When the Children Make Us Laugh

 

She is sitting on the steps with the pastor who asks a question.  She offers what seems like a perfectly sensible answer and the whole congregation laughs.  In that moment one of two things happens, either a comedian is born or a child feels humiliated.  When a comedian is born, he often uses the children’s time to practice his new-found vocation, generally with beginner comedian results.  He may even compete with the pastor for the attention of the congregation – especially if mom or dad is the pastor.  The results can embarrass everyone – except probably the young comedian.  But if the child who drew laughter feels humiliated, she often decides the conversations on the steps are dangerous.  Humiliated children do not speak up again for a long time and eventually fold their arms across their chests saying emphatically, “I am not going up there anymore.”  That response is the more common one and also poses the biggest threat to the growth of a young worshiper. 

But congregations love this kind of laughter!  Many adults look forward to it as possibly the only unscripted light-hearted moment in the whole service. 

What to do? 

 

*   To protect and respect young worshipers stop asking children questions during the children’s time.  No adult would willingly converse with the preacher on an unannounced topic in front of the whole congregation.  Why ask it of children?  Instead sing songs together, recite prayers and verses, tell stories, and explain things.  The adults enjoy all those things and might at times laugh with the children during them, but they don’t put the children on the spot.

 

*   Ask questions but teach the congregation to withhold their laughter as a baptismal responsibility to the children.  Point out that no one likes to be laughed at unless they are telling a joke.  When children make good faith comments that seem funny to adults, we need to love them by enjoying their comment silently.  Congregations often need to be taught this practice.  Articles in newsletters or printed in bulletins are good starters.  At times it is necessary to flat out discuss it with a worshiping congregation.  Most adults wouldn’t laugh at a child knowing the hurt it can cause.  They simply haven’t thought about it from the child’s point of view.

 

*   If a child does draw a laugh, support her immediately.  If she is within reach, give her a hug.  Say seriously, “that is something I never thought of before.  I think that is why everyone laughed.  But, I think you may be right.  Why do you say that?”   Or, say something to agree with or validate what the child said.  Don’t let the laughter go unanswered.

Not letting the congregation laugh at a child is a little thing that can make a big difference in the life of a child.  It is also a matter of congregational worship etiquette and keeping our baptismal promises to welcome children into the community of God’s people.

Year C - Second Sunday of Easter (April 7, 2013)

Happy Easter – even if attendance is not what it was on the first Sunday of Easter, it is still very much Easter today!

U Especially if you did a Lenten series, an Easter season series may not be attractive.  But, the texts for this season are filled with stories of people acting on their Easter faith.  So “Easter People” could become an announced series or simply a frequently used term as you tell these stories and call worshipers to become Easter people today.  

Easter 2       Peter and John are witnesses to what they saw

Easter 3       Paul changes sides and/or Peter accepts
                       Jesus’ forgiveness

Easter 4       Dorcas uses her sewing skills to care for others

Easter 5       Peter accepts people he wouldn’t even eat with as brothers and sisters in Christ

Easter 6       Lydia extends hospitality

Easter 7       Paul does not escape from prison to save the jailor’s life

U Many congregations are celebrating “Holy Humor Sunday” on the Second Sunday of Easter.  It is an opportunity to laugh at the failure of evil to defeat God in Christ and to celebrate the resurrection of Christ with jokes, skits, and other humorous forms of worship.  This year laugh with Peter and John at the authorities who thought they could shut them up and with the disciples as they realize Jesus really is alive again.  Go to Year B - Second Sunday of Easter for historical background, resources and links to official “Holy Humor” web sites.

 

Acts 5:27-32

U Especially if you are celebrating Holy Humor Sunday, expand this reading to include the interactions with the religious authorities that lead up to today’s verses (Acts 4.1-4, 13-21 and 5.17-32).  Because the authorities really do come off as a key stone cops group, the text could be easily turned into a clown skit without changing a word.  A youth class would have fun developing and presenting this.

U To read only verses 27 -32 one reader takes two roles turning and adopting different voices for the authorities and the disciples.

U If witness is a key word in worship today, begin worship by presenting it printed on a big poster cut like a speech bubble possibly mounted on a banner pole.  Briefly define it as saying what we know about God and Jesus.  Invite worshipers to join you in praying, singing, hearing and telling stories about Jesus in worship.  Display the poster throughout worship.  Refer to it if you discuss the difficulties of witnessing.  Then at the benediction turn it around displaying the words “speak up” printed on the back.  Charge worshipers to speak up during the week witnessing for Jesus at school, home, and word.  Carry the poster out as part of the recessional.  

