Jesus said that whoever is not against us, is for us. Let us welcome all those who are not against us and thank God for their support.
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, when we judge others too harshly,
Lord, have mercy.Jesus, when we wrongly feel that all are against us,
Christ, have mercy.Jesus, when we enjoy our own cliques and keep others out,
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
Mark 9:38-50
John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." [39] But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. [40] Whoever is not against us is for us. [41] For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. [42] "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. [43] If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. [44] [45] And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. [46] [47] And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, [48] where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. [49] "For everyone will be salted with fire. [50] Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."
Story:
It's those who are against us which cause us most problems in life, but as Jesus pointed out, those who are not against us are for us.
In this story about those strange folk from The Street, it looks as though their new swimming pool will never be built, until they discover that Farmer Grunge isn't really against them.
The Friends From The Street Want To Swim
"I wish," said Hopalong, "that we had a swimming pool. It's been so hot this past summer that I've felt like I'm melting."
Mrs Round and Mr Skillett stared at their young friend in wonder. "That's a good idea," said Mrs Round. And Mr Skillett added, "Why don't you start something? We could raise money from the whole village."
Hopalong frowned. "Where would we put it?"
"Where would you like to put it?" asked Mr Skillett.
"I think... I know! In Farmer Grunge's field. That would be ideal."
"Come on, then," said Mrs Round, jumping to her feet as fast as her little round body, which was just like a ball, would let her.
On the way they picked up Dr Black, who always wore black and who even had black teeth and black eyes, so no-one could see him at night. He was all in favour of a swimming pool. Then they called at the school and rounded up Timid Tilly, the school teacher. She thought it was a splendid idea.
When they reached Farmer Grunge's house, Mr Skillett who was as tall as a bus and as thin as two pieces of paper stuck together, had to fold in two to get through the door. But when they were all settled, Hopalong said politely, "Please, Farmer Grunge, we'd like to build a swimming pool in your field. It's been such a long hot summer that we've all nearly melted. It would be lovely to have somewhere to swim."
"No!" said Farmer Grunge. He was a man of few words.
Mrs Round fished in her bag and drew out a large and delicious cake. "Have a slice of my cake and we'll discuss it," she offered.
Farmer Grunge took a slice of cake and ate every last morsel. Then he licked the crumbs from his fingers. "Well?" the friends from The Street said. "What about it?"
"No!" said Farmer Grunge.
Those friends from The Street talked and persuaded and argued and discussed, but it was no good. Farmer Grunge refused to budge.
"That's it then," sighed Hopalong, reaching for his crutches to go home. One by one the friends stood up to begin to make their way home. They all felt very sad.
Then Farmer Grunge suddenly said, "You can use the old barn, if you like."
It was the longest speech anyone had ever heard him make. They gazed at each other in astonishment and delight. Nobody had thought of using the old barn.
"Will you help us?" asked Timid Tilly shyly.
"Yes!" said Farmer Grunge. And he did.
Activity:
You need:
A long rope, knotted to make a circle
Four
chairs
Divide the children into four groups of roughly equal size/weight. Place each group inside the rope circle facing outwards, so that groups A and C are opposite each other, and groups B and D are opposite each other. Then place a chair about ten feet in front of each group. On your signal, the aim is for each group to reach their chair. You should find that nobody moves very far, as they will all be pulling against each other. Let them go on trying for a while, but them call a five minute halt for each team to discuss together some way of reaching their objective. Hopefully, they'll work out some means of working together instead of against each other
The point is that it's difficult to move forward if other people make a concerted effort to move us in the opposite direction. But those who are not diametrically opposed to us seldom hamper our progress very much. They are "for" us rather than "against" us. Then ask the children how this could apply in real life. They might come up with games at school which can be ruined if somebody makes a concerted effort to ruin them, but which aren't affected by those who aren't opposed to them, or new services in church which some want and some don't, or raising money for some cause, or having to compromise in some situation in order to avoid stalemate.
Diary Time: For details, click here.
Ask the children if they've ever been in a situation or known of a situation where one group of people wanted something very much, but another group directly opposed them so that nothing at all happened. For instance, when a new road is needed to bypass a village but people take up diametrically opposed stances, the traffic through the village just goes on increasing over years of wrangling until someone is killed in a road accident. The children could write or draw any of this, or could write what it felt like to be part of the group in the rope circle trying to reach their goal but being prevented by other people.
Intercession:
God who loves us all, may we in your Church realise that other Christians are not against us or against you, even though they may worship you differently. Help us all to work together in order to raise your profile in the world of non-Christians.
God who loves us all, give our national leaders the wisdom to discern who is against us and who is not against us. May our nation not waste its energy by fighting those who don't oppose us, but learn to reach out to all, especially those who come to our shores seeking shelter and help.
God who loves us all, cliques and divisions arise so easily in small communities. Help us to be on our guard so that no-one is left out, and help us to love each other so that any enemies become friends.
God who loves us all, be with those who are sick or dying. May they feel the strength of your arms supporting them and know the love of your Spirit filling them. We ask you to touch those we name before you....
Blessing:
May you identify those who are not against you,
give thanks to God for their presence,
and encourage them to become supporters.
And the blessing of God almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you now,
be in your homes and in your families
and with all those whom you love
and for whom you pray,
now and always.
Amen.
