The Sad Tale Of Simon Slug
Children's Liturgy and Story
Call to Worship:
Jesus said, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." In our worship today let us consider our own burdens and leave then behind at the feet of Jesus.
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes I feel overwhelmed by my problems.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I cling onto my difficulties.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, help me to let go of all my burdens.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
Matthew 11:16-19 (NRSV)
"But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
[17] 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.'
[18] For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; [19] the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
Matthew 11:25-30 (NRSV)
At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; [26] yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. [27] All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
[28] "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Story:
It can be really difficult to lay our burdens on Jesus. The human response is to keep going over and over our problems in our minds, allowing or encouraging ourselves to feel upset or angry or hurt all over again.
This is a story about forgiving (ourselves) and forgetting.
The Sad Tale Of Simon Slug
Simon Slug crawled along the ground, his head hung in shame. Simon had a secret which made him so ashamed that he was afraid to share it with anybody.
Simon's brother Cedric had died. That was bad enough, but Simon was the only one who knew that it was all Simon's fault. They had been sharing a leaf together, but when Cedric had paused for breath, Simon had nudged him so hard that he had fallen off the leaf. Simon had been delighted to get one over on his brother and had then guzzled and chomped until the leaf was quite finished.
Simon never saw Cedric again, for the next he heard was the sad news that Cedric was dead. Hence Simon's burden of guilt, which felt like a huge weight upon his back and which made him crawl very slowly indeed.
After a while, other slugs began to notice Simon's misery.
"Why," said Cecily his sister, "you look as though you're carrying the whole world on your back. You're growing quite a hump there. What's the matter? Why don't you rush around and play like you used to?"
But Simon was too depressed to answer, so he sadly shook his head at her and continued his slow crawl.
Eventually Sarah, who was a wise old slug, realised that something was badly wrong. "If you talk to me Simon," she offered, "I may be able to help. You need to share your burden of guilt, or you will end up carrying it all your life and it will weigh you down forever. It may even make you physically ill and that will never do. Tell me what has happened."
Simon hesitated, then he looked into her kind slug face and began his story. He told her that he and Cedric had always been rivals, but that he hadn't meant to harm Cedric. He told her how he had gorged on the whole leaf after Cedric had fallen and that he had felt full of guilt ever since.
"You are forgiven, Simon," said Sarah in a gentle voice. "Leave your burden here and get on with your life."
Simon was glad that he had shared his burden with Sarah, but much as he tried to wriggle the hump off his back, he couldn't. "Just lay it down and walk away," advised Sarah. "Forget it now. Don't keep punishing yourself."
Simon longed to do just that, but he couldn't. In a funny kind of way, he was so used to his burden that it felt strangely comfortable. Nonetheless, he tried to get rid of it. He wriggled and gasped and pushed and shoved, but the burden of guilt still clung to his back. Simon was unable to get Cedric out of his mind and thus unable to let go of the guilt he felt.
In the end, he crawled slowly and sadly on his way, muttering to himself that Sarah was useless. "She's no good," muttered Simon angrily. "She couldn't lift my burden from my back. She's not wise at all. She couldn't help me." And there was a little perverse satisfaction that his burden was too great even for wise Sarah to lift.
Simon crawled through his life growing more and more miserable as his burden grew heavier and more solid. He became very lonely, for he was so miserable that no other slug wanted to be with him. And Simon looked bizarre, with his now huge burden resting on his back.
In time, Simon's burden grew so large that sometimes he could hide his head under it, so that he didn't have to interact with anyone and he became more and more isolated. In a strange way, he enjoyed his solitary life and became quite proud of his odd shape.
In the end, his burden of guilt became so large and hard that it turned into a shell. And that's how Simon became not Simon the slug, but Simon the very first snail. So if you see a snail today creeping slowly along, carrying his burden of guilt and leaving a weeping silvery trail of sadness, you may be looking at poor Simon.