Psalm 118:14-29

U This is the psalm for all three Passion-Palm Sundays in the lectionary cycle.  As a whole it really fits there better than here.  Today pick one or two images such as the cornerstone to explore with children.  Point out the cornerstone in your church, demonstrate how a cornerstone works using children’s blocks and insist that Jesus is the real cornerstone of the church.  Or focus on “this is the day the Lord has made” in music and responsive readings.

Psalm 150

U This is the alternate psalm, and may be the first choice psalm for children, today.  It is a grand way to bring Easter joy into another week.  At the beginning of worship invite worshipers to read it together with instrumentalists playing the first line of the opening hymn after the verse mentioning their instrument.  Children with rhythm instruments respond to verse 6.  The whole congregation then sings the hymn together.
 

Revelation 1:4-8

U Today begins an Easter series of readings from Revelation.  It is the major appearance of Revelation in the lectionary.  Children as well as adults encounter all sorts of interpretations and misinterpretations of this book.  There is even a Left Behind series for pre-teens!  That means we need to talk to children as well as adults about this book.

U To introduce Revelation make a big deal about turning to it at the very back of the Bible.  Read verses 1 and 2 adding details to explain what kind of book this is and to provide context.

 

U Older children are fascinated by Revelation and like the fact that it is in the Bible WHEN they know that it is a book that was written in code during a time when being a Christian could get you thrown to the lions.  As they learn to decode the word pictures in the book, they enjoy imagining what a soldier might have thought when he found the scroll and read it while searching the home of a suspected Christian.  They also enjoy realizing what the coded messages meant to the early Christians and what they mean to us today.  Some of the code pictures in this season’s texts are more meaningful to children than others.  So rather than promising a new code to crack each week, I’d present only chosen ones.  The whole list includes:

Easter 2         alpha and omega

Easter 3         the Lamb

Easter 4         white robes washed in blood

Easter 5         a new heaven and new earth

Easter 6         the new Jerusalem

Easter 7         Lord, Jesus come!

U The coded image in today’s passage that is of most interest to children is the alpha and omega in verse 8.  There are several ways to unpack it.

If you have alpha and omega symbols in your sanctuary this is a good opportunity to point them out.  Note that they are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet.  Compare them to the first and last letters in several other alphabets.  Then state what we are saying when we display those letters in a sanctuary.  In the process reread verse 8 and explain how it answers the question, "what was there before the very beginning and what will be left after the very end of the world?"

On a seminary sponsored podcast a group of professors talked about how many times they had to see “The Wizard of Oz” before they could stay in the room for the scary parts.  Only seeing the ending multiple times finally enabled them to face the scary parts on the way to that ending.  Every time we see the alpha and omega we are reminded that God is at the end of the world.  Knowing that makes us braver when life gets scary before the end.  

U On the Second Sunday of Easter read this text to answer the question “who is Jesus really – now that he has risen from the dead?”  Go through verses 5-6 stopping to put in your own words each description of Jesus.  Conclude with “Wow!  Jesus is not just a special person.  Jesus is Lord of and in charge of the whole universe!”  If you made a big deal of burying the Alleluia for Lent, lead the children/congregation in responding with several loud “Alleluias”. 

     Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.

 John 20:19-31

U This is the gospel reading for the Second Sunday in Easter every year.  Rather than list links to other years, I’ve gathered all the resources here and added one or two more.  So there is no need to check out Years A and B.

U This passage is not that long, but a lot of different things go on.  To help children follow it, try the following group reading

? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ?

John 20:19-29

Reader One (probably you) invites the children to come forward to help with the gospel reading.  Imagine with them that they are the disciples on Easter Sunday  night hiding out in a locked upper room, wondering about what the women said about Jesus’ tomb being empty, and still afraid the soldiers would come for them too.

Reader One:  When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 

Thomas joins the group off to one side to read this line.  Then sits with the group as Reader One continues.

Thomas Reader: But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

Reader One:  A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him,

Thomas Reader:  “My Lord and my God!”

Reader One:  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

                                                        New Revised Standard Version

? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ?  

