Genesis
25:19-34
~ Children enjoy this story of brothers
who were fighting before they were born.
Parents appreciate the story of the parents who did everything wrong by
today’s standards for parents. The whole family is
a mess AND still God loves them and calls them to be God’s people. They, like most of the other people in the Bible, are not saints but ordinary folks like us.
There is a lot of hope in that for less than perfect individuals and families
today.
Do note that
Joseph and the brothers who sell him into slavery show up the first two weeks
in August. Think ahead about which
shared themes you will emphasize in these similar but different stories.
~ Ask a family with two sons who are good readers (maybe older
elementary or middle school age) to read the scripted version. Explain to them that their job is to help the
listeners hear all the problems in this family.
Rehearse it with them once to show them where to stand and to encourage
them to “play their parts” a little over the top.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Genesis
25:19-34
Reader 1 reads from the lectern and is
probably the worship leader. Isaac
stands beside Rebekah in the middle, (maybe on the top step). Esau and Jacob stand just in front of their
parents (maybe one step down) and Esau closer to Isaac and Jacob closer to
Rebekah.
Isaac and
Rebekah
Reader
1
Esau and Jacob
Reader 1: These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s
son: Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac (pointing to self): Isaac was forty years old when he married
Rebekah (pointing
to herself proudly):
Rebekah, daughter
of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean.
Isaac: Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was
barren; and the Lord granted his
prayer,
Rebekah: and his wife Rebekah conceived. The
children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way,
why do I live?” So she went to inquire
of the Lord.
Reader 1: And the Lord
said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be
divided;
the one shall be stronger than the
other,
the elder shall serve the younger.”
Rebekah: When her time to give birth was at hand, there
were twins in her womb.
Esau (pointing to
self): The first came out red, all his body like a
hairy mantle; so they named him Esau.
Jacob (raising hand as
if to say that’s me): Afterward his brother came out, with his hand
gripping Esau’s heel (Lean down to grab
Esau’s heel then stand up again); so he was named Jacob.
Isaac (proudly):
Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah bore
them.
Esau (stand tall with
feet planted wide):
When the boys
grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field,
Jacob: while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents.
Isaac:
Isaac loved Esau,
because he was fond of game; (Put hands on
Esau’s shoulders)
Rebekah: but Rebekah loved Jacob. (Put hands on Jacob’s shoulders)
Pause
(Parents withdraw hands and boys step forward a little)
Jacob:
Once when Jacob
was cooking a stew,
Esau:
Esau came in from
the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of
that red stuff, for I am famished!”
Jacob:
Jacob said,
“First sell me your birthright.”
Esau:
Esau said, “I am
about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”
Jacob:
Jacob said,
“Swear to me first.”
Esau:
So he swore to
him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
Jacob:
Then Jacob gave
Esau bread and lentil stew,
Esau:
and he ate and
drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Based on
the New Revised Standard Version ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Before
reading this text, invite the children forward to explain what a birthright
was. From a preschool
room bring a collection of plastic farm animals and housekeeping equipment. Explain that when a man died in Bible days,
all his stuff was divided among his sons (sorry, daughters). The oldest son got twice as much as any
younger son. Identify several boys as
brothers. Give half of everything to one
of them and split the rest between the others.
Note that since the oldest had more than he could possibly take care of
he COULD invite the younger ones to stay at home and help him. But, he would be the boss. Agree with the children that this was very
unfair and you are glad it doesn’t work that way today. Then, repeat the word “birthright” and tell
the children they will hear about two brothers and the older’s birthright in
today’s story. Then send them back to
their seats to listen.
~ Children, who hear a lot about making
good choices, enjoy hearing about Esau’s really poor choice. Esau chose what he wanted right now without
thinking about what he was giving up to get it.
Parents work hard to get children to avoid making that mistake. And, throughout our lives we all struggle
with what we want right now and what is of long term value. Two books connect neatly here.
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~ Way back in the first Harry Potter
book, Hagrid
who loved magical animals got a chance to get a dragon egg. He really wanted to raise a dragon. He wanted it so much that he did not think
ahead. He ignored the fact that owning
dragons was illegal, that dragons grow very fast, have poisonous fangs, nasty
dispositions, and breathe fire. (Hermoine
had to remind him what was likely to happen to his wood house.) And, there was trouble. It soon became impossible to hide the
growing, rambunctious dragon. Finally,
Harry, Ron and Hermoine managed to smuggle the dragon (Norbert) out of Hogwarts
to people who could get it to a safe place.
But everyone got in trouble in the process. Hagrid finally regretted getting the egg,
just as Esau eventually realized that his choice to sell his birthright for a
bowl of stew was very foolish.
Unfortunately for Esau, his bad choice had much more serious long term
consequences than Hagrid’s did. (See Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, chapter 14, for all the glorious details.)