Activity:
You need:
A jam jar for each child
A piece of A4 card
Felt tip pens
Today, take the children into the nearest garden. Give each child a jam jar and invite them to hunt for snails. When they find a snail, they should pop it into their jam jar, together with a leaf for some food. Remind the children to handle the snails carefully, and as soon as someone has found a snail, they should help the others to find snails, until everyone has a snail each.
Then return indoors and have a snail race. Draw race tracks, a starting line and a finishing line on the card. Place each snail in a race track and see which one reaches the finishing line first.
In the event that no snail stays the course, talk about the way snails move and how they seem to have no purpose or direction. Ask the children whether they think that carrying their shell makes the snails move slowly and makes it difficult for them to have much sense of purpose -- perhaps they are swamped by the weight.
Ask the children what sort of thing might cause them to feel guilty (telling lies, bullying others, being rude etc) and suggest that they can always leave their burden of guilt with Jesus, who always forgives. Ask them whether there is anything they still feel guilty about, even after they've asked for forgiveness, and talk about the need to accept and receive Jesus' forgiveness and then to forgive ourselves.
Finally, take the snails back outside and release them into the garden again.
Prayers:
Forgiving God, help us to be aware of our own limitations as a church community and to forgive ourselves for our imperfections. May we realise that you understand our human faults and still want to use us for your purposes.
Forgiving God, make us aware of those who carry burdens of poverty in order that we may enjoy good life styles. Prod us into doing all we can to relieve those burdens, so that all human beings may enjoy a good quality of life.
Forgiving God, when we find it difficult to forgive ourselves, help us to shed our burdens and leave them with you. May we put our faults behind us and move on to the wonderful eternal life which you have planned for us.
Forgiving God, help those who are sick. Pour your love and health into them so that they may quickly regain their strength. We name them before you ...
Blessing:
May you have the courage
To confess your sins to Jesus
Then to receive
and accept his forgiveness.
And may the blessing of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Be with you, be in your homes
And in your families,
With those whom you love
And with those for whom you pray,
Both now and always.
Jesus said, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." In our worship today let us consider our own burdens and leave then behind at the feet of Jesus.
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes I feel overwhelmed by my problems.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I cling onto my difficulties.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, help me to let go of all my burdens.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
Matthew 11:16-19 (NRSV)
"But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
[17] 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.'
[18] For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; [19] the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
Matthew 11:25-30 (NRSV)
At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; [26] yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. [27] All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
[28] "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Story:
It can be really difficult to lay our burdens on Jesus. The human response is to keep going over and over our problems in our minds, allowing or encouraging ourselves to feel upset or angry or hurt all over again.
This is a story about forgiving (ourselves) and forgetting.
The Sad Tale Of Simon Slug
Simon Slug crawled along the ground, his head hung in shame. Simon had a secret which made him so ashamed that he was afraid to share it with anybody.
Simon's brother Cedric had died. That was bad enough, but Simon was the only one who knew that it was all Simon's fault. They had been sharing a leaf together, but when Cedric had paused for breath, Simon had nudged him so hard that he had fallen off the leaf. Simon had been delighted to get one over on his brother and had then guzzled and chomped until the leaf was quite finished.
Simon never saw Cedric again, for the next he heard was the sad news that Cedric was dead. Hence Simon's burden of guilt, which felt like a huge weight upon his back and which made him crawl very slowly indeed.
After a while, other slugs began to notice Simon's misery.
"Why," said Cecily his sister, "you look as though you're carrying the whole world on your back. You're growing quite a hump there. What's the matter? Why don't you rush around and play like you used to?"
But Simon was too depressed to answer, so he sadly shook his head at her and continued his slow crawl.
Eventually Sarah, who was a wise old slug, realised that something was badly wrong. "If you talk to me Simon," she offered, "I may be able to help. You need to share your burden of guilt, or you will end up carrying it all your life and it will weigh you down forever. It may even make you physically ill and that will never do. Tell me what has happened."