Or

U Invite children forward for back story before hearing the gospel read:

The disciples were behind locked doors because they were afraid, embarrassed and ashamed.  Recall some of their names and what they had done as Jesus died.  Then note that they were afraid of what Jesus would say to them about all their desertions if he really were alive again.  They were afraid the soldiers would come for them like they had for Jesus.  And, if the women were wrong and Jesus was still dead, they were afraid to face people who now knew that they had been wrong about Jesus.  They had been so sure, so loud in proclaiming Jesus and were apparently so wrong.  They did not want to see anyone ever again.  That is why they were hiding in locked room.  Then read the story from the big Bible.  After reading it, point out that Jesus did not say, “What happened?  Where were you?  You screwed up!”  He said, “Peace.”  In other words, “It’s OK.  I understand.  I forgive you.”  Imagine how they felt when they heard that. 

U This passage offers several clues to what Jesus was like after the resurrection – he can appears inside a locked room, he can be touched (he is not ghostly), he still has the wounds, and still loves them and explains what is going on to them.  Next week he will eat fish.  Children are curious about all this.  Take time to ponder with them what they think Jesus was like after the resurrection, being open to new ideas and affirming the mysterious part of it all.

Either include this discussion of reflection in the sermon.  Or, it could be introduced before reading the scripture.  In this case listeners are instructed to listen for clues about Jesus after the resurrection raising a hand each time they hear one.  In an informal setting stop at each one to clarify the clue and ponder it briefly.

Forgiveness and Peace

U In this short passage Jesus gives the disciples (and us) two Easter gifts (the Holy Spirit and peace) and one Easter task (forgiving others as God has forgiven us).

U If your congregation regularly passes the peace in worship, before you do so today connect the ritual with this story.  We are being like Jesus passing peace to other people.  We don’t just say “Hi.”  We say, “The peace of God be with you.”  It is a wish or prayer for the other person.  We can say it because we know God loves and forgives both of us.  Then invite people to pass the peace to their neighbors.

U Jesus’ forgiveness and call to the disciples to forgive in this story provide another opportunity to highlight and explore the Lord’s Prayer petition “forgive our debts/trespasses/sins, as we forgive…”  Write “forgive us our debts/trespasses/sins” on one poster strip and “as we forgive our debtors/those who trespass or sin against us” on a second poster strip.  Present them first in the order they appear in the Lord’s Prayer.  Then connect the first strip to Jesus forgiving the disciples on Easter evening and the second strip to his command that they forgive others.  Flip the order of the phrases and point out that we often have to pray this prayer backwards when we have someone to forgive.  Note how hard it is to forgive people who have treated us badly.  The only way we can do it is by remembering how Jesus forgave the disciples and forgives us.

U Create a responsive prayer in which a worship leader describes situations in the world and in personal lives that need forgiveness and the congregation responds with “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”  Pray this prayer after having explored it’s meaning in light of today’s story.

Thomas

Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da, 1573-1610.
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas,
from Art in the Christian Tradition,
a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library,
Nashville, TN. 
http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54170
[retrieved February 24, 2013].

JESUS MAFA. Jesus appears to Thomas,
from Art in the Christian Tradition,
a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library,
Nashville, TN. 
http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48302
[retrieved February 24, 2013].

U There are two especially interesting paintings of Jesus and Thomas.  Show one or both of them.  Look first at Thomas’s face and imagine what he is thinking and feeling as he touches Christ’s body.  Then, look at the faces of the other disciples and imagine what they are thinking and feeling.  (I suspect they are glad Thomas asked his question because they really wanted to know the same thing but were afraid to ask.  It does take courage to ask some questions and Thomas had it.)  Then, look at Jesus’ face and posture and imagine how Jesus felt about Thomas and his question.  (This could be a conversation with worshipers or could be the ponderings of the preacher in a sermon.) 

 

U The story of Thomas is important to children who already ask lots of questions about everything and to those who will ask deep questions as they get older.  If we want to encourage children to ask their questions, we must not label Thomas a doubter.  No amount of explaining can make doubter into a positive adjective – especially in this story.  So describe Thomas as a curious person who wanted to see for himself what others had already seen.  Recall what it is like when everyone is talking about an exciting event that you were not at.  Insist that Jesus welcomed Thomas’ questions and ours.  There is no honest question God/Jesus cannot handle.

