Year B - Proper 27, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 24th Sunday after Pentecost (November 11, 2012)

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17

 

I This is the second of two readings about Ruth.  If you used the All Saints readings on November 4, you will need to tell the whole story of Ruth today.  For a concise telling of the story try ”Two Brave Women” in The Family Story Bible, by Ralph Milton.  It covers the main movements in the story, but summarizes the harvest festival with “Soon Boaz and Ruth got to know each other and to love each other.  They got married ...” and (like the RCL) omits the sandal transaction entirely.  It can be read aloud in 5 minutes.

I If you are devoting two Sundays to Ruth or if you want to explore in more detail the harvest festival and the sandal transaction, review the story from last week then read “Ruth Finds “Work” and “Happy Endings” in The Children’s Bible in 365 Stories, by Mary Batchelor.  (They can be read in a total of 5 minutes.)

 

My drawing: feel free to use

I If you focused on family love last week, expand that love to the love of the stranger or outsider this week.  If you did not do so last week, begin with a display of a map of the Old Testament lands.  Point to Bethlehem identifying it as the place Naomi started out and the place to which she returned with Ruth.  Then point to Moab and note that people who lived in Bethlehem thought the people who lived in Moab were dirty, dumb, and “not as good as we are.”  They ignored people from Moab when they came around and treated them poorly.  Imagine aloud how people in Bethlehem might have treated Ruth when she appeared with Naomi.  Then, read what actually happened.  Repeat and revel in the last verses' claim that the great King David’s great grandmother was a woman from Moab. 

 

Identify and ask worshipers to identify who gets treated like Moabites today.   DIfferent groups are the "Moabites" in elementary school, high school, college, and at work or in the larger community.  Ask what the Bible is telling us about all those people.  Pray both for those people and for those who mistreat them.

Identify groups of foreigners that tend to get treated like Moabites today.   (In my area that includes migrant farm workers.)  Insist that these people are God’s children and pray for them.

Introduce the word hospitality defining it as welcoming strangers.  Describe some of your congregation’s ministries of hospitality to strangers or outsiders.

I Another way to explore this story with children is to point out after reading it that three people each did more than they had to in order to help others.  Ruth could have stayed in Moab with her family, but she moved to Bethlehem with Naomi and worked in the field to feed them.  Naomi could have sat in a corner and felt sorry for herself, but she carefully thought out a plan for Ruth to find a husband.  Boaz could have said that Ruth and Naomi were not his responsibility, but he went to the man who was responsible for them and offered to take them into his own home.  Children struggle to learn to “do more than they have to do” to make life better for people around them.  These three are models promoting such loving care and pointing out that such care often works out for those who care as well as those being cared for.

This theme also runs through the story of the widow who fed Elijah.

I To present this story with all the rather unfamiliar details, devote the sermon to a dialog between an older Ruth and Boaz recalling it and musing over it together. 

 

Psalm 127

The psalmist here reminds worshipers of something most children assume, that they can trust someone else to provide for them.  Children usually begin by trusting their parents, but trusting parents leads them to trust God like the psalmist does.  This is not something children can articulate, so I’d skip this psalm for the children.

 

1 Kings 17:8-16

I This story is simple and simply presented.  To get the attention of the children before reading it, produce a bottle of cooking oil with only a little bit left in the bottom and a bag of flour rolled down indicating there is not much left in it.  Display them and tell worshipers that today’s story begins with a mother and son who have only that much oil and flour left in their kitchen – nothing else, no eggs, no meat, no peanut butter, nothing – and no hope of getting anything else.  Then read the story.

I Children, like people of all ages, think they will share when they have more than enough for themselves.  AND, they tend to think they never have quite enough.  This story (and the gospel story about the widow dropping her last coins in the offering plate) insists that even when you are down to nothing, you can still share.  Eleven days after Halloween, the candy stashes are beginning to run low.  Talk about when it is easier to share, the day after Halloween when you have LOTS of candy or when you are down to your last two pieces.  The answer is that it is just as easy either time.  All you have do is decide to share.  Do be careful to avoid implying that if they share all their remaining Halloween candy, the stash will miraculously never run out!

