Year B - Proper 20, 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 17th Sunday after Pentecost (September 23, 2012)

Many of these texts read together could be a good antidote for the fall season’s over dedication to being the best, the greatest, Number 1.  Proverbs describes an impossibly perfect woman who fewer and fewer women take seriously.  Jesus in Mark insists that it is not about being "the greatest."  James warns that a lot of our problems rise in our ambitions and strivings.  Together they take us back to grace.  It’s not wrong to do our best, but we mess up when we obsess about it. 

Proverbs 31:10-31

X To help children understand how many women feel about this alphabet poem about “the good wife” read them the beginning of a similar poem about “the good kid.”  The children might call out each letter of the alphabet with the leader responding with the verse based on that letter with emphasis on the key word or phrase.  Talk about how this poem makes them feel.  Laughing, suggest other poems like “A Good Dad” or “A Good Teacher” or “A Good Friend.”  The point of all this is that none of us are that good and that is OK.

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

The Good Kid

A          A good kid is able to do whatever is asked.

B          “Be thoughtful and be kind to every person all the time” is the motto which a good kid follows every day.

C          Clean rooms, clean clothes, clean papers, and clean desks show the presence of good kid.

D          Doing what is right all the time is what a good kid always does.

E          Everyone thinks a good kid is wonderful and praise comes to the good kid every single day.

F          Football, basketball, baseball, soccer and all other sports come easily to the good kid.  Good kids are sports stars.

G          Good grades cover the reports of good kids.  They are excellent students.

H          Happy is the word that describes a good kid all the time.

                  Had enough?

This is my stab at it.  Feel free to use it as is or to edit freely.  Have fun.

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

Psalm 1

XScornful, scoffers, and chaff are unfamiliar words to most children, so choose your translation carefully and point out strange words before reading if needed.  (There is no translation that includes none of these words.  So, choose the one that fits you congregation and introduce its “hard words.”)

X Psalm 1 is an almost over-simplistic comparison of “the good” and “the wicked.”  To make the comparison visual, have it read by two readers (perhaps one wearing a dark shirt and pants/skirt and the other wearing a white or light colored shirt and pants/skirts).  One reads the verses about the good.  The other reads the verses about the wicked.  They begin standing back to back in the center of the sanctuary.  Each one turns to recite his or her verses facing the congregation then returns to the starting position.  This is most effective if the readers actually recite their verses from memory. 

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Psalm 1

Reader 1:        Happy are those

who do not follow the advice of the wicked,

or take the path that sinners tread,

or sit in the seat of scoffers;

but their delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law they meditate day and night.

They are like trees planted by streams of water,

which yield their fruit in its season,

and their leaves do not wither.

In all that they do, they prosper.

Reader 2:        The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

Reader 1:        For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

Reader 2:        but the way of the wicked will perish.

                                                                                             NRSV

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NOTE: I used the NRSV in the script because this psalm is well known in this version.  For a translation with an easier vocabulary for children look at Today’s English Version.

X Visualize the major images in the psalm with a display that juxtaposes a lush leafy plant and a vase of dry brittle weeds/straw.  (BTW, talk in advance with the flower arranger so the weeds aren’t an elegant display!)  Point to the displays before reading the psalm or talk about them during the sermon to explore the psalmist’s message.  Ceremoniously carry the weeds from the sanctuary following the reading.

Wisdom of Solomon 1:16 – 2:1, 12-22

X This is a very adult passage.  It asks the reader to see the world through the thoughts (through the eyes) of the enemy.  Children, however, have trouble learning to see what they do and say through the eyes of their friends.  Seeing through the eyes of the enemy is simply beyond the mental ability of the younger children and is a stretch for the older ones.  So, I’d skip this with the children.

X If you do read this text in worship consider the Roman Catholic lectionary suggestion that we read only 2:17-20.  That focuses the reading considerably.