In describing Thomas, remember that he was the disciple who cared enough to interrupt Jesus when he did not understand what Jesus was saying (John 14:5).  He really wanted to understand Jesus.  Thomas was also the one who after telling Jesus he was nuts to go to Jerusalem where his enemies were out to get him, replied to Jesus’ insistence that he was going anyway, “Let us go and die with him” (John 11:7-16).  He was that loyal.  Finally, upon seeing Jesus’ wounds after the resurrection, Thomas replies, “My Lord and my God!”  That was his statement of faith.

Thomas wasn’t the only confused, questioning disciple after Easter.  List the responses of Mary, Peter, John, and the others as they encounter the risen Christ.  Everyone was so confused that they were frightened. 

U To celebrate Thomas’ questions turn this into Questions Sunday.  Collect questions about the Easter stories and God from the whole congregation.  Take them verbally or invite people to write them on pieces of paper to put in the offering plate.  Today read through the questions.  Celebrate them.  Elaborate on them adding related questions.  Even, ask for clarification on questions you do not understand.  Do NOT answer any of them – even if you can.  Instead promise to deal with them during the coming weeks.  If there is high interest in this, you might even print the questions in the newsletter or on the website.  As you work through the Easter season, point to the question/s that you are working with at any given point.

 

U Finally, if you have a little time to sit back and enjoy a somewhat longer story on the Sunday after Easter, read Miss Fannie’s Hat, by Jan Karon.  It is the story of 99 year old Miss Fannie who gives her favorite hat, her Easter hat, to a fund raising auction to repair the church.  On Easter she goes to church hatless for the first time and finds the church surrounded with flowers like those on her hat.  To shorten the story a bit consider omitting pages 6, 7, and 13, then jumping from the first sentence on page 18 to page 21.  Miss Fannie demonstrates that giving a loving gift is more important than having a pretty Easter hat. 

The Whole Heart Series for Lent 2016

When I finally posted all the Sundays of Lent in 2013, I thought it might be useful to have all the hearts of the heart series in one place.  So here it is - adapted a bit for 2016.  Go to the post for each week to learn more fully how to present that heart in light of that day's themes.

Ash Wednesday, Lent 1, or Good Friday:  A red valentine may be fun, but loving every day is harder.  Jesus showed us most fully how it is done by forgiving all the people who killed and betrayed him while he was dying on the cross.

Lent 1:  We are tempted to give ourselves to many things - maybe especially sports today.  We remember this day that although we love many things we love God most.

Lent 2: Give children small paper or felt hearts to wear in their shoes this week as a reminder to stand firm for Jesus as Paul instructed.






Lent 3: Hmmm, the texts for this Sunday are not easy.  In 2013, it was on the first of the month when many congregation celebrate the Eucharist so most of the suggestions go with that.  They will still work for those who do celebrate the sacrament in 2016, but I will have to go looking for something more.  Mary Woodfin in the Comments suggested decorating a heart with lots of trim to explore what it means to be our best for Jesus.  That gives you a starter and I'm hoping I'll have some things to add.

Lent 4: There are choices for Lent 4.  One is a heart bearing the key words for the day.  A second is a string of linked hearts with which to explore reconciliation.  Both fit both the epistle and the parable of the Lost Son. A third possibility is to connect the heart to the celebration of Communion.  More on that when I do the post for this Sunday in 2016.

Lent 5: These texts are about gift giving, Mary's gift of costly oil to Jesus, Paul's gift of being a preacher in response to God's love for him, and Jesus' gift of forgiveness on the cross.

Palm - Passion Sunday or Good Friday:  Jesus kept loving even when his heart was broken by all the people who hated him and his friends who betrayed him when he needed them most.

Maundy Thursday: Jesus washed his disciples' feet and calls us to love each other as much as he loved them.

Good Friday:  Jesus kept loving even when he was nailed to a cross.

Easter:  Like the disciples we are both puzzled and incredibly happy to find that Jesus did not stay dead, but is alive forever.

Year C - The Fifth Sunday in Lent (March 17, 2013)

Today’s texts share themes of gift giving.  Isaiah speaks of God’s gifts and action in the world.  Paul evaluates several of God’s gifts to him and declares God’s love in Jesus so wonderful that Paul responds with giving back to God.  Mary and Martha both give loving gifts to Jesus.  All of these gifts point to the biggest gift that will be celebrated as Holy Week starts next Sunday.