 

Psalm 146

This psalm is suggested for both last week and this week.  In the US there is a hotly contested election between the two readings of it.  On November 11 some, including children, will be happy about the outcome.  Others will be despairing.  Verses 3-4 speak to both groups.  For the children add presidents, vice-presidents, senators, etc. to “the princes.”  Note that no matter who won or lost, we still depend most on God’s power and love.  It could be read in unison or responsively using the script below.  The script replaces all the “hes” with “the Lord”

d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d

Psalm 146

 

LEADER:    Praise the Lord!

                        Praise the Lord, my soul!

ALL:           I will praise him as long as I live;

                        I will sing to my God all my life.

LEADER:   Don’t put your trust in human leaders;

                        no human being can save you.
                      When they die, they return to the dust;
                        on that day all their plans come to an end.

ALL or ALTERNATING GROUPS or

ALL READ “THE LORD” WITH LEADER COMPLETING THE SENTENCE

The Lord created heaven, earth, and sea, and all that is in them.

The Lord keeps every promise;

The Lord judges in favor of the oppressed

The Lord gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets prisoners free

The Lord gives sight to the blind.

The Lord lifts those who have fallen;

The Lord loves righteous people.

The Lord protects the strangers who live in our land;

The Lord helps widows and orphans, but takes the wicked to their ruin.

LEADER: The Lord is king forever.  Your God, O Zion, will reign for all time.

ALL:     Praise the Lord!

                                                   Based on TEV

d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d

 

Hebrews 9:24-28

I The Hebrews readings are getting quite repetitive to me.  I also am finding as I get toward the end of the series that the Christ words poster/banner that I envisioned at the beginning is proving hard to keep fresh.  Actually as I dug into some of the texts and connected them to other texts for the day, I changed the words – without checking as carefully as I should have to see how the change impacted future words.  The good news is that next week’s word is clear, “Lord!” – as in “Jesus is Lord!”  That is our response to all the other words.  This week is a bit murkier.  Depending on what you have done to date, there are a few possibilities:

ETERNAL or FORVER - as in Christ is present with us always. This word was used in Proper 25, so check there for ideas related to alpha and omega symbols in the sanctuary and singing “the time hymn” – Our God Our Help in Ages Past.  Or, practice and explain what it means to sing “as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be” in the Gloria Patri.

FORGIVING - as in the reason Christ died was to forgive us.   Unpack this by exploring the petitions about forgivenes in the Lord's Prayer.  Jesus forgives us.  Jesus also asks us to forgive each other.   

ONCE AND FOR ALL  - as in Christ died to forgive every one of us.  We are safe in Christ’s loving forgiveness.  (See Proper 26.)

Do remember all the previous cautions about children being offended by all the Hebrews talk about killing animals in order to get God to forgive them.

 

Mark 12:38-44

I To grab the attention of children and to emphasize the comparison of the teachers of the Law and the widow, read verses 38-40 in proud tones and with arrogant gestures from the lectern.  Then, taking your Bible with you, move to the offering plates to read verses  41-44 about the widow’s gift in simpler more straight-forward tones.

I Why the Chimes Rang, by Raymond MacDonald Alden, is usually read at Christmas time, but it fits this story well.  Two young brothers who are poor set out to go to the cathedral on Christmas Eve to see the great service and all the rich people bring their grand gifts in hopes of hearing the chimes that are said to ring when great gifts are given.  On the way they come upon a woman dying in the snow on the side of the road.  The older brother sends the younger to the cathedral with a single coin to put in the offering while he stays behind to help the dying woman.  The younger brother is in awe of what he sees.  Before he leaves he slips near the altar to leave their coin and the chimes ring.  The story can be read in about 10 minutes.

I Many commentators insist that this more about the church’s tendency to recognize the rich and powerful while ignoring those on the margins than it is about the significance of the widow’s small gift.  They connect it with God responding to Ruth and Naomi on the margins in their day.  Build on their theme by describing one or two of your congregation’s ministries to people (especially women) on the margins of your town. 

