A Kingdom Attitude

You cannot be ready to serve Christ if you are focused on serving yourself!

In the Christian church, Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the most venerated names in its 2000-year history. In the Roman Catholic Church, he is the patron saint of animals and the environment. He was the son of a wealthy silk merchant and as a young man he lived a life that has been described as “high-spirited.” He even went off to war as a soldier for the city of Assisi in 1204 AD.

The Chapel of Porziuncola is inside the ornate Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

After his return home, Francis went on a pilgrimage to Rome and it was there that he decided to begin a life of poverty. He began street preaching and soon had a large following. Francis founded the humble Order of Friars Minor which later became known as the Franciscan Friars. The vow of poverty was a central distinction of the order.

Francis of Assisi devoted himself to preaching and to rebuilding ruined churches and chapels, an outgrowth of his short war experience. One of the churches he restored, the chapel of Porziuncola, is an excellent example of the difficulty in the vow of poverty.

The Abbot of St. Benedict gave Francis the tiny church in 1208, with the condition that he restore it and make it into the home church of his new order of humility. The building was only 18 feet long and 10 feet wide. Apparently, the Abbot thought that would be enough space for those who wanted to live the humble life. Francis of Assisi restored it with his own hands. But the Franciscan Brothers became so popular, powerful and successful that the little church was quickly inadequate. The problem was finally resolved in 1679 when a great, ornate basilica was built over Francis’ tiny church. One has to wonder what Saint Francis the humble would think of the giant Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli that encloses the church.

This morning, I want to look at the passage of scripture that inspired the vow of poverty and consider what impact it should have on our attempt to live the Christian life. Turn with me to the Gospel of Luke. Luke 12:32-40. This is a small portion of the Sermon on the Mount. You should picture Jesus on the hillside, teaching his disciples and the throng of people that had begun to follow him.

Luke 12:32-40.

LK 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

LK 12:35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of the Word.

These verse come immediately after the section of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus assured his listeners that God would take care of them. He cared for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, why would he not care for them? Verse 12 sums that reassurance up. Do not be afraid! Not only had God met their needs, he had given them the kingdom! Something much more important than their daily needs had been met. A way was being made for them to be part of the reality of the kingdom of God.

Then Jesus gave the command that many have struggled with throughout the history of the Church. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” Those who have used this verse as their basis for the need of a vow of poverty have not noticed that the word “all” neither is there, nor is it implied. Perhaps the stark nature of that statement has stopped readers from going on! But, it is important to finish the thought. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

As he so often did, Jesus was redefining reality for his listeners. Their coin purses, their property, even their clothing and daily food were not what they really needed! Those things were temporary. If their focus was on their possessions, that would be the limit of their inmost being!

The second paragraph focuses on Christian readiness and it may seem on the surface to be disconnected from Jesus teaching about material things. I do not think that it is, but we will get to that!

Verse 35 begins a “mini-parable” about the need to be ready. Jesus painted a picture of a servant waiting for his master’s return. “Be dressed ready for service” is a reference to the way a worker, soldier or servant would tuck his tunic into his belt to get it out of the way so that he would be ready for whatever was needed. To complete the preparedness, their lamps were burning. Everything was ready.

But what an interesting twist Jesus gives this! The servant was ready and attentive but when the master arrived, their roles were reversed! The servant who patiently waited, ready for anything through the long hours of night, was rewarded by becoming the one who is served! Jesus made it clear that these ready servants had no warning of when the time will be right! Then Jesus made the obvious connection. The Son of Man (Jesus) will return when no one expects it! His followers must be ready!

Now why should you see these two topics as related? How does the Christian’s attitude about material things and the follower’s readiness for Christ’s return relate to each other?

Have you ever been in a place in life when money was scarce and you did not know where to turn? I have! It is not pleasant. Have you ever wanted something so badly that you could not get your mind off that thing? Maybe it was a house, a car, or some other new “thing” that you just had to have. Your desire to posses that “thing” simply became overwhelming and that was all you could think about. Perhaps as you thought about it and “stewed” over it, you may have considered doing some outrageous things to gain that possession. I am sorry to say that you might be talking about a person as well.

Have you ever done something you have regretted because you wanted to have something or someone? How close were you to God in those moments? Perhaps it would be better to ask, how far away from God were you? When you focus your heart’s desire on material things, it cannot be on God. You cannot be ready to serve Christ if you are focused on serving yourself!

Jesus did not tell his followers that they had to throw aside all material things to be one of his disciples. However, he did tell them that they had to discard a materialistic attitude! “Things” are not important in eternity!

Down through the ages, many who have taken a vow of poverty have been drawn closer to God. But like building a basilica over a humble church, a vow of poverty can (in and of itself) become a stumbling block. The great German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “In the very act of giving way his goods, man can give allegiance to himself or to an ideal and not to the command of Jesus.”

A kingdom attitude is one that is continually refocused away from selfishness, away from lethargy and toward obedience to the call and command of Jesus Christ.