 

U  If you have been presenting a different heart each Sunday of Lent, today’s heart is a gift.  It could be a heart shaped gift box or a heart wrapped with a ribbon.  Either one connects to the loving gifts that Paul and Mary gave in today’s texts and reminds us of Jesus’ gift of forgiving love on the cross.  It also calls us to think about the gifts we give God and give people for God.  Present it at the Call to Worship challenging worshipers to watch for gifts in today’s worship and to think about gifts God gives them and they might give God.  Display it prominently for the rest of the service.

U  The petition “hallowed be thy name” in the Lord’s Prayer underlies both Mary’s lavish gift and Paul’s total commitment to Jesus.  Both give and live as they do because they know God/Jesus is hallowed.  Unfortunately, few children know the word hallowed.  So before they can pray the prayer with understanding they need to learn that hallowed is another word for holy and explore the meaning of that word.  Try some of the following:

Define words such as awesome, special, and wonderful.  Hear some of the people and things to which each can be applied.  Then introduce the words holy and hallowed.  Explain that they mean the same thing. Define them as the very, very, very best and insist that they can be applied only to God.  Then translate the prayer, “God you are holy, the very best there is in the whole universe.”

Sing “Holy, Holy, Holy.”  Children will not understand all the images in the verses, but they can be challenged to sing “holy, holy, holy” each time it appears.  Call on parents to help the youngest readers by pointing with their finger or giving a little nudge each time you sing the phrase.

If you celebrate Communion today and will sing a Sanctus together as part of the Great Prayer of Thanksgiving, point it out just before the communion liturgy.  Practice it and put it into your own words.  Then, invite worshipers to listen for it and to imagine themselves joining everyone who ever lived, lives now, and is already in heaven in saying together that God is holy.  

If the word holy is carved into the Table, written in glass windows, stitched into banners or paraments, or displayed in other ways in your sanctuary, point it out and briefly say what it means.

Immediately after any of these discussions, pray together only the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer, “Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”

U  Mary’s gift and Paul’s statement are their ways of answering the question “what is most important in the world to you?”  Mary either used her most special possession to show Jesus how important he was to her or she took most of the money she had to buy the special anointing oil for him.  Paul insisted that though he had been and done some really cool things, none of them was as important as knowing God.  He became a preacher and missionary because knowing God was the most important thing to him and he thought that was what God wanted him to do.  While children cannot grasp the full impact of the question, they can be taught early that it is an important question and that told they will have to live out their answers to it throughout their lives.

 

Isaiah 43:16-21

U  Children for whom everything is new do not get too excited about Isaiah’s vision of God doing “a new thing.”  So,

explore these verses today as a look ahead to the Holy Week stories.  Remind the children of the bad part when Jesus was whipped and killed and the good part when he was alive again.  Note that God was doing a new thing in both the bad and the good parts of the story.  Invite the children to come walk through that story during Holy Week.

Or, look behind the promise of God doing a new thing to the belief that God is always at work in the world and in our lives every day.  Invite the children forward for the reading of this text.  Begin by telling them the back story.  God’s people had been captured and taken away as prisoners of war.  Years later when the king said they could go back home they were so very happy.  They were sure God was working with them on this.  When they got back home they found their old town in ruins.  It was like a desert.  Finding food and even water was hard.  But, even then they believed God was with them and working with them in the hard times as well as the good ones.  Finally, read the passage dramatically before sending the children back to their seats.

U  If this passage is the focus of worship today, you might want to explore with the children ways we work with God on bringing water to dry places.  If your congregation has a well digging project or if your Lenten offering supports water missions, talk about them today. 

Psalm 126

If you told the back story to the Isaiah text, children can follow the psalm a little bit when it is presented as the prayer of God’s people as they were both happy to be back home and sad about how hard life was there.  Have half of the congregation read verses 1-3 to celebrate the happiness and the other half read verses 4-7 to remember that God was still with them in the hard times.

Philippians 3:4b-14

U  Avoid adult sqeamishness about using certain forbidden four letter words for excrement by using a child’s acceptable and clear four letter word –  poop.  Paul says his impressive life resume isn’t worth poop when compared to God’s love for him.

U  Even though some of their parents are obsessing about building resumes for them that will get them into college, most children are not too impressed with resumes in general or Paul’s resume in particular.  But, they can understand that Paul thought he was and had done a lot of good stuff and that the very most important thing in his life was God and doing the job God had given him.  In a conversation make a list of things children value being and doing (riding a bike, being on a travel sports team, playing a musical instrument, getting more than halfway through their current grade in school, etc.).  Then, insist that knowing God and doing what God made them to do is more important than any of those things – wonderful though they be.