I Challenge children to put at least some of their very own money in the offering plate.  Suggest they think about their birthday money, money they have earned or money they have been given to spend as they wish.  Be clear you are not talking about the money parents give them to put in the offering or about money they are given for other specific purposes – just money that is theirs to spend however they wish.  Point out that it may not be much, but that by giving some of their very own money now they are being real givers.  Insist that it is no easier to give money when you have lots of it than it is when you have little.  Use the widow as an example.

Alexander Who Used to be Rich Last Week, by Judith Viorst, describes one little boy (yes, the same Alexander who stars in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad, No Good Day) spends money given him by his grandparents in a series of very silly ways.  In the end he is left with nothing of value.  Read it today to explore using money on things that are important rather than just spending it on anything we think we want at the moment.

A Shared Theme Possibility

I The heroes and heroines of today’s stories put love into action.  They do not just feel love, they do love.  Illustrate and explore the fact that loving involves using our bodies by helping the children form the letters for the word LOVE with their bodies.  You might have each child take the shape of each letter in order.  If you do this after shaping and discussing each letter cahllenge the children to spell out the whole word with their bodies as you spell it for them.  Or, shape different children into each letter until you have the whole word. 

L          Each person sits up straight on the floor with legs out straight and

             arms above the head

Look where we are sitting – on the floor.  Love means being willing to get down wherever needed with people.  Ruth sat with Naomi in Moab. We can get down on teh floor to play with our little brother. 

O       Form big Os with arms in front of you like a big hug

Loving begins with caring about/ hugging people.

V        In pairs put feet toe to toe and lean back to form the letter V holding
             hands or arms as support

Point out that people have to trust each other to love each other, Ruth trusted Naomi’s plan, the widow in Zarephath trusted Elijah’s promise…

E        Each person sits on floor with legs straight out, one arm bent

            at the elbow then straight out at the waist and the other arm

            straight out at shoulder height.

This is harder to get into position than the hugging O.  Loving is hard work.  We have to be willing to glean in the hot sun, share our last meal, maybe even drop all we have in the offering plate.

Year B - Proper 8, 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 5th Sunday after Pentecost (July 1, 2012)

This week it is all about the texts.  Their themes are all over the place – mourning, a healing and raising to life that bring two marginal women back into the community, and sharing with folks in need.  Each one has something to offer children.

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

L Not just the children, but most worshipers, will need the back story on this.  Who is Jonathan?  How did Saul and Jonathan die?  And, then what is David saying about them in this funeral song?  At the least, read 2 Samuel 17:57 – 18:5, 10-16 (the alternate reading for last week) or replace this text with one of the stories about David that have been omitted from the lectionary.  See Year B - Proper 7 for this list.

L If you do build worship around David’s mourning, help children learn to mourn by introduce ways we let all the sadness out.  Show the obituary page and explain that when a person dies family and friends write about all the things a person did and name the people who were special to that person.  If you have a cemetery, talk about what is written on stones to tell how special that person was.  Even describe memorial services.  Then tell that when David’s best friend Jonathan died, David let all his sadness out in a poem.  Read it from the Bible or from this Bible storybook version of it.

On the hills of Israel our leaders are dead!

The bravest of our soldiers have fallen!

Saul and Jonathan, so wonderful  dear;

Together in life, together in death;

Swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.

Jonathan lies dead in the hills.

I grieve for you, my brother Jonathan;

How dear you were to me!

How wonderful was your love for me.

                        From The Children’s Bible in 365 Stories, Mary Batchelor

Psalm 130

L Children will not follow this psalm as it is read, but when it is highlighted they can begin to understand verse 1 “Out of the depths I cry to you.”  Read the phrase several times.  Brainstorm a list of “out of the depths” situations being sure to include some that will be familiar to children, e.g. family fights (not fussing about what to eat for dinner, but big fights with name calling), hopeless fusses with siblings, being stuck for the summer in a camp or child care place you do not like, etc.  Describe David’s “depths” as he heard that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in a battle.  Read David’s funeral poem listening for how bad David felt. 

L Ask what we do when we are in “the depths.”  First we tell God about it, but then….  Read verse 5 and rephrase its insistence that we remember that God loves us and will save us. 

L If you are working with Psalm 23 all summer, connect these verses to the psalm phrase, “when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.”