Jeremiah 11:18-20 and Psalm 54

Both of these are fairly sophisticated responses to the crucifixion and resurrection.  They require a great deal of explaining to children.  Today, I would stick with simply retelling the Passion story.  See suggestions under Mark 8 below.

James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a

X The Roman Catholic lectionary again streamlines this rather long repetitive text to James 3:16-4:3.  It is easier for children to stick with the shorter reading.

X Judy Blume’s picture book, The Pain and The Great One goes both with James’ teachings about not getting so tied up in ourselves and what we want and with the argument about greatness in Mark.  An eight year old big sister, "the Great One,” and her six year old brother, “the Pain,” each rant about the unfair advantages the other has.  It’s a conversation most families will recognize.  It takes 7-8 minutes to read the entire book with the drama it demands.  If needed, the book could be shortened considerably by editing out parallel parts of each child’s rant, e.g. leave out the part about the blocks and the parts about staying up late or having the blocks to himself.  Or, you could select a few key phrases to say with great drama knowing that children and parents can fill in with all the others.  If you use this book in exploring James’ insistence that many of our problems spring from our jealousies of others and our greedy wants, offer a few similar rants often heard from teenagers and adults – maybe from others at the office, etc.  

Mark 9:30-37

X This reading falls into 2 parts: the prediction of Jesus’ death and resurrection and Jesus’ discussion with his disciples about what constitutes greatness.  For children they are rather separate conversations.

IF THE "ADD IMAGE" BUTTON WERE WORKING I'D POST A PICTURE OF THE CRUCIFIXION FROM THE VANDERBILT LIBRARY GREAT ART SERIES HERE.  BUT IT IS NOT WORKING.  SO I'M GIVING YOU THE LINK TO THE PICTURE ( Crucifixion Painting ) AND ENCOURAGING YOU TO GO THERE IN SEARCH OF OTHER PICTURES OF HOLY WEEK EVENTS TO USE IN TELLING THE PASSION STORY WITH THE CHILDREN. 

X Verses 30-32, the prediction of the crucifixion and resurrection, are an opportunity to retell the Holy Week story in September – without the distractions of Easter bunnies and chocolate eggs.  Gather a set of pictures tracing the events of Holy Week or find a simple Easter Bible story book in the library with which to retell the events of Holy Week.  I would use the pictures in the book to tell the story in my own words.  This is a broad strokes reminder of the events, not a detailed retelling of them.

HINT: In September you will not find Easter books in the bookstores – even on line.  Go dig in any cache of children’s books you keep at the church.  You will more likely find useable art in an Easter picture book than in the Easter stories in a book of collected Bible stories.

X Verses 33 – 37 speak to children of something that is very real to them.  They have had the “who is the greatest” conversation with their friends repeatedly.  They have argued about who is the greatest ball player in the world, who is the best speller in their class, who among those present is the greatest at … whatever they are doing at the moment.  They are encouraged to be the best, the champion, the greatest.  We saw the cultural drive for this at the Olympics.  It will show up again in all the reality shows this fall.  From an early age we ply children with trophies, ribbons, titles, and more that mark their greatness at all sorts of things.  Jesus’ message flies in the face of all of this.  Jesus says God is not interested in who is greatest at anything.  God is interested in who pays attention to the least of the people. 

X Since children are children and feel quite important, skip or downplay Jesus’ use of a child as a symbol of the totally powerless and unimportant.  They don’t get the point.  Instead, they get the point from Jesus' insistence that the greatest one is not the one who has wins all the prizes and is extra specially talented, but the one who pays attention to and takes care of the people who need love and care most. 

X Judy Blume’s The Pain and the Great One can be seen as a child’s version of the disciples discussion about who is the greatest.  The trick is to recognize in the children’s rants feelings we all (and the disciples) have at all ages.  We want to be special, the great one, and most loved.  Jesus is telling us that those feelings are dead ends.  We need to stop worrying about ourselves and start paying attention to people around us.  The surprising thing is that when we do that we are happier.

