Genesis 45:1-15
> For children this story is partly about Joseph forgiving his brothers
and partly about Joseph refusing to take revenge on his brothers. They easily understand that Joseph could use
his position in Egypt to “get even” with them in a very big way. They have a harder time identifying why
Joseph did not. Younger children can
only conclude that Joseph was a good guy and did the right thing. When it is clearly explained, older children
can begin to understand that Joseph was able forgive his brothers because he
had a larger vision. He knew that God
had sent him to Egypt and arranged his rise to power in order to save the whole
family – and a lot of other people – from starving during a famine. He was OK with that.
Most
children do well to see in this story the possibility of refusing to take
revenge on someone who has wronged you.
Asking them to apply it to situations in their own lives is asking a
lot. We may serve them best when we tell
the story in a memorable way, talk with admiration about what Joseph did, and
let the children live with the story.
> This
week’s text jumps over a lot of the story of Joseph. We never hear
about Potiphar’s house, dreams interpreted in prison, or even the dreams of
pharaoh and Joseph’s rise to power.
That leaves worship planners with several possibilities.
> Briefly recall Joseph’s sale into slavery and note
that it is now years later and Joseph has risen to great power in Egypt. There is a huge famine and Joseph’s brothers
have come to Egypt in search of food.
They do not recognize the man overseeing food distribution as their
brother Joseph. Then read Genesis
45:1-15.
> Fill in the gap by reading to the children and whole
congregation from a children’s Bible version.
The Family Story Bible, by Ralph Milton, “Joseph Helps
Pharaoh”, p.66 tells the story of Joseph as he goes down into Egypt, ends up in
prison, interprets pharaoh’s dreams, and is appointed to oversee food
collection. It ends with the famine
coming. It can be read in about 4
minutes.
> If you use projections, fill in the gaps with scenes
from Joseph,
King of Dreams, an animated DVD.
> This story presents an opportunity to highlight both the congregation’s
prayers for forgiveness and “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those
who sin against us” from the Lord’s Prayer.
> Save the prayers of confession until after a
sermon exploring forgiveness. Or, repeat
the ones that were prayed at the beginning of the service after the
sermon. In either case, review with
worshipers the words of the prayer and/or the sequence of the confession and
assurance of pardon.
> Create a responsive prayer of confession in which the congregation’s response is “forgive
us…as we forgive …”.
> If the children will return to school this week, identify things people might want to confess to God
about their summer so that they go back to school with a clean slate. Some possibilities include problems between
friends, things they wish they had not done, words they know they should not
have said, etc. The pardon needs to
include both the promise that God was with us all summer, is proud of the good
things we did, and forgives us for all the times we messed up and the promise
that God will be with us as we return to school, will be proud of us when we do
well, and will love us and forgive us when we mess up there. With these promises children can go back to
school in peace. (This could be a
children’s time or could part of or the total of the congregation’s confession
this week. The adults will quickly adapt
the prayers and pardons to their own summers and the coming autumn.)
Psalm 133
> Pour
a little good smelling (but not too flowery for the sake of the boys) lotion on each child’s hands.
While they rub it in explain the biblical custom of pouring good
smelling oil not only on hands, but over their heads. Laugh about how yucky that sounds to us. Then read Psalm 133.
> After pointing out the two pleasures listed in the psalm, challenge
worshipers of all ages to think of other examples of pleasure that are as good
as being happy together with people you love. Possibilities:
It
is like warming yourself by a crackling campfire
(Southern hemisphere in August)
It
is like splashing in a cool pool on a hot day
(Northern hemisphere in August)
Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
> Children won’t follow the abstract language of this passage. But they do understand its insistence that no
one is left to be an “outsider” in God’s world. It is up to the worship leaders to restate
the message to children and to add specific examples that illustrate it to
children.
> After identifying people who are often left out at school, in the
community and in the world, invite worshipers of all ages to
write or draw on slips of paper people who are outsiders and are hard for them
to get along with. Collect the
slips in “prayer baskets” (same as offering baskets) that are then placed on
the central table. A worship leader then
voices a prayer stating concern for all the people who are named in the baskets
and asking for the strength to reach out to these people where we meet them.
> To illustrate this message, give children one letter each of the word PEACE or SHALOM on a big sheet of
paper. Stand them up front in correct
order. Discuss what the word means. Turn one child (who has been prepared in
advance) to face away from the crowd saying, “we don’t need you”. Enjoy trying to pronounce the word that
remains. (Think ahead about what letter
to omit, e.g. don’t omit the C in PEACE.)
Admit that without every letter we don’t have PEACE or SHALOM and
without every person we don’t have it either.
Turn the child back around with a hug, say the whole word, and celebrate
the PEACE or SHALOM that includes everyone.
Psalm 67
BLESSINGS
> Both the Joseph story and the story of the mother begging for healing
for her daughter deal with blessings.
Joseph becomes a blessing even
to the brothers who sold him. The mother
does get healing for her daughter.