L Give worshipers gray sheet of papers and black pencils with which to write or draw about “the “depths” they face or know of.  Collect them all in baskets to place on the worship table.  Comment on all the pain in those baskets, then read the psalm over the baskets.   

Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15; 2:23-24

This is here to echo the gospel reading.  The children will, however, hear the message better in the gospel story. 

Lamentations 3:23-33 or Psalm 30

Given this choice, I’d go with Psalm 30 for the children - if I used either one.

L Most children live exactly in the present, the now.  This psalm requires a longer view than they have.  Probably the best way to share it with them is simply to read it as a prayer that the woman who had been sick for 12 years or the dad whose little girl was dying could have prayed.

L In reading about this text I came across a quip that would catch the attention of children.  This seminary professor said, weeping or sadness come just to “spend the night” but joy “moves in.”  Children appreciate the difference, but still will have trouble claiming the coming joy in the middle of the sadness.

2 Corinthians 8:7-15

$$ Display or project pictures of people living in poverty and in comfort.  Identify the similarities and differences.  Note that the Christians in Jerusalem were living more like the people in the poverty picture and the Christians in Corinth were more like those living in comfort.  Then, challenge worshipers to listen to what Paul said to the people in the church in Corinth as you read this text.

$$ Compare the Christians at Corinth sending money to the struggling Christians in Jerusalem to your congregation’s sending money to people who need it today.  Display pictures of specific projects with which the children are familiar and at least one that will be less familiar.  If any youth or families in your congregation are going on mission trips this summer, mention them or maybe hear a report from them.  Embedding their report in the sermon makes it feel less like an announcement and more like an illustration of a point of the sermon.

$$ Don’t overlook the possibility that children have money or other gifts to share.  Some families hosting birthday parties for children ask guests to bring something that will be given to a child other than the birthday child.  The birthday child has the honor of picking what the gifts will be and where they will go.  Examples I have heard of include bringing books that are given to refugee children learning English and bringing favorite kid foods to go to the local food bank (I think this one netted lots of blue box mac and cheese and sugary cerealsJ).  Describing this practice plants seeds with families that know they don’t need a huge pile of birthday gifts.  

Mark 5:21-43

F This is one of the few Bible stories that feature a child.  Children, especially the girls, appreciate the fact that the first person Jesus raised from the dead was not some important grownup, but a little girl.  They hear kindness in the way Jesus speaks to her and tells her parents to get her something to eat.  To be sure you have their attention before reading, introduce the reading with “listen for twelve year old girl who was dying and a woman who had been sick for twelve years.

F To separate the two stories and help listeners hear them both, ask two readers (one male, one female) to read this text.  The man starts reading from the lectern.  At the proper time, the woman comes from her seat and nudges him aside to read her part, then steps aside walking out a side door to make space for the man to finish the story.  Encourage the readers to take the roles of Jairus and the sick woman and to read dramatically as those people might have told this story about themselves.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Mark 5:21-43

Man: When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea.  Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.”  So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.

Woman:  Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.  She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.  She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.”  Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.   Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”  And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ”  He looked all around to see who had done it.  But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.  He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Man:  While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?”  But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”  He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.  When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.  When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.”  And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.  He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!”  And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.  He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

                                                NRSV

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Do NOT Interrupt Me!!!!!

F Children are often told by adults not to interrupt them, but are often interrupted by adults who want them to stop what they are doing to do whatever the adult wants NOW.  This story provides them both good news and a challenge.  The good news is that when the sick woman interrupted Jesus, he did not get upset but stopped to help her.  So, Jesus is willing to hear from us whenever we need him.  We don’t have to worry that we are interrupting.  The challenge is that as Jesus’ disciples we are called to be like Jesus.  That means we need to be willing to be interrupted too.  We need to pay attention to the needs of others around us and be willing to stop what we are doing when they need us.

F If your congregation practices rites for healing, this is a good day to explain them and walk through them with children.  If oil is used show them how it used.  Be sure to address the fact that not everyone who prays for healing or uses this ritual will be healed.  If anyone who is more familiar with these rituals than I am has ideas about how to introduce them to children, please share.  I and others are all ears.