Year A - Proper 14, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 7, 2011)

This week’s texts provide an embarrassment of riches for children.. Then, to add to the feast, the Episcopalians offer yet another intriguing set of readings.  To Matthew’s story about Jesus and Peter walking on the water in the middle of a storm, they add Jonah being tossed into the sea during an Old Testament storm, and Psalm 29 which celebrates the power of a storm.  This is a set of readings with a clear theme that worshipers of all ages can respond to from where they are – everywhere from trusting God in a season of storms to trusting God in all life’s storms (even the ones we, like Jonah, create).  If you pursue this…

At the very beginning of the service, maybe just before the Call to Worship, speak to the children (either in their pews or on the steps).  Talk briefly about weather storms describing how they scare us because they are so powerful.  Then, suggest that there are storms that have nothing to do with weather, e.g. fights between best friends or between brothers and sisters, even wars.  After very bluntly connecting the power and potential for harm in these different kinds of storms, urge the children to listen for all the storms in the songs, hymns, and stories today and to listen for ways we can face frightening storms of all sorts.

Go to Year A - Baptism of the Lord Sunday for suggestions about reading Psalm 29 with sound effects generated by the congregation and a stormy art project to be done in pews during worship.

If you are working with the Revised Common Lectionary readings…….

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Children who are constantly pushed by their parents to get along better with their siblings LOVE THIS STORY.  There may have been times they wished a troublesome brother or sister would disappear, but few have seriously contemplated making it happen, much less done something about it.  The fact that such a story appears in the Bible leads them to think that God may understand the realities of their daily lives after all.

The story begs for dramatic presentation both so everyone can enjoy it and so the children get it.  This may be a day for a longer, more elaborate scripture presentation and a shorter sermon that really is commentary on the story.

At the very least tell (in your best story teller style) the stories of the coat and Joseph’s dreams as “two things you need to know about Joseph and his eleven older brothers before you hear today’s story.”  This could be done as a children’s time after which you send the children to their seats to listen the reading from the Bible.

Gather 12 older elementary, teenage, and young adult guys (and maybe a white haired man for Jacob) to pantomime the story.  If possible provide costumes.  If you do not have that many biblical costumes, have all but Joseph wear jeans and a white or dark colored  t shirt.  Have Joseph wear jeans and a very fancy shirt of some sort – maybe a tie-dyed t shirt or a tuxedo tucked or ruffled shirt?   In rehearsal work on showing feelings with your face and body.  Consider adding the coat and dream stories and omitting the stop at Dothan.  (This is one great male bonding opportunity!)     ---  FYI the Exodus text (the birth and adoption of Moses) on August 21 provides a similar opportunity for the girls and women.

Go to http://seedstuff.blogspot.com/2008/07/proper-14-ordinary-19-pentecost-13.html for a simple humorous, bring it to life, reading script for this story.  In an informal worship setting enlist readers during the service, handing out highlighted scripts.   (Another great resource from Ann Scull’s Mustard Seeds blog.)

If you use projections during worship consider using

Ø  The appropriate sections of “Joseph – King of Dreams” the animated DVD

Ø  Selected “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” songs

1.       Joseph’s Coat

2.       Joseph’s Dream

3.       Poor, Poor Joseph (Joseph is sold and ends up in prison in Egypt)

The Bible is not clear about what kind of coat Jacob gave Joseph.  Depending on the translation it was a fancy coat, a beautifully decorated coat, a coat with long sleeves (for one who does not have to work), or a coat of many colors.  Point out to the children that the Bible was written in another language centuries ago and no one knows exactly what kind of coat it was.  Name some of the possibilities, then explain that whatever kind of coat it was, it did cause trouble.  From there ask what causes jealousy between siblings today – electronic gadgets, special shoes or clothes, special privileges, special lessons or teams,  anything I would like to have but can’t and my sibling can.  These things make brothers and sisters everywhere say aloud or grumpily to themselves – “It is not fair!”

