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 prepare for his arrival, 53 but they did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 When his disciples James and John saw this, 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.
Luke 9:51-62
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 And 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 And Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
My children’s message from the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 29, 2025) on Luke 9:51-62.
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Dr. Kathleen Ruen, executive director of Camp Koinonia, preached today. We do not have a copy of her manuscript so below is Pastor Marc’s message to the kids.
Behind the altar is the display used for the Saturday night concert. It’s a large archway decorated in fake flowers as well as strings of light hanging down.
So it’s my tradition after the prayer of the day to bring a message to all of God’s children. And I want to talk a little bit about Jesus’ words today. But before we do that, let’s turn around and look at the altar. What do you see?
A lot of lights streaming down on an archway covered in flowers.
This decoration was used last night at a musical concert hosted here at the church. We had folks sing all kinds of musical numbers from shows and movies. It was a lot of fun – and it was exciting to celebrate different voices who are part of CLC and also welcome new people into our community. The lights streaming down in the darkened sanctuary reminded me a little bit of stars we might see in the night sky. And while it’s hard to see stars where we live here in Northern New Jersey, it isn’t hard to see stars out in the wilderness – like at Camp Koinonia. When we look up and see stars – we discover just how vast and beautiful and amazing God’s creation truly is.
I’ll admit, though, that it’s hard to see the stars. We live in an area full of artificial lights so the lights from our buildings and homes drown out the distant light from stars. Our environment can make it hard to focus on the night sky but I’m sure other things can make it hard for us to go outside and look at the stars too. What makes it hard to see stars?
The weather. Clouds. Our schedule. Maybe it’s bedtime. Or maybe we’re inside watching a movie. Or maybe we’re visiting friends or family. Being outside in the dark can be scary. If we do go outside, maybe the crunch of leaves caused by an animal scurrying in the bushes might cause us to look around. It’s possible we might be talking to a friend or taking care of ourselves and our family – so we’re too busy to go outside. Or maybe we’re looking at a screen – having fun playing games or watching youtube – and miss going outside.
Even if we go outside, we might be distracted and lose focus because our phone keeps sending us notifications. The notifications might be important – like a friend is in need. It could also be something silly like letting us know our favorite youtuber has posted a new video. It is very easy to lose focus and to have our attention split in a variety of ways. And while that might be because we have a medical condition, our inability to focus can also be caused because companies, apps, and everything around us is fighting for it. It’s easy to lose focus and learn how to keep focused, to pay attention, and to recognize what we should change our focus to and when we shouldn’t – that’s something we all need to work on. I’ll admit that us older folks haven’t always modeled that very well and while we might act as if only kids these days lose focus, we’re the ones who are distracted all the time. Keeping focused on what we should do is something we all need to figure out.
And that, I believe, is what Jesus is hinting at today. He reminds the disciples that they shouldn’t use their anger or fear of people who aren’t like them to distract them from the message of grace, welcome, love, and support Jesus brings. He reminds those who have legitimate reasons to change their focus to remember how keeping our focus on God and on hope should be at the center of who we are. And while this is always hard and we won’t always get it right, when we struggle reminding ourselves what to be focused on, all we need to do is remember Jesus’ story and how he stayed focused on showing how the marginalized, the poor, the sick, the hurting, and even you are worth love and care. Your attention is important. Your focus matters. And there’s going to be a lot of stuff and apps and screens and noises trying to draw your attention away from what’s important. But if you keep your focus on the One who has already claimed you as part of God’s holy family; if you pay attention to the One who says you matter and have value even when the people around you or other kids or those in power say you don’t; and if you hold to your responsibility to welcome, include, support, and care even when its hard; when you keep your focus on Jesus rather than on everything that pulls you away from who God already says you are – then we truly embrace and live out the grace, mercy, and love God gives us every day.