Year B - The Second Sunday of Easter (April 15, 2012)

I have a friend who practices Holy Humor Sunday in his congregation on the Sunday after Easter.  I thought he invented it, but discovered he is part of a movement in which congregations are reclaiming a medieval practice of laughing at Satan’s defeat and reveling in Christ’s victory.  Proper Holy Humor Sunday worship services are filled with jokes, funny stories, even pranks and costumes.  The Easter reasoning for celebrating Holy Humor Sunday on the week after Easter is that “Humor is not the opposite of seriousness.  Humor is the opposite of despair.”(Conrad Hyers).  Google “Holy Humor Sunday” to find a plethora of links to all kinds of resources, including some complete liturgies.  Two of my favorite are:

“The Joyful Noiseletter” at LINK  http://www.joyfulnoiseletter.com/hhsunday.asp

The entry about this day in Ralph Milton’s blog “Rumors.”  Go to http://ralphmiltonsrumors.blogspot.com/2009/04/preaching-materials-for-april-19th-2009.html .  Scroll down to “Mirabile Dictu!” for wonderful collection of international jokes.  Also check out the reader’s theater idea for reading the gospel and epistle with a sense of humor.

If you have celebrated Holy Humor Sunday, tell the rest of us about it in Comment here or on the Worshiping With Children Facebook page.

Especially if you buried the Alleluia! for Lent, remember to include lots of them in today’s singing and praying.  If there was not time to allude to Alleluia! banners in Easter Sunday worship, do so today.  Practice saying the word together, define it, explain why it is on the banners and how long the banners will stay in place.

Connect Alleluia! to both Easter and Holy Humor Sunday with, Hallelujah, the Clown, by Kathy Long.  A court jester named Hallelujah tries to be good at a series of things (juggling, dancing, singing, etc) but everyone laughs at him.  In the end God tells him that his gift is making people laugh and that it is an important gift.

Acts 4:32-35

U  Because they will not get all tangled up in adult concerns about socialism, children can use these verses to explore the ways people in the church take care of each other.  Identify specific ministries of your congregation that are your way of doing what the first Christians did.  Interview one or more individuals who participate in some of these ministries.  

U  Read the passage just before the offering.  Note the connection between what the early Christians did and the offering you collect every week.  Tell about ways your congregation uses the money in the plate to love and care for others.  Then, take up the offering.

Psalm 133

U  Children love this psalm simply because it is the shortest psalm in the Bible.  To highlight that fact, invite worshipers to find the psalm in their pew Bibles.  Read it together.

U  Children are also grossed out by the idea of pouring oil over someone’s head and letting it run over his beard and down onto his collar.  YECH!  To get past this, explain that people in different times and places like different things.  The psalmist liked using oil on his head.  We prefer to rub good smelling lotion into our hands.  If the children are gathered around you, squirt a small bit of lotion into their hands for them to rub in as you talk.  Enjoy smelling one or two of the hands, then reread the psalm.

U  With older children try your hands at creating new psalms comparing living in peace and harmony as God’s people to things and activities we enjoy today.  For example,

Good smelling lotion on our hands

Sitting around a campfire on a cold night

A warm coat on a cool day

Running barefoot through fresh grass

1 John 1:1-2:2

U  This is the first of six consecutive epistle readings from 1 John.  So introduce the book.  Using the New Testament table of contents in your pew Bibles, identify the four books named John in the New Testament (5 books if Revelation includes John’s name).  Briefly, tell how the books are alike and different.  One is a gospel telling the story of Jesus.  The others are letters or communications to other Christians.  Explain that though we do not know much about the church to which John’s letters are addressed, we do know that they were having a fight.  We’re not 100% sure what they were fighting about, but we know that John’s suggestions to these fighting Christians make sense in any fight – then or now.

U  If you are going to deal with John’s ideas about the incarnation in this text, take time to explore the significance of the name Jesus Christ.  Point out that Christ is not Jesus “last name.”  Jesus is an earthly human name.  Jesus’ full earthly name would have been Jesus of Nazareth.  Christ is a heavenly name or title.  When we speak of Jesus Christ we are saying that Jesus was both fully human and fully God.  