from The Family Story Bible
by Ralph Milton

Children sympathize with the brothers.  Joseph was an arrogant, pain.  They also had a legitimate complaint against their father who was playing favorites.  It wasn’t fair that Joseph got the fancy coat and they had their old clothes.  It wasn’t fair that the youngest brother was not required to work with the others and was actually sent to check up on them.  Where the brothers got into trouble was when they used an unfair strategy (selling their defenseless brother) to get what seemed only fair for themselves.  That is something for children to remember today.  It also worth highlighting Judah and Ruben’s attempt to save Joseph as proof of how hard it sometimes is to be a peacemaker.

Create a prayer of confession about all the ways we get as mad as the brothers were in our families, communities, even in our world. 

Psalm 105:1-6,16-22, 45b

This psalm assumes the readers already know the rest of the story of Joseph.  Many do not.  So, either omit it or read it suggesting that listeners look for clues about what lies ahead for Joseph and his brothers and promising that you will pick up that story next Sunday. 

OR

Introduce this psalm as a long story poem that might have been told as families sat around their fires or on their roofs on summer evenings (before DVDs, computers, TVs, or even books).  People sat around telling stories about what was important in life.  They enjoyed retelling those stories in new beautiful ways.  This psalm told the story from Abraham through Moses.  We’ll just read the beginning and the verses about Joseph.  Everyone responds with 45b, as family might have done after the story at night.

1 Kings 19:9-18

This story raises the question “How does God speak to us?”  Literal thinking children assume that when the Bible says God spoke, people heard God with their ears.  When adults around them use this same language they assume those adults hear God speak with their ears and wonder why God never speaks to them that way.  Often they conclude that they are not good enough for God to speak to.  This story provides an opportunity to explore all this.  Point out that the Hebrew slaves knew God was with them as they left Egypt and started across the desert because there was a tall column of fire in from of them at night.  But when the fire came past Elijah on the mountain, God was not there.  When the disciples were hiding out after Jesus was resurrected there was a strong wind that blew through them and they felt God explaining to them who Jesus was, but when the wind passed Elijah on the mountain, God was not in it.  Some people have felt God with them in earthquakes, but not Elijah.  Then read the NRSV translation that says Elijah heard God in “the sound of sheer silence.”  Clearly explain that sometimes we know God is telling us something, even when we do not hear a word with our ears.  We feel God telling us deep inside us. 

Psalm 85:8-13

This psalm is so full of metaphorical language that it makes little sense to children.  It appears again in Year B on the Second Sunday of Advent when it fits the texts in ways that can more easily interpreted to children.  I’d wait until then to explore it with children.

Romans 10:5-15

Children don’t understand Paul’s problems with legalism.  Preschool children believe the “biggest” person  present makes the rules and everyone else follows them.  It’s just the way it works.  Elementary school children begin to understand that rules are set by the community and can be negotiated (hence the game playing sessions in which more time is spent arguing about the rules than playing the game).  They also believe that good people obey the rules and will tell you with conviction that they keep the important rules like the 10 commandments perfectly.  They simply cannot grasp Paul’s more ”experienced” concerns about the problems with “living by the rules.”  That will have to wait a few years for them.

Matthew 14:22-33

Like the Genesis text, this story begs for dramatic presentation.

Read it dramatically reading faster and louder as the storm grows.  Say “It’s a ghost” like you think the disciples might have said it.  Pause when the storm ceases and read the rest in a very calm voice. 

To get the congregation “in the boat with the disciples” tell them to pretend they are not sitting in a pew/chair but in a boat.  When all are aboard, push off, enjoy bobbing around in the water,  even do some rowing together.  Then, notice the storm coming at you across the water.  Rock and roll as the waves and wind build.  Hold onto the sides of the boat.  Remark on water coming into the boat.  Then, point in fear at an imaginary Jesus coming across the water.  Tell what Peter did.  Once Peter and Jesus are back in the boat, whip your arm in a stop signal and quietly say “the winds stopped”  and read the last verse.  (This could be a children’s time, but is more effectively done as the real gospel "reading" with the whole congregation.)

