Year A - Proper 10, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 10, 2011)

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.  There is a lot of hope in that for less than perfect 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. 

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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

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F 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.

D 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.

F 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.)

F 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.

Psalm 119:105-112

F 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.

F 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. 

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.

F If your congregation uses the phrase “renounce evil” in questions in baptismal, confirmation or ordination, 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

F 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 (verse 1-9) omitting the very allegorical interpretation in verses 18-23.  Or, 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.

F 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 have a more spontaneous performance or
- by an intergenerational group for summer fun and to emphasize that the parable belongs to all of us.

Green plant sock puppet
choked by a weed sock puppet

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 them 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.

F 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. 

F 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 http://www.appleseed.net/About_Johnny.htm 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.

Year A - Trinity Sunday (June 19, 2011)

Intersecting circles
forming triangle in middle

Trinity Sunday calls us in two slightly different directions.  It is an opportunity to tell the children about the trinity which is often referred to in worship, but seldom explained.  Fairly simple introductions of the Trinity and highlighting its use in worship helps.  But, Trinity Sunday is also really “God Sunday,” an opportunity to celebrate the mystery of God that is more than we ever fully understand.  Both are important to children.

3 leaf clover

p Introduce the trinity.  Most children know “God and Jesus,” but fewer hear much about the Holy Spirit – unless they heard the word during Pentecost celebrations last week.  So the task is to add the Holy Spirit and to tie all three together.  One way to begin is with trinity images.  Point to trinity images in your worship space and/or show one or more of these images.  Identify the three separate parts that are bound together, e.g. each

Trinity candle with 3 wicks

leaf of the clover is a leaf and only together are they a clover.  Name the three persons and briefly mention things we know about each one.  Early in the service challenge worshipers to be alert for “father, son, and holy spirit” in your songs, prayers, and stories today.  Even fill your pockets with wrapped candies for anyone who can tell you as they leave the number of those references in today’s worship.  

p If you regularly use musical congregational responses that name the trinity (The Doxology, Gloria Patri), interrupt after they are sung today.  Ask, “What did you just sing?”  Then, briefly walk through the words defining difficult words and explaining the meaning of the whole song as sung where it is.  Then, invite the congregation to sing it again.  (Do warn the musicians of your plan.)

p Celebrate God who is more than we ever understand.  Many children assume that the adults all know everything there is to know about everything – including God.  If during their childhood they are told repeatedly that this is not true, when they begin asking important questions about God they will know they are not being outrageous, but doing what everyone does and has done for years.  That makes a big difference.  So, today celebrate both what we know about God and the God who is more than we can ever understand.  The Roman Catholic lectionary for the day offers God’s name, “I am who I am, I will be who I will be,” from the burning bush as the Old Testament reading for the day.  Today is a good opportunity to ponder that name.

It is also a good day to cite the unanswerable questions people of all ages ask about God, such as but definitely not limited to

-          What was God doing before God created the world?

-          How can there never be a time before or after God?

-          How can God pay attention to each person in the world all the time?

-          Why did God create rattlesnakes and mosquitoes?

p If there is a conversational time with children, gather “I wonders” about God.  Begin by telling some of the things you wonder about.  Invite them to tell some of the things they wonder about.  Be sure all worshipers knows that no honest “I wonder” is too funny or too bad to be pondered.

p To explore the fact that our understanding of God changes and grows, share some of your “used to thinks” about God and tell what you now think and how the change occurred.  For example, I used to think God was a man but now think God is neither a man nor a woman.  Also, express the expectation that what you now think may become a “used to think” in the future.  (This could be done in a children’s time, but if it is done as part of the real sermon, children realize that you are talking to the adults too and expect their ideas about God to change and grow.)

p Sandy Sasso’s beautifully illustrated book In God’s Name tells that after creation all animals had names.  But God did not.  So, all the animals came up with their own name for God, none of which was complete without the others.

p “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” is filled with long complicated words that describe God who is more than we can fully understand.  If this is pointed out, children enjoy all the impossible words praising God who is impossible for us to understand.  Before singing, point out and define the first few words of verse one – immortal means God lives forever, invisible means we can’t see God.  Then ponder the meaning of the first phrase of verse 2 (“Unresting, unhasting and silent as light”).  Finally, challenge worshipers to pay attention as they sing to what it is trying to say about God.

p “Holy, Holy, Holy” is often sung.  Before singing it today, define the word holy (most special and important, awesome) and briefly walk through the verses.  This helps children learn the hymn and makes all worshipers pay better attention to what they are singing.

