|
For
Children
"Learning to love"
Purpose: To let the children see how
Jesus’ disciples had to grow and learn by sharing the
story of the disciples wanting to call down fire on an
inhospitable Samaritan town.
Scripture: Luke
9:51-58.
Materials: None.
Hints for telling the story: In this story,
Jesus’ friends are like dumb, lovable clowns. Their
repetition should be the kind of thing that endears them
to the children. Make it fun, not Irritating. Let these
friends be attractive, not distant. |
One time Jesus
and his friends were on the way to Jerusalem. As the sun was
falling low and night was coming on, Jesus sent some of his
friends into the village ahead of them to find them a place to
stay the night. They hurried on ahead while Jesus and the other
friends took their time.
When Jesus and
the others were almost to the village, the friends who had gone
ahead met them coming back from the town. And they were mad!
"Those miserable, no-good, unfriendly, inhospitable
creeps!" one of them said.
"Those
dirty, miserable, no-good, unfriendly, inhospitable creeps!"
added another.
"Those
low-down, dirty, miserable, no-good, unfriendly, inhospitable
creeps!" said a third.
"What’s
the matter?" Jesus asked.
"Those
miserable, no-good, unfriendly, inhospitable creeps won t let us
stay there!" the first one replied.
"Those
dirty, miserable, no-good, unfriendly, inhospitable...."
"Wait a
minute!" Jesus interrupted, "Why won t they?"
"They
said they don’t like people who would go to Jerusalem,"
said one.
"And I
said I don’t like people who don’t like people who would go to
Jerusalem," said the second.
"And I
said I don’t like people who don’t like people who don’t
like people who would—I mean, um, I don’t like them either.
Those low-down, dirty, miserable...."
"Hey,
Jesus," another friend Interrupted, "Why don t we go
burn their fields?"
"No, let
s burn their city," said another one.
"No, let’s
ask God to send down fire from heaven and burn up everything in
their whole dirty, low-down, miserable, inhospitable,
unfriendly..."
"Hold
it!" Jesus said. "When are you going to learn that we
are supposed to love people? Even people who are not what we’d
like them to be. Even people who don’t do what we like."
"Even
dirty, miserable, no-good..."
"Everybody," said Jesus, "even our enemies."
That night as
Jesus and his friends were sitting around the campfire on the hard
ground, still on their way to Jerusalem, one of Jesus’ friends
said, "Jesus, I’d follow you anywhere!"
And Jesus told
them that foxes had holes and birds had nests but that he had
nowhere to lay his head. And one of his friends said, "And it’s
all because of those miserable, no-good, unfriendly, inhospitable
creeps?"
"Haven’t
you learned yet?" Jesus sighed. "I love them, too."
And Jesus’
friends just stared at the fire. They had a lot to learn.
***************
Prayer: God, thank you for loving us even when we are
not nice to each other. Thank you for helping us learn and grow,
no matter how old we are. Amen.
by Jim Benton
from Moments with Children in Worship
through
the Church year,
pp.94-95
|