The key word is FAITH.  Children understand it best as trusting God.  Trust is almost a better word for them because it is more familiar. 

Introduce FAITH and TRUST at the beginning of the service.  Briefly define them and urge children to listen for them in the prayers, readings, songs, and stories of the day.  For big impact, put a real boat in the center of the sanctuary.  Equip it with a large paper sail on which is printed FAITH and/or TRUST and any other synonyms that you will be using today.  Or, display a large drawing of boat with the same sail.

If your children are among those going back to school in early August, use this story to talk about all the things you can do (master new subjects, learn new skills, make new friends…) if you are willing to try.  Instead of being hard on Peter for flunking water walking, praise him for trying while the others stayed in the boat.  Note that God made us able to learn and do many amazing things.  We need to trust God enough to try new things.  (Be sure to point out that this does not mean we can do anything – like jump off a building expecting to fly like Superman.  God gave us brains and expects us to use them to figure out what to try and what to avoid.)

Common childhood experiences that parallel this story of faith include

-          Riding a bicycle for the first time without training wheels

-          Realizing that you are halfway across the pool the first time you try to swim all the way across the pool in the deep end

-          Realizing what you are doing in the middle of standing up to a bully,

       even if he/she is responding well

-          Realizing what you are doing halfway through your recital piece

      (people often lose their concentration and mess up when this happens)

-          Realizing what you are doing the first time you stay home on your own

If all the talk of the sea leads you to sing “Eternal Father Strong to Save” begin by pointing out that it is a prayer for people who spend a lot of time on the sea.  List or ask the congregation to help you list some of these people (sailors, fishing crews, scientists studying the ocean, travelers on cruise ships, people who work on off-shore oil well platforms, etc.) before singing the song together.

Two hymns about trusting God:

“I Sing the Mighty Power of God”  answers the question “why can we trust God” with examples of God’s great power and loving care.  So suggest that it is a good song to sing when we are doing something new and scary.

The short hymn “Give to the Winds Thy Fears” is another good song for scary moments.  Especially if it is unfamiliar to the congregation, read through the words stopping to put a few phrases into your own words for clarity.  Then, invite the congregation to sing it thinking about the disciples in the boat or themselves in a scary situation.

If your children are going back to school soon, go to my Back To School! post.

Year A - Sixth Sunday in Epiphany Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 13, 2011)

Deuteronomy 30: 15-20

Two ways to read this passage in worship:

Tell the back story.  Imagine Moses with all the people on the edge of the Promised Land.  Recall the escape from Egypt, the 10 Commands, the 40 years in the wilderness.  Point out that Moses is old and has appointed a new leader to take the people into the Land God promised them.  This is Moses’ goodbye speech.  Then read the text, or ask an elderly man who is well known in the congregation to read it.

Invite children forward and meet them on the steps with the big Bible.  Ask how many of them have been told to make good choices.  After briefly talking about what people mean when they give you “the good choices lecture,” point out that the first good choices lecture is in the Bible.  Briefly tell the story of Moses leading the people out of Egypt and through the wilderness.  Recall God’s opening the sea for their escape, providing food and water when it was needed, and giving them the 10 Commandments to show them how to live.  Explain that the people are now right on the border of the Promised Land.  Before he hands leadership over to Joshua, Moses gives the people some advice about living in their new homes.  Then read the Deuteronomy text using your voice and facial expressions to emphasize the choices Moses is offering the people.  This is best as the “real” reading of the text for the entire congregation.