U  Since today is St. Patrick’s Day, tell Patrick’s story connecting it to Paul’s story and claim that he gave up much to be Christ’s person and was glad to do so.  Patrick’s story is simply that he was kidnapped from his noble home in Britain as a child and taken as a slave to Ireland.  After 6 miserable years, he escaped and made his way back home.  Later he had a dream in which God told him to go preach in Ireland.  He did and became patron saint of Ireland.  Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland, by Tomie dePaola, tells the story and several of the legends about Patrick.  The book is too long to read in worship, but can enable a worship leader to tell the story in his or her own words and offers some beautiful art of St. Patrick.  The book is available in many public libraries.  If you cannot get it, learn about Patrick on Wikipedia or some other source.

U  Sing “Take My Life and Let It Be” with all its references to using the parts of our bodies to give gifts to God or “Lord, I Want to be a Christian” to recommit yourselves to loving God like Paul did.

John 12:1-8

U  Before reading this story point out to the children that this Mary is not Jesus’ mother but another Mary who was his friend.  Enjoy the fact that there were lots of girls named Mary then, just as there are lots of girls named Mary today.



For the sake of the boys, choose
one with a not too sweet smell.

U  John says the smell of Mary’s gift filled the house.  So just before reading the story or at the beginning of a sermon focused on the story, squirt small dabs of lotion into the hands of children or all worshipers.  (If children are likely to be wearing open shoes, they could rub the lotion on their feet.  In colder climates they can rub the lotion into their hands.)  Rub some into your own hands.  Sniff them and enjoy the smell.  Challenge worshipers to try to catch the smell of the lotion in the whole room.

 

If you use incense in worship, cense the room before reading the gospel noting as you do the verse about the smell filling the whole house and maybe talking about why you use incense in worship.  (I don’t know much about this and would love to hear about possible connections from someone who does.)

My drawing.  Feel free to print it or create one of your own.

 

U Mary’s gift gets all the attention here.  But, John also notes that Martha prepared a meal for Jesus.  That was a gift too.  Challenge children to think of a gift they can give God between now and Easter.  List some possibilities such as a money contribution to a mission project or something they can do to love a person who needs loving right now.  Give them paper and crayons with which to draw or write about their gift.  Invite them to place their drawing in the offering plate as it is passed.

U  Children appreciate that Jesus defended Mary’s gift when Judas made fun of it.  On a day when we are thinking about Mary’s gift, Paul’s gift, and our own it is good to be reminded that Jesus values all our gifts. 

Year C - Fourth Sunday in Lent (March 10, 2013)

 

U The texts for today are filled with and will lead worship leaders to use lots of words about forgiving – grace, reconciliation, forgives, mercy, and more.  Many of these words are unfamiliar or generally used in other ways by children.  So watch your vocabulary.  

“Forgive” is the basic word for children.  It means “You hurt me but I love you anyway.”  The father in the parable makes it clear that he loves his son no matter what the son does.  Paul reminds the people at Corinth that God forgives them.  He also challenges them to forgive each other.

“Grace” is a forgiveness word that children hear often in church, but which means different things at church than it does elsewhere.  In most places grace is the ability to move beautifully, a girl’s name or the prayer said at mealtime.  At church grace is God’s never ending love.  It includes more than forgiveness, but today keep the focus on never-ending love that forgives us, or keeps loving us, even when we mess up.

“Reconciliation” or some form of the word appears repeatedly in the epistle.  Before reading it, introduce the word to children saying all the forms of it they will hear.  Define reconciliation as “putting something broken back together.”  Compare dropping a jigsaw puzzle on the floor and putting the pieces together again, dropping a toy breaking off a piece of it that can be glued back on so the toy can still be used, and a group of children who are all mad each other forgiving each other then playing happily together.

Use “mercy” only if you use it in a regular Kyrie.  Translate the Kyrie from Latin or English, “God, please love us anyway even when we mess up.”  Practice saying or singing your version of the Kyrie together and explain how it fits into the liturgy of confession. 

Take it to another level by listening to Kyries from around the world and imagining all God’s people praying this prayer together and then forgiving each other as God forgives us.

