First Things First

Scripture Luke 9:51-62   (NRSV)  

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 Then they went on to another village.

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

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Many of you know that I have been gone for the past 9 days at Junior Camp.  Kathleen Schales and I got back around 5:45 yesterday evening.  All day Friday, all the pastors who were there in one capacity or another were asking each other “Are you preaching Sunday?”  Well, yes, we all were.  All of the others said, “I’m preaching about Camp.”  I wasn’t going to do that.  I already had part of a message prepared, and I kept going back to it whenever I had a spare minute all week, because this is an important passage.  It has to lot to say to us right this minute.  I was going preach what I had been working so hard on for well over a week.

Many of you also know that I typically do the final writing of my message in my office, early early on Sunday morning because too often in my early years preaching, I would wake on Sunday morning, after slaving away over a hot sermon all week long, with an entirely different message in my head, courtesy of the Holy Spirit.   So can anyone tell me why I thought this week would be any different?   

So, Camp it is!  I have my water bottle.  I have my bug spray.  And I have my hat.   I am ready!   And I have some camp statistics for you.  

At the Community of the Great Commission in Foresthill, California this past week there were 2 camps.  There were:

15 kids in Junior Camp (4-6 grade) and 21(?) in Chi Rho camp (7-9th grade)

5 ordained ministers and 1 seminary student

2 college students and a high school student (counselor in training)

A college professor

A rancher who homeschools her daughter

A paralegal

A school nurse

And a few others whose occupations are unknown to me

At Camp we played games and made crafts and sang silly songs and yelled a camp chant at mealtimes as loudly as possible.  We ate kid friendly food that was also mostly healthy-ish.  Surprisingly, a lot of salads and fruits were eaten, by everyone. I saw some kids going back for seconds and thirds of salad!  Cereal was served at every meal, and some kids ate cereal with every meal.  It was everything I expected, and so much more.  With the possible exception of swimming, gaga ball, some of the games at Free time, and the Talent/No Talent show, most everything we did every day related to the scripture lessons from the morning.  Pastor Larry Love led us through the Bible, from beginning to end, from Creation to Revelation.  We had colors to go with the day’s lesson - green for creation, blue and orange for the mothers and fathers, black and gold for kings and prophets, purple and white for Jesus, red and yellow for Pentecost and the beginnings of the church.  We made burning bushes and pentecost doves, painted crosses on wooden eggs and made royal crowns.  And through it all were constant reminders of how we are supposed to live together as Christians.   Cabin cleanup included a daily competition for the cleanest, best decorated cabin and was more about cooperation and creativity than winning.  The whole week the staff - the counselors and the directors and the keynoter and the chaplain - kept reminding the campers in subtle and not so subtle ways that camp is a place where we learn to be church, where we learn how to live together in community.  Camp is a place where we learn that Jesus loves everyone. He even loved people who didn’t treat him well, so we need to love everyone and treat them well.  And we learn that always always Jesus has to come first in our lives, before all of the things that we usually think are important.  

This passage reinforces those camp lessons.  Jesus was heading in a direction the Samaritans in that village did not approve of (to Jerusalem), so they did not welcome him.  So James and John said to Jesus, “They are not responding to you the way we think they should. We want to pour down fire and the wrath of heaven upon them.  OK?”  And Jesus said No.  I mean, the text only says he rebuked them, but I can imagine Jesus saying to them, Ok Guys.  Which part of love your neighbor, love your enemy, treat others the way you want to be treated are you having so much trouble with?  I think . . . all of it.  They didn’t quite get that all of us are God’s people.  All of us are God’s beloved.  And that we must therefore love everyone.  Even those who disagree with us.  Even those who reject us, as Jesus was rejected.  

It isn’t always easy to stay focused on Jesus stuff.  Cause there’s life stuff, you know, that is also very important.  “I’ll be right there,” one man said, “after I bury my father.”  And another said, “I’ll follow you, but first I need to go say good-bye to my family.”   And Jesus said, nope, nope, nope.  You have to put me first.  Life stuff and family stuff are much less important than preaching the Good News of God’s kingdom.   That sounds kind of harsh, really.  I mean, what happened to honor your father and mother?   

When Jesus was alive, following him literally meant wandering all over Galilee, Samaria and Judea with him, sleeping and eating with him, 24/7.  It’s not quite like that, today.  Today following Jesus means keeping him and his teachings in the forefront of our minds and hearts all the time.

In 12 Step programs people who are new to recovery sometimes think that there are things that are “Recovery” and every thing else.  So when they are going to meetings or writing Steps or doing other things with people they have met in a meeting they are doing “Recovery related stuff” and the rest of the time they are doing “Life stuff.”   It takes a while before we learn that everything is recovery related.  The spiritual principles and new behaviors we learn when we are in meetings and studying the book and writing about steps are intended to guide every moment of our lives.  Not just our interactions with others in Recovery but our interactions with every person we encounter.  

It’s the same if you are a Christian.  There is not Christian stuff and business stuff or work stuff, or Christian stuff and school stuff or game stuff.  You can be competitive in sports or work or cabin cleaning and still behave like a Christian.  Christian stuff is not and cannot be, separate from anything else in our lives.  Not from business dealings, not from how we treat people at work or school or camp or church, not from games we play, not from how we interact with our families.  Following Jesus, being Christian, is 24/7.  Jesus’ teachings are the guiding principles we live by.  Love one another does not apply only on Sunday mornings.  It applies in the check out line at Walmart or in traffic and on social media.  It applies when we are talking about another person or group of people - no judging, seriously.  Treating others the way we ourselves want to be treated applies to everyone else, regardless of any thing about them.  Maybe, at camp or school or even church events, you just don’t think that person needs to be included in your activities.  You might say to yourselves, oh they wouldn’t be interested in what we are doing, so we won’t even ask.  If they were you, wouldn’t you want to be at least asked, so you can say no if you aren’t interested?  That’s part of treating others as you wish to be treated.  That’s part of following Jesus.  Being Christian is not about church attendance or specific beliefs.  Being Christian is about following Jesus - at camp, at home, at work, in the market, on the highway, everywhere, all the time.  

We’re not going to get it right all the time.  Maybe even most of the time.  The important thing is doing our best, all the time.  Not just some of the time.  Not just when someone is watching.  It’s like not speeding even if you don’t see the Highway Patrol anywhere around . . . because it’s not the about the CHP. It’s about being obedient.   It’s important to always be aware of how we are behaving and what we are saying and asking ourselves whether we are doing as Jesus would have us do.  Are we putting Jesus first in this situation?  Let us remember to keep our eyes opened, to watch our own words and behaviors and even thoughts, so that we may always put first things first.  

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