The hard part about “choosing life” is that instead of making one big choice that you make once and then go about your business, you have to choose life in lots of little choices that you make every day.  For example, given the choice between getting and A or an F on your report card, most people would choose the A.  But to get that A requires lots of choices every day, like, "should I do my homework or play a computer game?"  The only way to get the A is to choose to study every day.  In the same way, if we want to live in a happy family, we have to choose to help out sometimes rather than do we want to do all the time.  Likewise, if we want to choose God’s ways, we have to make that choice over and over again every day.

Psalm 119:1-8

This is the first of two readings from Psalm 119, a long alphabet poem made up of sections of lines beginning with the same letter.  All the lines in this week’s section begin with the Hebrew letter aleph.  It can be read by a group of children or by the congregation following the plan for Psalm 112 for Psalm 119 in the Fifth Sunday in Epiphany. 

Psalm 119 is a poem praising God’s Law.  It is filled with lots of big words that mean the same thing as Law.  Since these words show up other places in the Bible and in worship, use this as an opportunity to introduce the words.  Try one or more of the following:

Make a poster of the words.  Introduce each word simply as another word for God’s rules.  Invite the congregation to say them with you.  Leave them on display for the rest of the service. (This poster is based on NRSV.  Be sure your poster matches your translation.)

Precepts

Law

Statutes

Ordinances

Decrees

Commandments

If the text is printed in the bulletin, after presenting the word poster, suggest that worshipers underline each word they see in the text.  

Then read the text aloud with worshipers following along in their bulletins.

To join the psalmist in pondering the value of good rules, explore the importance of rules to games.  Good rules are what makes the game fun to play.  Consider the mess that results when soccer or checkers players don’t play by the rules of the game.  Don’t expect children to make the jump to the rules for life.

Since the subject of both this psalm and the gospel reading is God's Law, think some about how children understand and use rules:    Children first see rules as indisputable givens ordained by the adults.  The youngest follow them to avoid punishment from the enforcing adults.  By kindergarten they are using the rules to get rewards and win approval from the adults.  During early elementary school children begin to understand that rules can be negotiated.  We can decide the rules we live by.  At this time, children will often spend more time vigorously debating the rules of a game than they do playing the game.  They also insist that once agreed on the rules must be enforced strictly and apply to all.  “That isn’t fair!” is the outraged cry of this stage.  As adolescence comes, young people begin to see the difference between literally enforcing a rule and following the spirit behind the rule.  That is a big jump that many never make, or make with some rules but not others.

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Paul is addressing a complex adult situation in a church long ago.  It would take a lot of explaining to get children to understand what was going on then; and once they understood they wouldn’t much care.  Two points do speak to children without understanding the rest of what is going on.

Paul says that people who are jealous and who quarrel are acting like babies and need to grow up.   Jealousy means wanting everything someone else has or is that you like.  Jealous people can’t see anything they like without wanting it for themselves.   One description of a two year olds law of possession is “I see it.  I want it.  It’s mine!”   Grownups can see something beautiful that someone else has or something wonderful that they can do without thinking, “That should be mine!  I want it!”  None of us, even when we are 90 years old, are totally grownup, which means all of us have to work on not being jealous of others and what they have.  Similarly, nobody agrees with everyone else all the time.  We want different things.  We understand things differently.  "Babies" want everyone to agree with them all the time and fuss (or quarrel) with anyone who does not.  “Do it my way!” they insist.  Grown-ups know that people are different and work to get along with people who disagree with them. 

Paul says that each person has an important contribution to make to the whole church.  God knits all those contributions together.  For children (and adults) today that means that everyone in their church has something to offer.  Some sing in the choir, some work at the soup kitchen, some teach church school, some coach church sports teams, and so forth.  Each one is needed and no one is better than the others.  God uses everyone’s contribution.

Matthew 5:21-37

This reading includes Jesus’ sayings about four separate laws. 

To keep them separate, have each one read by a different reader. 

Or, If the preacher is going to comment on all four of them, consider reading the sections one at the time with the preacher commenting on each one as it is read.  The back and forth between the reader and the preacher will keep the attention of younger worshipers.