U If you are using hearts during Lent, write the forgiveness words on a big red heart poster to introduce at the beginning of worship and display throughout worship.  You might even give children small heart stickers to add to their bulletins every time they hear, sing or pray one of the words on the heart.

AMAZING GRACE

U If this theme leads to singing “Amazing Grace” be aware that it is filled with words and images children do not understand.  They do, however, hear the passion with which this song is sung by the congregation and early recognize it as a very important song.  Many sing it without understanding its words for years.  Rather than try to translate the entire song, pick one phrase to explore before singing it.  If you have already defined grace as God’s never ending love even when we mess up, point to the word wretch.  It is fun to say, but few children know what it means.  So, practice saying it, then define a wretch as a person who does awful things all the time.  Emphasize the difference in little sins that do not matter and those that do.  Talk about the difference between calling a friend a bad name and being punished by an adult who overhears you, but forgiven easily by the friend and calling a friend a bad name, seeing the hurt in her eyes and maybe even seeing her crying alone in a corner later.  When you know you have hurt your friend deeply, you feel very bad about it.  You feel like a wretch.  Then read the first line in the song again. Point out that when we sing it we are telling God that we know we do awful things and are thanking God for loving us anyway.  Now children are ready to sing the first line of the hymn with understanding.

 

Joshua 5:9-12

U To follow this story listeners need to know about manna, Passover and the trip to the Promised Land.  Since most children do not, there is more background work than can be done in most worship services.  This would be an interesting story to use with older children in a classroom setting to explore the fact that God cares for us in different ways in different situations as needed. 
 

Psalm 32

U Particularly if you read from the NRSV, this psalm is filled with sin vocabulary that is unfamiliar to children – transgressions, iniquity, etc.  So, I’d use TEV when exploring it with children.

U Single out verses 3 and 5 to explore the important truth that as long as we insist that "I did nothing wrong", "it wasn’t my fault", and so forth we are trapped.  Nothing gets resolved and we feel terrible.  Only when we admit what we did, apologize and work on fixing things does life get better.  This is as hard a lesson for children to learn and act on today as it was for the prodigal son to learn and act on. 

When I did not confess my sins,

I was worn out from crying all day long.

Then I confessed my sins to you;

I did not conceal my wrongdoings.

I decided to confess them to you,

and you forgave all my sins.

                                                        TEV

 

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

U Go to Mustard Seeds for a script for three readers that clarifies this text.




Harron, Maurice. Hands Across the Divide, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project  of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.  http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55420 [retrieved February 14, 2013].

Harron, Maurice. Hands Across the Divide,
from Art in the Christian Tradition,
a project  of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. 
http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55420
[retrieved February 14, 2013]. 

U Saint Patrick’s Day is March 17 (next Sunday!).  On that day all things Irish get special attention.  So show the picture of the statue “Hands Across the Divide” that stands on a bridge between Protestant and Catholic areas of one Irish town.  Without going into a lot of detail note that Protestant and Catholic Christians in Ireland have been fighting for hundreds of years.  Both sides know that it does no good to keep the fight going, but it is hard to stop it.  Lots of people have to do lots of little things every day to reach out in peace.  Protestant and Catholic children sometimes go to camp or on trips together during the summer so that they get to know each other and make friends with their “enemies.”  It is a brave thing to do because lots of people really do hate the people on the other side and anyone who tries to make friends with them.  With this as background, reread verses 17-20 from the TEV challenging children to imagine what Irish Protestant and Catholic Christians think when they hear this AND what it says about how we treat people we think of as our enemies.   

At the Vanderbilt site there is a second closer-up photo of this statue. 

UK readers, remember this is written by an American and so probably grossly over simplifies and plain gets things wrong.  I trust you to fix the story and use the statue as it was meant.  All readers, go to Grannymar for the details about the story behind this statue.)

U The Quarreling Book, by Charlotte Zolotow, describes in the briefest of detail how unhappiness spreads as one hurt results in another and then is resolved when first one then another person repays their hurt with kindness until the day ends happily.   The book is available in most public libraries and reads in about 3 minutes.

U Especially if you sing it several times, “Let There Be Peace on Earth and Let it Begin with Me” is a great song for children to sing with the congregation on this day.

 

U This text connects directly to “forgive us our trespasses/debts/sins as we forgive” those who wrong us in the Lord’s Prayer.  To explore the phrase today in the light of the gospel story as well as these verses, try some of the following:

U Unless you use “sins” in the prayer, introduce the word you do use (trespasses or debts) defining it as sin or as all the things we do to hurt God and each other.