~ In Alexander Who Use to Be
Rich Last Sunday Judith Viorst describes a long series of
bad choices a boy makes spending the dollar his grandparents brought him. Alexander (yes, the same Alexander of Alexander
and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day) really wants to save it
for a walkie-talkie, but frithers it away foolishly. Since the book was written in 1978, you may
want to update the prices, e.g. no 11 cent candy bars. Alexander and Esau both need help thinking
ahead when they make choices.
~ The Pain and the Great One,
by Judy Blume, is two monologues by a brother (the Pain) and sister (The Great
One) who absolutely cannot get along.
The book is too long to read in its entirety in worship. But, it would be easy to read a few pages of
each harangue. For maximum impact, enlist
an older elementary school or teenage brother - sister pair, to read the halves. They stand back to back in the
middle of the chancel with each turning to face the congregation to make their
rant. (Think ahead: You may want to save this book for the Sunday
in August when Joseph’s brothers sell him.)
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~ Invite worshipers of all ages to pray for their
families or for their siblings using a pencil. Each one starts by drawing a loopy circular
design. In each section they write the
name of a family member – yes, even pets.
They then decorate each section with appropriate squiggles, drawings, and
words. Finally, pray aloud for families
leaving time for people to pray silently based on their papers, e.g. “Lord,
even though we love the people in our family, there are things about each one
that drive us a little nuts. Hear our
prayers for the things in our family that drive us a little nuts.”
Psalm
119:105-112
~ This is the section of the huge
alphabet poem Psalm 119 in which every line begins with the Hebrew letter
nun. Display a poster of the letter,
explain that each line praises God’s word in a phrase that begins with that
letter. Project or show this text in a
Hebrew Bible pointing to the letter at the right hand (Hebrew reads right to
left) of each line. Then have each verse
read by a different reader. This could
be a good worship leadership job for an older children’s class.
~ Verse 105 is probably the best known
of these verses. To help children
understand the metaphor “Your word is a lamp to my feet,” try using a Bible
as a flashlight pretending to look for something. Maybe with the help of the children, conclude
that a Bible will never be a flashlight.
Then read verse 105 and work out what it is really saying about the
Bible. The Bible helps us know where to
go and what to do every day. It helps us
see God’s good way of living.
Isaiah
55:10-13
~ In the gospel Jesus says God’s Word
is like seeds. Isaiah says that God’s
Word is like the snow or rain. Metaphors
on top of metaphors! Probably the most confusing thing for children
is to read both on the same Sunday. Actually Isaiah’s may
make more sense to children. God’s Word produces
good things. Just as the
rain results in food for us to eat, hearing God’s word results in loving, just
actions by those who hear them. The TEV
version of verses 10-11 (the key verses for children) is easiest to understand.
10“My word is
like the snow and the rain
that
come down from the sky to water the earth.
They
make the crops grow
and
provide seed for sowing and food to eat.
11 So also will be the word that I
speak—
it
will not fail to do what I plan for it;
it
will do everything I send it to do.
Psalm
65: (1-8), 9-13
~ Invite worshipers to listen to this psalm
with their eyes and with some markers or crayons in their hands. Tell them there are lots of things in God’s
world to see as you listen. Give them sheet
of paper with the psalm printed in the middle surrounded by wide margins. Challenge them to underline everything God
made that we can see as the psalm is read.
After the reading they can draw some or all of the underlined things in
the margins as worship continues.
Romans
8:1-11
~ J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter) and Paul
are on the same page in this passage. Paul compares living
by the flesh with living by the Spirit.
Rowling gives us two characters to embody those possibilities.
Lord Voldemort
lives according to the flesh. He is all
about getting what he wants no matter what it means for others. One thing he wants is to be immortal. He learns that the way to do that is to
divide his soul (his self) into seven parts, inserting each in a separate
object that he obtains by killing its owner.
These soul holding objects are called horcruxes. Slowly Lord Voldemort creates the horcruxes
hiding them in ingeniously guarded places.
Murder and mayhem ripple out from his activities.
Harry Potter
on the other hand lives by the Spirit, that is he understands the world as a
good place and sees love as what holds the world together. He knows that he was loved so much by his
mother that she died to save him. He
slowly learns to treat all the people around him lovingly. He and his friends hunt and destroy each of
Lord Voldemort’s horcruxes to save each other and everyone in the world. When Harry learns that he is the final
horcrux and that the only way to stop Lord Voldemort is to let him kill Harry,
Harry allows that to happen. That is
living by the Spirit. The surprise is
that after his “death,” Harry learns that he still has the opportunity to live
and thus is returned to his friends. His
love triumphs over death. This is living
by the Spirit too.
Though we do not face death-eaters, magical
monsters, and wizards with wands, we do daily meet opportunities to do what we
know is wrong and will hurt other people.
We are warned by Harry to stay alert and be careful.