The sayings about anger may be the most challenging for people of all ages.  Jesus begins by setting aside the belief that it’s OK to be angry as long as you don’t act on it in a way that hurts someone.  Fortunately he also seems to assume that everyone does get angry and then offers a suggestion about coping with anger.  The specifics of his suggestion are foreign to children today, but the idea behind them is still the best advice available to children.  To today’s children Jesus says,

Everyone gets angry.  It just happens.  Good people get angry as often as bad people do.  Adults, teenagers, and children all get angry.  So the question is what do you do when you get angry. 

First (and Jesus doesn’t suggest this in Matthew), take a little break.  Give yourself time out, count to ten, do something physical (shoot baskets, scrub a floor), enjoy your favorite music,  whatever works for you.  If you feel like shouting and calling someone names, do it where no one else can hear. 

Next (and Jesus does say not to wait too long to do this), name the problem that makes you angry and figure out something to do about it.  The Bible says, “be reconciled” with the person who made you angry.  That means work it out with It with them.  Figure out how to solve the problem between you.  That is not easy.  Frequently it helps to get advice or help from other people. 

If you need examples of things that make children angry, try some of the following.

Your little sister just drew pictures all over your homework…

Your brother borrowed your ball glove and left it outside in the rain…

Your father blamed you for something you did not do…

Your mother insists that you babysit your little brother instead of play with
     your friend….

A biblical example of the danger of unaddressed anger that may be familiar to children:  Joseph’s big brothers were angry (Joseph was dad’s favorite, got a special coat, told them dreams he had in which they bowed down to him).  The brothers let their anger build.  Then when they got the chance, they threw Joseph in a pit and were going to leave him there (murder), when they had a chance to sell him to passing slave traders (definitely a sin).

The section on adultery with its unfamiliar vocabulary will fly over the heads of most children and that is just fine.

The sayings about divorce are aimed at the adults, but the children know all about divorce.  All the studies say that parental divorces cause deep pain to children and leave lasting scars.  So in addressing this issue with the adults, do remember the children are listening, some quite intently.  Name some of the pain divorce inflicts on children – two houses with two different sets of rules, upended holidays, loss of image of themselves set in a sturdy family.  (Many therapists say older children and youth actually lose their sense of identity when their parents divorce and must be helped to recreate a new identity that fits the new situation.) 

Build around Jesus’ insistence that divorce is a sin, the grace that he offers all sinners.  But don’t expect children to grasp that general statement and apply it to their parents.  Name a number of common sins such as lying cheating, stealing, jealousy, fighting.  Describe in specifics the damage they do.  And, note that God forgives us for all these things – and forgives people when their marriages become so broken that divorce is the only way out.  Make sure the children know that God still loves parents who get divorced and the children whose parents get divorces.

The verses on swearing oaths address the complicated ways people of that day were trying to avoid telling the whole or real truth.  Children today are familiar with “stretching the truth,” telling white lies, fish tales (how big was that fish?!), and crossing your fingers behind your back while telling a lie.  Jesus says all of these ways of avoiding telling the truth are wrong.  We are to tell the truth always.

One of the best known stories about the problem with not telling the truth is “The Boy who called Wolf!”

Once there was a boy who spent his days taking care of the sheep near his village.  When he was bored one day, just to see what would happen, he yelled “Wolf!”  All the villagers stopped what they were doing and ran to help him protect the sheep.   “Fooled you,” he laughed.   A few days later, thinking about how funny everyone looked running from the village, he cried “wolf!” again.  And, again the villagers left what they were doing and ran to his aid.  “Fooled you again!” he laughed long and loud.  So, the following week, when a wolf really did appear slowly circling the sheep, and the boy cried, “Wolf!” the villagers stayed where they were and kept on with their work.  Without the help of the villagers the boy could not keep the wolf from killing and dragging off several sheep, sheep the villagers could not afford to lose.