 

U Create a responsive prayer of confession in which a leader describes a variety of ways we sin with the congregation responding to each one with the line from the Lord’s Prayer.  For example,

One:  God, we are quick to hurt others with our tongues.  We call names.  We tell lies about other people.  We say mean and cruel words.

All:  Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

U As you talk about this phrase, use simple hand motions.  Turn one arm out to one side with hand turned up while discussing “forgive us our….”  Turn the other arm out with that hand up while discussing “as we forgive our.…”  Then bring the two hands together in prayer to note that when we pray this prayer we are telling God we are going to work on getting along.
 

 

U Find or make a string of intertwined hearts.  Display it enjoying its beauty.  Then, link arms with each other to make a human chain remarking on its beauty.  Wonder aloud what happens if someone in the chain calls the person next to her a name.  Tell how hurt that person feels.  Unlink the arms of two people in the chain.  Point out that the whole chain rather than just the two people is messed up.  Express sadness over the lost unity of the chain, then suggest that the chain can be put back together.  Together think of ways to undo the damage of name calling, e.g. apologizing, doing something especially kind to the hurt person to show you meant the apology, doing something together so you will trust each other again, etc.  With older children use this demonstration to introduce the word RECONCILIATION. 
 

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

U This is a long and fairly complex story.  It is familiar to most adults, but is new to many children.  To help them follow the story, prepare an older children’s class to pantomime it as it is read in worship.  The three main characters can be supplemented by household servants and friends in the far country.  If needed, the three main characters could be a mother or father and daughters.  The children watching will be helped by the pantomime to follow the story.  The children in the pantomime will learn the details of the story thoroughly during rehearsal and will take pride in their worship leadership.

Children are as surprised as adults are by the story of the Prodigal Son.  “It is not fair!” is heard from children every day.  They want life to be fair and are offended when it is not.  This story says that it is better to be “loving” than to be ”fair.”  With children come up with a list of “fair” ways the father could have treated the brother when he came home.  Then point out that the father did not treat the son fairly but with love when the son came home.  Decide whether the son would rather be treated fairly or lovingly.  Then ask whether the older brother wanted the younger brother to be treated fairly or lovingly.  Note that it is easy to want love for ourselves and fairness for other people.  Jesus tells us this story to insist that God treats all of us with love rather than fairness.  (This is something that children will have to think over in the coming days.  It really stretches them.)

U Remember that younger children especially have trouble seeing themselves “in the shoes of” a character.  So, instead of asking them to think like one or another of the characters in the story.  Simply ask them what that character did or said or what they might say or do if ….   This is a subtle but important difference.

 

U Retell the story using three hearts from a chain of intertwined hearts.  Start with the three together.  When the younger brother leaves, cut the central “father” heart and move the son heart off to the side or give it to a child to hold for you.  Briefly describe how the father and older brother stuck together.  Then describe how the younger son finally realized how wrong he had been cutting his heart to show his heart broken sorrow.  Next, send the father heart running away from the older brother to link up with son heart and bring him home.  Tape each of those hearts relinked.  Finally, point to the fact that the chain is now missing the older brother.  Together discuss what is needed to get the whole chain back together.  Insist that the older brother would need to break his heart open to his brother and father.  It is tempting to reconnect the chain, but be faithful to the biblical story leaving the older brother unconnected and only guessing whether he was able to forgive his father and brother.
 

U The Runaway Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown, follows a conversation between a young bunny and its mother.  The little bunny describes a series of ways he will run away from his mother.  In reply the mother tells how she will come after him in each case.  Finally, the little bunny decides he might just as well stay home with her.  I once heard this classic read at the end of an erudite sermon about grace.  The preacher concluded, “THAT is grace.”

U Compare the journey of the younger son to Dorothy’s journey in The Wizard of Oz. When the tornado blows her away, Dorothy is mad at almost everyone.  By the time she returns she has new understanding and greets people around her with love.  (I found this connection in “The Text This Week” and pass it on though I am not quite sure exactly how to use it.   If you have an idea, please share it with the rest of us.) 

U Sing the verse below of “Jesus Loves Me” for the younger brother and for us.

Jesus loves me when I’m good,

when I do the things I should.

Jesus loves me when I’m bad,

even though it makes him sad.