1.      We praise God

2.      Everyone in heaven praises God

3.      Even though we do not fully understand God, we praise God

4.      Everyone and everything on earth praises God

Genesis 1:1 – 2:4a

p In advance, ask the children to help you create a processional reading of this scripture.  Ask them to prepare large poster board illustrations of things God made and to mount them on dowels.  As the accounts of the days are read, children carry in the posters for that day down the central aisle.  At the conclusion of the day, those children say, “And there was evening and morning, the first/second…. day.”  Children remain at the front until the entire week is read.  This could be done by as few as six children or by as many as are available and fit in the space.  With fewer children the last day’s posters could include pictures of many kinds of critters.  If there will be lots of children, each child may make a poster of a single critter of their choosing.  Singing a creation hymn immediately following this processional reading gives the children time to return to their seats.

Day 1: day and night (blank black and yellow shapes)

Day 2: the sky (sky blue shape – with a rainbow if someone insists)

Day 3: division of land and seas (big planet earth) and creation of plants

Day 4: the sun and the moon and stars

Day 5: water creatures and birds

Day 6: animals and people

This is a project for several church classes for several weeks.  One week will be needed to make the posters.  One rehearsal will be needed just before the service.  And, adult help getting everyone started down the aisle in correct order is essential.  It is not a small effort, but both children and adults enjoy reading the familiar story this way and the children feel they are definitely part of the worshiping community.

p Give the children an In the Beginning God Created worship worksheet on which to draw pictures of each thing created on the day it was created. 

 

p There are several DVDs and even CDs available of James Weldon Johnson’s poem “The Creation” which retells the creation story from an African American perspective.  It is also presented in a picture book:  The Creation (ISBN 9780823412075).

p Pair the creation story with Psalm 8 to explore our place in the world at the beginning of summer and Ordinary Time.  During summer children generally spend more time outside.  Challenge them to take care of God’s world.  There are lots of things they can do, e.g. not toying with or hurting the critters and plants where they play, not leaving trash (dropped candy or gum wrappers!), leaving every place we go a little better than we found it, etc.  During Ordinary Time in worship we focus on learning and growing as disciples and a church.  This pair of texts tells us we are created in God’s image, said by God to be good, and are given the task of care for the world.  That is a good start for Ordinary Time.

p Hymns to God the Creator that children especially enjoy:  

-          “All Things Bright and Beautiful” may be familiar and is filled with familiar, concrete words about creation.

-          “Earth and All Stars” has a repeated chorus.  Children enjoy calling on very modern things to praise God.

-          “All Creatures of Our God and King” has a familiar tune, the names of lots of animals, and repeated “alleluias.”

Psalm 8

p Read from Today’s English Version which uses vocabulary children understand more readily – “Lord” instead of “Sovereign,” “greatness” instead of “majesty,” and the moon and stars that you “made” rather than “established.”  Most adults will not notice the difference, but the children will.

p To explore our relationship with God and our place in the world, read “Partners,” a midrash about the creation story in which God introduces people to their role as God’s partners.  The final definition of partner is “…someone you work with on a big thing that neither of you can do alone.  If you have a partner, it means that you can never give up, because your partner is depending on you….”  Find this two page story (read aloud in 3 minutes) in Does God Have A Big Toe? By Marc Gellman.

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

p Paul concludes his letter to the Corinthians who tended to fight with each other about almost anything, “agree with one another, live in peace.”  That is good advice on Trinity Sunday when we celebrate the mystery of God.  The blind men exploring the elephant story fits well here.  If those blind men talked to each other about what each one had learned about the elephant rather than fight insisting that only what they knew about the elephant was true, they would learn a lot more.  Likewise if we talk about all the different things we know about God, we will learn more about God than we will insisting that only what we know is true.

p Use verse 13 just before the benediction to do a little worship education.  Note that Paul ends this letter with the same words we often use at the end of a worship service.  Read the verse, then put it into your own words.  My version would be

May Jesus Christ who forgives us, 

God who created us and loves us even when we don’t love ourselves, and the Holy Spirit who is with us always

      helping us and caring for the world through us

be with you all today and every day. 

As you do, define any words you traditionally use, e.g. the communion of the Holy Spirit.   (Children hear communion as a reference to the sacrament and miss the intended meaning of the phrase.)  Finally, offer the benediction as you generally say it so that worshipers will hear it with fuller understanding.

Matthew 28:16-20

p On Trinity Sunday point out that we are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Invite the children to meet you at the font.  Using a doll or a person, demonstrate the use of water and say just the words that are said as the water is used.  (Do not get bogged down in all the words that lead up to “the event.”)  Take time to explain that this means each of us belongs to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Whether we are baptized as a baby or an adult, we don’t understand what that means when we are baptized.  Actually, we spend our whole lives learning what that means and never completely figure it out.  But, we still belong to God.