U  If verses 7 and 8 (If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.   If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.)are used regularly in your prayers of confession, highlight them today.  Point out where, how and why you use them.  Describe every worshiper in the congregation as a sinner coming with sins to admit to God.  Walk through your ritual – the prayer of confession, maybe silence for personal confession, assurance of pardon and congregational response.  Use some of John’s ideas in this text to explain what each part of the liturgy means.  Then, invite worshipers to join you confessing your sins to God and hearing about God’s forgiveness. 

John 20:19-31

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 March 8, 2012].

U  This text is the gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Easter in all three years of the lectionary cycle.  (Other readings vary from year to year.)   Go to Second Sunday of Easter (Year A) to find suggestions for linking the forgiveness in this story to the forgiveness phrases in the Lord’s Prayer, a great quote from Laurel Dykstra, and suggestions for using some great art depictions of Thomas and Jesus.

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

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

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/reflection in the sermon.  Or, introduce it before reading the scripture.  In the latter 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.

U  If 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.  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.

I know there are some good books about God questions children ask, but can’t think of any right now.  Someone out there, speak up!!  OK what about Why Did God Make Bugs and Other Icky Things, by Kel Groseclose?

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  Go to Second Sunday of Easter (Year A) for ideas about tying “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” to Jesus’ Easter task of forgiving others.

Year A - Proper 13, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 31, 2011)

Genesis 32:22-31

F Most children, especially most boys, are delighted by this story in which God appears as a wrestler.  The idea that God is willing to get down and tussle with Jacob is appealing.  The fact that the fight was a friendly one rather than a vicious one leads them to think God was on Jacob’s side (and our side) all along.  They are also pleased that God is strong enough and gentle enough to leave Jacob lame (with a reminder of God’s strength), but not horribly damaged.  They however will not tumble to all this simply hearing the text read, it will have to be pointed out to them and savored with them.  (If you have a teenage wrestler in the congregation, ask him to read this story after noting the that this text is appropriately read by a wrestler.)

F In the aftermath of all the Harry Potter mania, point young worshipers to The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis by comparing Aslan the Lion who represents Jesus in these books to God wrestling with Jacob.  In The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe  (the first book in the series) Susan and Lucy ask Mr. and Mrs. Beaver to describe Aslan. They ask if Aslan is a man. Mr. Beaver replies.

"Aslan a man?  Certainly not.  I tell you he is the King of the Wood and the son of the great Emperor Beyond the Sea.  Don't you know who is the King of the Beasts?  Aslan is a lion - the Lion, the great Lion."

"Ooh!" said Susan.  "I thought he was a man.  Is he -- quite safe?  I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."

"That you will, dearie, and make no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

  

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver.  "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you?  Who said anything about being safe?  'Course he isn't safe.  But he's good.  He's the King, I tell you."

F Celebrate God’s power by singing “I Sing the Mighty Power of God.”  Before singing point out a few of the examples of God’s power and encourage worshipers to listen for others as they sing.

Psalm 17:1-7

The images in this psalm will go right past children.  Let them.  The psalm will mean more to them later in life.

Isaiah 55:1-5

F Bring a piece of “how could I ever have gone out in public in this” clothing and if possible a picture of yourself wearing it, back when it was high style.  (If you were in college in the 60’s as I was, there are probably several excellent candidates for this deep in your closet.  I wore the one in the picture with bright yellow tights!  It is now part of a clown costume.)  Recall how important it was to you to have that item then and how ridiculous it seems now.  Then reread verse   2. 

“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which does not satisfy? “

Put it into your own words discussing our tendency to go after things we think we have to have, things that we think will make us happy, things that years , or even days, later look so very foolish.

F Create a responsive prayer about the things we want that “do not satisfy” using “Give us this day our daily bread” as the congregation’s response.

Leader: God help us recognize the difference between what we want

              and what we really need.

All:         Give us this day our daily bread.

Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21

Use the adapted version of this psalm (from TEV) as a responsive reading with the congregation reading THE LORD in each verse and the liturgist or choir reading the remainder of each verse.  (And, yes, there are lots of male pronouns referring to God in this psalm.  I tried to make it more inclusive, but failed.  If someone else creates or knows of a better one, please share.)

