Jesus said that the kingdom of God would be given to those who produced the fruits of the kingdom. In our worship today let us explore what the "fruits of the kingdom" might be.
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes I care more about my own comfort than about your fruits.
Lord, have mercy.Jesus, sometimes I despair because I feel so useless.
Christ, have mercy.Jesus, sometimes I'm too impatient to allow time for your fruits to grow within me.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
Matthew 21:33-46 (NRSV)
"Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. [34] When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. [35] But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. [36] Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. [37] Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' [38] But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.' [39] So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. [40] Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" [41] They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time." [42] Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'? [43] Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. [44] The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls." [45] When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. [46] They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
Story:
In the story Jesus told of the tenants in the vineyard, the tenants wanted the best for themselves and were prepared to take it by force. But Jesus pointed out that what they wanted would turn out to be tainted and worthless in God's eyes, for they were neglecting their inner being.
In this story, something that Pippa really wants and takes for herself, turns out to be whole lot of trouble.
Pippa Wants A Phone
Pippa longed for a mobile phone. All her friends had one and they spent hours every day texting each other. Pippa felt thoroughly left out. After school, when her friends were busily texting, she would mope about at home with nothing to do. And next day, when her friends were laughing and giggling over secret text messages, Pippa had no idea what was going on. Her friends gradually drew away from her and Pippa grew more and more morose.
"Ple-e-e-ase let me have a mobile phone for my birthday," begged Pippa. "I'm the only person at school without one. I'm falling behind on my class work," she added for good measure.
But her parents only laughed and teased her. "You're falling behind because you don't play games on a mobile phone?" they asked, then added with that serious note that Pippa hated so much, "You'll thank us in the end. All that texting leads to stresses and strains on your joints and muscles. And too much time on a mobile phone fries your brain."
Pippa didn't care if her thumbs were so strained she could never use them again and she certainly didn't care whether or not her brain cells were fried. She borrowed her best friend's phone whenever she could, but without the constant practice she was clumsy and felt stupid. She could only text slowly, and her friend grew impatient waiting for her.
Then one day, on the way home from school Pippa found a phone. It was lying there on the grass verge as bold as you like. Pippa couldn't believe her eyes. She thought God must have heard her prayers after all. Glancing quickly around to make sure nobody spotted her, Pippa picked up the phone and slipped it into her pocket. She was unable to believe her luck and she danced home as though she was on air.
She went straight up to her bedroom, keeping the precious phone well hidden. Once in her room, she was soon pressing buttons and discovering exactly how the phone worked. Within seconds she had begun to text and the replies came flooding back. It was such fun! Pippa grew faster and faster until in only a short time, her thumbs were flying. Her thumbs ached a bit that night, but Pippa hardly noticed. And they were fine next day.
It never occurred to Pippa to wonder about the rightful owner of the phone. Or rather, it did occur to her briefly, but she didn't want to go down that route so she pushed the thought out of her mind and never referred to it again.
The phone seemed to have an endless supply of money, so Pippa went on and on texting and phoning over the next few months. She even phoned her cousin in America a few times. It soon felt as though the phone was properly hers and she could do whatever she liked.
Life was great until that fateful day when Pippa arrived home from school to see a police car in the drive. She didn't think much about it, assuming the police were there on grown-up business, until her mother called her in.
"Pippa," began her mother. "These policemen seem to think we have a mobile phone in this house. One which was stolen and has now run up a huge monthly bill. But I've told them they must be wrong. You don't have a phone, do you?"
Pippa's face instantly gave her away. She stammered and stuttered and denied that she had a phone, but the policeman made her turn out her school bag and her pockets.
"Pippa!" exclaimed her mother, shocked. "I can't believe you took what wasn't yours! You've been lying to us for months!"
"I never stole it, I found it. And I never told you a lie," objected Pippa, sulkily. But she felt deeply guilty and ashamed, all the same. She knew she should have handed the phone in when she found it, and she knew she'd been deceiving her parents. And when she heard that the bill was nearly £300 and that her parents would have to pay, she felt horrified.
"How did you know I had it?" she asked the policeman.
"All mobile phones can be traced," replied the policeman. "I think you'd better hand it back to me. If your parents are willing to pay the bill, we'll say no more about it."
After that, Pippa never wanted another mobile phone. Every time she saw one she felt sick all over again.
'Funny,' she thought, years later. 'When I was a child, I wanted a phone so much that it felt like the end of the world to be without one. But after that terrible visit from the police, I could hardly bear to look at one, let alone use one. It was just like gold turning to dross in a millisecond. Thank goodness I was stopped, though. I was never tempted to "find" anything else which didn't belong to me. I guess God was looking out for me all along, although it didn't feel like it at the time.'
And she was right. God had been looking out for her, for God loved Pippa more than I can say.
Activity:
You need:
Several bags of chocolate money
A list of clues.
These can be quite simple but give two or three choices, like "near something
made of wood, with a handle", which could be a door or a window. Or "on
something with four legs", which could be a table or chair.
A packet of
gold stars
Before the children come, prepare the room. Hide one of the bags of chocolate money in the final spot, where the children are unlikely simply to stumble across it. From your clues, mark each position in some way, such as sticking a small gold star at the correct point.
Tell the Bible story in your own words, then ask the children what they think about the men in the vineyard who beat the owner's slaves and killed his son. Hopefully they'll say that the men did wrong! Ask them what they think would have happened to those men when the owner caught up with them, and ask them whether or not that would be fair?
Widen the discussion to ask whether it is ever right to take something which belongs to someone else? (Possibly, in cases of dire need.) Ask whether Pippa was right or wrong in the story above?
Find out whether the children can understand the yearning for something which is not theirs (Play Station? X-box? Personal DVD player?) Ask them whether there is any way in which we could all help to minimise those yearnings? (By sharing what we have with others and by being generous in allowing others to take a turn.)
Tell the children that you're going to have a treasure hunt. Ask them whether they want to set any rules before you start? (No pushing or shoving, no cheating with the clues, no taking the prize off the winner, etc. Let them come up with their own list and don't add any ideas of your own, except to get them started.)
Tell everyone the first clue, but remind them that they must be controlled when they find the right spot, or everyone will immediately rush after them. When they spot the gold star or mark, they should come to you for the second clue, and so on until someone finds the prize.
See whether the winner shares the prize! And make sure everyone has at least one gold coin from your spare bags.
Intercession:
God of justice, may we learn to share within our church and with other Christians in our area so that no-one will feel hard done by and no-one will feel the need to take something for themselves by force.
God of justice, as the human race, may we all learn to share generously with each other. May we insist that all people have a basic standard of living and may we in the West take genuine steps towards greater equality for all.
God of justice, when we're tempted to condemn other people for their actions, give us insight into their needs and their drives and their background. May we take the trouble to learn to understand those whom we condemn, so that whilst we continue to condemn injustice and that which is wrong, we begin to see that injustice is not all on one side.
God of justice, we pray for those who are sick or dying. Hold them in your arms and comfort those who care for them. We name them before you ..
Blessing:
May your eyes open to see
The injustice in the world.
May your ears open to hear
the cries of those who are growing
resentful and restless.
May you be strong
As you administer justice this week.
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.