~ If your congregation uses the phrase “renounce evil” in
questions in baptismal, confirmation or ordination questions,
quote those questions today. Put the
question into your own words with reference to Harry Potter’s fight against the
evil he encountered. Talk about what it
means to “renounce evil” in each worship situation. Compare “renouncing evil” every day to the
way Harry had to “renounce evil.”
Matthew
13:1-9, 18-23
~ Parables are very open stories designed to have more than one
meaning. Often
they mean different things to the same reader at different times. When we refuse to offer right answers to the
parables in preaching, we welcome worshipers to read and ponder all parables
with a sense of open wonder.
The commentaries I read, warned against
treating this parable as an allegory.
The easy way to do that is to read only the parable (verses 1-8)
omitting the very allegorical interpretation in verses 18-23. Or, to stop after the parable to ponder “what
Jesus was trying to tell us” before introducing verses 18-23 as one possible
meaning. Children are often more able
than adults to produce possible messages.
If they do, be sure that their attempts are affirmed and not laughed at
– even when their offerings are a bit novel.
~ This parable (verses 1-9) begs to be
dramatized for sheer enjoyment.
Before worship gather a
group of worshipers to prepare to pantomime the parable as it is read. Read through the story first asking actors to
show you how each seed grew. As they
offer good interpretations, assign them to that part. After reading it through once and assigning
parts, direct actors where to stand.
Then reread the parable with the groups miming their assigned
parts. Now you should be ready to
pantomime it during worship.
This could be
done by youth and adults for a more polished performance or by children to give
them a chance to be worship leaders and savor a more spontaneous performance or
by an intergenerational group for summer fun and to emphasize that the parable
belongs to all of us.
 |
| A briar chokes a plant. |
For a no rehearsal
presentation using socks as puppets,
invite the children to come forward to help you present the parable for the
day. Give each child one sock to pull
over one hand. Most socks should be
green (or white with the instructions to imagine green). You will need a few dark brown ones for weeds
and black ones for the thieving birds. There could even be a few gray ones for
the rocks. Once everyone has a sock on,
invite them to show with their sock puppet what happens in the story. You may need to pause as you read to help
them act it out as you get started.
~ The Harry Potter connection to this
parable is found in Chapter 3 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, “The Letters From No
One.” When his Uncle
Vernon refuses to give Harry a letter addressed to him, more and more, actually
hundreds of letters arrive. As Uncle
Vernon moves Harry and the family around hoping to make the letters stop, the
letters keep arriving with the new address, e.g. “the cupboard under the
stairs,” “the smallest bedroom,” “Railview Hotel,” and finally “the floor, Hut
on the Rock, the Sea.” The letter is an
invitation to become a student at Hogwarts.
When Hagrid finally delivers it personally to Harry he tells Harry that
he is a wizard, a much loved one. Like
the sower, Hagrid scatters his letters in abundance everywhere that Harry might
get them. Like the seed, the letters
tell Harry who he is and invite him to an incredible new future.
~ Two other familiar children’s stories
about sowing with abandon:
Miss Rumphius,
by Barbara Cooney, tells the fictional story of a woman who keeps her promise
to her grandfather to do something to make the world prettier by planting
lupine seeds all around her community in Maine.
Go to Johnny Appleseed on Wikipedia to learn the details of the story of Johnny Appleseed, a real person who became a legend, for
planting apple trees all over the Ohio River Valley and into New York. After telling his story, sing the Johnny
Appleseed blessing in place of the doxology today when offerings are presented
today.
O, the Lord’s
been good to me.
And so I thank
the Lord
for giving me the
things I need:
the sun and the
rain and the apple seed.
The Lord is good
to me. Amen.
Seed by Seed, by Esme
Raji Codell, is a beautiful telling of the story of Johnny Appleseed but is too
long to read in its entirety. Either
read it for your own understanding and then present it in your own words. Or read the page about Johnny’s birth, the page
that begins “what we do know is that by doing the same small act of planting
seeds every day…”, the page that begins “John Chapman journeyed hundreds of
miles …” and the last two pages, “Seed by seed, deed by deed, Jonny Appleseed
changed the landscape of a nation. And
now it’s your turn. One small deed every
day. What seed will you plant?”
~ This is the first of
four parables. If you will build worship
around them, adapt the response to the gospel for the four
weeks. Introduce the final line today
and practice saying it once before reading the gospel.
Yes, there is a lot of Harry Potter here. Remember that when we last read these texts, the final movie of the series was just coming out with HUGE hype. I left all the suggestions in because children still love the story and it has such wonderful connections to gospel themes.
Leader: The Word of the Lord!
People: Thanks be to God!
All: Let those who have ears listen.
All: Let those who have ears listen.
Yes, there is a lot of Harry Potter here. Remember that when we last read these texts, the final movie of the series was just coming out with HUGE hype. I left all the suggestions in because children still love the story and it has such wonderful connections to gospel themes.
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