⁸     The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

⁹     The Lord is good to all,

and God’s compassion is over all he has made.

¹⁴     The Lord upholds all who are falling,

and raises up all who are bowed down.

¹⁵     The eyes of all look to The Lord,

and The Lord gives them their food in due season.

¹⁶     The Lord opens his hand,

satisfying the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷     The Lord is just in all his ways,

and kind in all his doings.

¹⁸     The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

¹⁹     The Lord He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;

he also hears their cry, and saves them.

²⁰     The Lord watches over all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹     My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Romans 9:1-5 

F Paul’s concern for the Jews is better taken up with children in other places and in other ways than these verses.  

F The Roman Catholic lectionary suggests Romans 8: 35,37-39 - last week’s list of all the things that cannot come between us and God’s powerful love for this week.  It could be an interesting match with God the wrestler in the Genesis story.

Matthew 14:13-21



JESUS MAFA. Jesus multiplies the loaves and fish, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48287 [retrieved June 21, 2011].

JESUS MAFA. Jesus multiplies the loaves and fish,
from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of
the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.
http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48287
[retrieved June 21, 2011].

F The story of the loaves and fishes meal appears in all four gospels.  In only John’s is the food offered by a child.  Still, most people will add the child as they hear the other three accounts read.  So, ask an older child to read this text in worship.

F Consider creating the whole sermon around imaging yourselves as different people in this story.  Ponder what they might have been thinking, feeling, and learning as the meal came together. Children may lose you when you explore a more adult possibility for a character, but will be drawn back in when you move to the next character/s.  For starters…

Jesus
* Wanting a little quiet to mourn John the Baptist’s death, he is confronted by a large crowd who want his attention.  What was he thinking and feeling as he responded to their needs instead of his own. 
* Some see this as a turning point.  Jesus has been letting the disciples witness him in action.  Learning of John’s murder makes him realize more fully what is ahead for him and leads him to begin preparing his disciples for leadership.  How does that influence his relationships with his disciples?

The disciples
* How did they feel when Jesus told them to feed the crowd?
* What did they think when they realized that there was going to be enough? 
* What do you think they did with the leftover food? 
* How did this event change them?

The crowd
* How did it feel to be offered free food with no questions asked in a remote place in a time when food was not abundant?
* In that day who you ate with was important.  Jesus often got in trouble over the people with whom he ate.  How did it feel to sit down with huge numbers of strangers to share food?

Us
* What do we in OUR TOWN at OUR CHURCH like about this story?
* With which character/s do we most identify?
* What does this story suggest we need to work on a bit more?

     

F This story will lead many to speak about scarcity thinking in today’s world.  Children engage in scarcity thinking when they ask,

Ø  Will I get my fair share of the fries, the goldfish, the candies….?

Ø  When is MY turn?  And, will my turn be as long as theirs?

Ø  Do they (especially parents, but also other loved adults and peers) love me as much as they love them?  (If there is a finite amount of love, I want to be sure to get some of it.)

F Tie this story to a summer food drive.  Most emergency food banks need food during the summer months when there are fewer food drives, but people still need to eat.  So, after reading and exploring the story, give worshipers a shopping list (most food banks provide one) or a paper plate to remind them to bring food the following Sunday or during the week.  Encourage families to shop for the list together.    This could be launched during the sermon.  Or, the lists or plates could be handed out just before the benediction with Jesus' charge to the disciples “YOU give them something to eat” and followed with a benediction sending them out to do this in God’s presence.

F Do a little worship education about the phrases “Give us this day our daily bread” from the Lord’s prayer.  Point out that the pronouns are plural.  We can’t pray just for our own needs.  Identify things in addition to food that are physical needs for all people.  Then, pray a responsive prayer of intercession for the hungry of the world.  The congregation’s response to each petition is “Give us this day our daily bread.” 

This could be addressed to the whole congregation just before the prayer or it could be the a children’s time just before and during this prayer of intercession.

F Discuss the practice of saying a blessing or grace before meals.  Offer samples.  If you sense that many in the congregation have let this practice go, challenge individuals and households to try it at least one meal each day this week.  Suggest that they agree on a meal and the prayer they will say in the car on the way home from church.  Call it worship homework.