Simon hesitated, then he looked into her kind slug face and began his story. He told her that he and Cedric had always been rivals, but that he hadn't meant to harm Cedric. He told her how he had gorged on the whole leaf after Cedric had fallen and that he had felt full of guilt ever since.
"You are forgiven, Simon," said Sarah in a gentle voice. "Leave your burden here and get on with your life."
Simon was glad that he had shared his burden with Sarah, but much as he tried to wriggle the hump off his back, he couldn't. "Just lay it down and walk away," advised Sarah. "Forget it now. Don't keep punishing yourself."
Simon longed to do just that, but he couldn't. In a funny kind of way, he was so used to his burden that it felt strangely comfortable. Nonetheless, he tried to get rid of it. He wriggled and gasped and pushed and shoved, but the burden of guilt still clung to his back. Simon was unable to get Cedric out of his mind and thus unable to let go of the guilt he felt.
In the end, he crawled slowly and sadly on his way, muttering to himself that Sarah was useless. "She's no good," muttered Simon angrily. "She couldn't lift my burden from my back. She's not wise at all. She couldn't help me." And there was a little perverse satisfaction that his burden was too great even for wise Sarah to lift.
Simon crawled through his life growing more and more miserable as his burden grew heavier and more solid. He became very lonely, for he was so miserable that no other slug wanted to be with him. And Simon looked bizarre, with his now huge burden resting on his back.
In time, Simon's burden grew so large that sometimes he could hide his head under it, so that he didn't have to interact with anyone and he became more and more isolated. In a strange way, he enjoyed his solitary life and became quite proud of his odd shape.
In the end, his burden of guilt became so large and hard that it turned into a shell. And that's how Simon became not Simon the slug, but Simon the very first snail. So if you see a snail today creeping slowly along, carrying his burden of guilt and leaving a weeping silvery trail of sadness, you may be looking at poor Simon.
Activity:
You need:
A jam jar for each child
A piece of A4 card
Felt tip pens
Today, take the children into the nearest garden. Give each child a jam jar and invite them to hunt for snails. When they find a snail, they should pop it into their jam jar, together with a leaf for some food. Remind the children to handle the snails carefully, and as soon as someone has found a snail, they should help the others to find snails, until everyone has a snail each.
Then return indoors and have a snail race. Draw race tracks, a starting line and a finishing line on the card. Place each snail in a race track and see which one reaches the finishing line first.
In the event that no snail stays the course, talk about the way snails move and how they seem to have no purpose or direction. Ask the children whether they think that carrying their shell makes the snails move slowly and makes it difficult for them to have much sense of purpose -- perhaps they are swamped by the weight.
Ask the children what sort of thing might cause them to feel guilty (telling lies, bullying others, being rude etc) and suggest that they can always leave their burden of guilt with Jesus, who always forgives. Ask them whether there is anything they still feel guilty about, even after they've asked for forgiveness, and talk about the need to accept and receive Jesus' forgiveness and then to forgive ourselves.
Finally, take the snails back outside and release them into the garden again.
Prayers:
Forgiving God, help us to be aware of our own limitations as a church community and to forgive ourselves for our imperfections. May we realise that you understand our human faults and still want to use us for your purposes.
Forgiving God, make us aware of those who carry burdens of poverty in order that we may enjoy good life styles. Prod us into doing all we can to relieve those burdens, so that all human beings may enjoy a good quality of life.
Forgiving God, when we find it difficult to forgive ourselves, help us to shed our burdens and leave them with you. May we put our faults behind us and move on to the wonderful eternal life which you have planned for us.
Forgiving God, help those who are sick. Pour your love and health into them so that they may quickly regain their strength. We name them before you ...
Blessing:
May you have the courage
To confess your sins to Jesus
Then to receive
and accept his forgiveness.
And may the blessing of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Be with you, be in your homes
And in your families,
With those whom you love
And with those for whom you pray,
Both now and always.
