelm. Notice the struggle for the tree men Jesus talks with on the road; they are not caught in wild sinful lives. Instead, these men know about the kingdom of God and Jesus but had other priorities.

This is what is sometimes called a ‘First Commandment’ issue because it deals with love of other things rather than love for God. For us as followers of Christ, it is not sinful to have a bed and home or attend a funeral and love our family. What does become sinful is to prioritize these above God. When matters of our personal comfort or family dynamics keep us from sharing Jesus, we are not prioritizing God. Our lives are a spiritual balancing act between worldly comfort and judgmental frustration like the disciples had for the Samaritan village, and we have all fallen to one side or the other so often we question whether we are fit for service in the kingdom of God or even fit in God’s kingdom any longer.

As we waiver in our priorities, we remain God’s priority. Switching our focus away from the disciples, the three men and ourselves to Jesus, we get to hear what his priority was in our Gospel reading from Luke 9, 51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him. Jesus’ priority was to get to Jerusalem. He was not a bouncing rock falling down a mountain, but the expert climber who knew his path would bring him to the top of a mountain to hang on the cross to save us, be raised from the dead and ascend into heaven. Jesus faced the difficult path for us to bring us into the kingdom of God. As he went, he sent his messengers out making every effort to reach more with his saving grace. Jesus has not asked us to prove ourselves worthy to be his followers or members of his kingdom. Rather, he has made us members of his kingdom and with that assurance we walk with him. For each moment we fail to follow by taking our eyes off him and prioritizing our little rocks, he calls us back to him in Scripture with his words of eternal life.

We have an eternal priority in the kingdom of God. We all have strong allegiance to things in this world. Our homes and bed call to us as each day seems to have less time in it while our to-do-list grows longer. Plus, our family dynamics are ever changing. And deepening our own faith while growing our ability to apply God’s Word to the wounds and worries of others stretches us. When we are rejected for following Christ, our hearts grow heavy and callous. We are weak when our allegiance is with this world, but with our priority on the Kingdom of God, these troubles will not crush us. With our priority on the Kingdom of God, we can endure a lot for the promise of what is ahead as we hear about the struggles the Apostle Paul faced for prioritizing the kingdom of God in our New Testament reading from 2 Corinthians 11, 23 … I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

Paul poured out his heart showing what following Christ looked like for him. He faced these scenarios because he shared Jesus with people. He did not shy away from the work, but kept his eyes focused on Jesus encouraging others to look to him. His mission was to tell people the little rock they found was not what they need too. Instead, he pointed people to the mountain with the empty cross, empty tomb and footprints that stop because Jesus ascended into heaven. We are here as Christians to bring blessings to others. Our paths prioritizing Jesus will look different, but we are doing work in the same kingdom at home, work, school, church, etc. We keep our balance between self-comfort and cursing others by looking up from our rock to focus on Christ.

The rock had a unique shape and color, so it was taken home. The little girl who found it began to miss out on life because the rock was her priority over the park, pool and riding bikes. Some people wanted to follow Jesus, but after they took care of some other things. We get our priorities mixed up as well, but Jesus’ priority was Jerusalem where he would save us by sacrificing his life on the cross for our sins, rising from the dead and ascending into heaven. What we have in following Jesus to heaven and in service to him now is far better than what we give up in this world, so we prioritize our service in the kingdom of God. Amen.

Gunnar Ledermann, Pastor Divine Peace Church