Create a worship service naming blessings. Begin with a poster of the word. Define it and challenge worshipers to listen
for it in your readings, songs and prayer today. Invite children to create blessing sheets by
drawing pictures or writing words identifying their blessings on a sheet of
paper. Then read the psalm responsively
to celebrate those blessings. Point out
the word bless in the first line as you introduce it. Practice the congregation’s response so that
even non-readers can join in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Psalm 67
Leader: God, be gracious to us and bless us
Make your face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
People: Let
the peoples praise you, O God;
let
all the peoples praise you.
Leader: Let
the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for
you judge the peoples with equity
and
guide the nations upon earth.
People: Let
the peoples praise you, O God;
let
all the peoples praise you.
Leader: The
earth has yielded its increase;
God,
our God, has blessed us.
May
God continue to bless us;
let
all the ends of the earth revere the Lord.
People: Let
the peoples praise you, O God;
let
all the peoples praise you.
(Based on New Revised
Standard Version)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
> Fortunately, Paul’s problem is not a problem for most children today
unless they have been raised with blatant anti-Semitism. So, this text is of little significance to
them.
> If you do address this issue, The Christmas Menorahs, by
Janice Cohn, D.S.W., is a children’s account of the true story in which the
children of Billings, Montana stood with the community’s Jewish families
against a hate group that was throwing rocks through the windows of Jewish
homes displaying menorahs. Christian
children drew menorahs and posted them in their own windows. The book is too long to read in worship, but the
story could be well used as a sermon illustration or told by a worship leader
in his or her own words. It may be
available in your public library.
> If this text leads you to
explore God’s mercy to the disobedient, read all or some of No,
David, No!, by David Shannon. It
is a collection of pictures of a little boy doing naughty things accompanied by
his mother’s exclamations. Be
sure to include the last two pages in which she expresses her continuing love. (Yes, David Gets In Trouble by the same author was suggested several weeks ago. No, David, No! is similar enough that you would not want to read it if you read the other. But, it has a slightly different emphasis that makes it great for this Sunday.)
Matthew 15: (1-20), 21-28
> The story about Jesus’ conversation with the Gentile woman who wanted him
to heal her daughter is offensive to children for the same reason it
offends adults. Jesus does not on the
surface seem kind and good here. Unfortunately,
all the adult attempts to make sense of that are difficult for children to
follow. So, it may be easier to work
with verses 1-20 with children.
> Most children are only vaguely interested in old Jewish laws and what
you eat and how you eat it. But, they
sit up at take notice of Jesus’ insistence that what
comes out of our mouths defiles us or makes us dirty. They need help naming the things that come
out of our mouths – like lies, name-calling, cussing, gossip, hurtful putdowns,
tattling, arguments (did so, did not)…
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> The other frequently used text on what comes out of our mouths is
James 3:1-12. Go to Proper 19 (Year B) for ideas about using this snaky tongued art work, a
prayer of confession about ways we misuse our tongues, and more.
> After exploring some the things that come out of our mouths and defile
us, sing at least the verse of “Take My Life and Let it Be” that
dedicates our mouths to God. If you sing
the entire hymn, point out the relevant verse and read the words aloud before
the congregation sings them.
Take
my voice and let me sing always,
only, for my King.
only, for my King.
Take
my lips and let them be Filled with messages
from Thee,
from Thee,
> In a service focused on what comes out of our mouths, anoint
the lips of the children with good tasting oil (maybe peppermint or
cinnamon oil) saying “May the words of this mouth be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord.” This could be done during a
children’s time or could be offered to the whole congregation. (OK this is a little way out, but it might
make a big impression on children.)
> One way to explore the story of the mother who argued with Jesus is to
pair it with the story of Jacob wrestling all night with the angel.
The pair provides one story of a man physically wrestling with God’s angel with
a second story of a woman verbally wrestling with Jesus. Together they insist that wrestling with the Divine
– even with Jesus is OK, even desirable.
Each wrestler asks for and gets a blessing. To highlight the similarities and differences
in the stories have one read by a teenage boy wrestler and the other by a
mother of young children. It might be
interesting to create a two part sermon in which each reader reflects on what
happened. Go to Proper 13 (Year A) for more ideas about the Jacob story.
I would be interested in what you think about using the Gospel passage to talk with children about the courage and strength it takes to allow your mind to be changed when you have clearly been wrong. I think that the polarized nature of our conversations these days probably goes over the heads of our kids to a large extent, but I wonder what it would be like to talk about Jesus as a model in the way he graciously offered grace after being persuaded by the woman's words. . do you think they would "get this"? It is a reason that I love this passage, but I am trying to put myself in a child's position to see if this is salient to their lives--I think it is. . . what are your thoughts?? thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe refusal to hear and learn from something different than I already think, is more often an adult skill. Children are constantly forced to re-think what their ideas and opinions. So, the text may mean more when interpreted the way you do by adults. Still, it is a model to hold up for children. As one commentator put it, Jesus confronted his own "racism" and grew beyond it. We are called to do the same.
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