Wind, Clouds And Sun
Children's Liturgy and Story
Call to Worship:
Jesus called Simon and Andrew, James and John, to follow him. They immediately made their decision and dropped everything, for they knew the importance of their call. When Jesus calls us, do we hear him and do we respond?
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, when I'm busy I find it difficult to hear you.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, when I'm busy, I find it difficult to respond to you.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, when I'm busy I'm not sure whether I want to follow you.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
Matthew 4:12-23 (NRSV)
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. [13] He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, [14] so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
[15] "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--
[16] the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned."
[17] From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
[18] As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea--for they were fishermen. [19] And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." [20] Immediately they left their nets and followed him. [21] As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. [22] Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
[23] Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
Story:
It's difficult to know just what "following Jesus" means in the 21st century. Does it mean denying 21st century life in order to keep ourselves pure? Or does it mean engaging with 21st century life and trying to work out some sort of integrity for ourselves?
This story attempts to begin to explore these themes in a very simple way.
Wind, Clouds And Sun
Wind was feeling restless. He was only young, but he felt like getting up to mischief. As he frolicked along the street in the town, he lifted a hat from an old man's head. Wind laughed gleefully as he watched the old man clutch for his hat then begin to chase it down the road.
Wind waited until the old man reached out his hand for the hat, then Wind whisked it just out of reach again. This was fun! When the old man, panting and wheezing, gave up the chase, Wind grew bored. He lifted a pretty girl's skirt and enjoyed her screams. Then he discovered that if he blew a little harder, he could remove the tiles from roofs.
Wind began to grow wild in his delight. The Clouds up above frowned in displeasure. They gathered together, muttering between themselves and growing blacker and angrier with every one of young Wind's antics. Then they suddenly opened their arms and emptied themselves. Rain fell like a deluge, swamping everything in sight.
"That'll teach young Wind," muttered the Clouds in satisfaction.
But there was so much rain that the river began to fill and the drains began to overflow and the puddles grew so deep that you could swim in them. A child splashing through a puddle slipped and was nearly drowned. His mother dragged him out just in time.
People became frightened as they watched the river about to burst its banks and flood their houses, so Sun took a hand.
Sun came out and shone gloriously for all he was worth, anxious to dry up all the water. Sun shone and shone and shone. He shone for three days without stopping, until people began to faint and their skin began to burn.
Then God said, "Stop! Come here, Wind."
Wind stood crestfallen before God. "Wind," said God sternly, "you are still only young, but you are growing up fast. It's fine to have some fun, but you must learn to be responsible in your fun. With strength and power comes responsibility."
"Yes, God," whispered Wind, chastened to a gentle breeze.
"Clouds!" called God.
The Clouds sauntered into God's presence, rather pleased with themselves for stopping young Wind's tricks.
But God said, "Wind's behaviour is nothing to do with you. You must learn to be yourselves, not try to be someone else. You are not judge over Wind and you have caused fear and consternation in my people by your actions. Perhaps you had better not clump together and follow each other, but follow my lead instead."
The Clouds turned very pale and drifted apart. They allowed Wind to lift them high in the sky, well away from causing harm.
"Sun!" yelled God. "Sun, you are the oldest and should therefore be the wisest of all my natural elements. Yet you have overdone your duties -- look at the harm you have caused my people. They are tired and lethargic and sore from your excess rays."
"But -- but -" spluttered Sun, "I was only trying to help." Then he added virtuously, "Look at all the damage done by the Clouds. I was trying to clear up their mess."
God sighed and shook his head. "Sun, you are responsible for yourself, no-one else. You cannot decide what is good or bad for others. All I want from you is for you to do your duty to the best of your ability. And you can do that simply by being yourself."
Sun rose high and his light became soft and warm. Clouds gently drifted across the clear, blue sky. Wind blew lightly and smoothly, with only the occasional boisterous gust because he was still very young.
And the people sighed with delight and said, "Thank God for this beautiful day."
Activity:
You need:
An old sock for each child -- try to get bright colours if possible
Glue
Buttons -- two for each child
Needles and thread
Scissors
Some scraps of red felt or other material
Make sock puppets. At the foot of the sock, get the children to either sew or glue on buttons to form the eyes, and either glue or sew on a red mouth.
Talk about how we follow Jesus today -- by learning to be truly ourselves, ie facing up to trouble instead of trying to avoid it, learning to be always truthful and honest, learning to care for other people, offering and receiving love. Using the sock puppets, act out the story of the call of the fishermen.
Ask the children how we hear God's call today? Perhaps through other people -- parents, teachers, friends -- perhaps through God's word in the Bible, perhaps through our own thoughts and feelings.
Prayers:
God who calls us, enable us in the church to hear your call. Open our ears and our eyes so that we may hear and see you more clearly, and then enable us to respond to your call.
God who calls us, we pray for our damaged and hurting world. May all who are under-privileged hear your call of hope and may all who are over-privileged hear your call to share.
God who calls us, thank you for your love, showered upon us freely and unconditionally. Help us to respond to your love, so that your love may radiate out from us to all who are around us.
God who calls us, we hold within the orbit of your healing power all who are sick, asking for your help and support and healing love for them. We name them before you .....
Blessing:
May your eyes and ears be opened
To the glory of God around you.
May your minds be opened to God's call.
May your hearts be opened to God's love.
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. Amen.
Jesus called Simon and Andrew, James and John, to follow him. They immediately made their decision and dropped everything, for they knew the importance of their call. When Jesus calls us, do we hear him and do we respond?
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, when I'm busy I find it difficult to hear you.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, when I'm busy, I find it difficult to respond to you.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, when I'm busy I'm not sure whether I want to follow you.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
Matthew 4:12-23 (NRSV)
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. [13] He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, [14] so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
[15] "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--
[16] the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned."
[17] From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
[18] As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea--for they were fishermen. [19] And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." [20] Immediately they left their nets and followed him. [21] As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. [22] Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
[23] Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
Story:
It's difficult to know just what "following Jesus" means in the 21st century. Does it mean denying 21st century life in order to keep ourselves pure? Or does it mean engaging with 21st century life and trying to work out some sort of integrity for ourselves?
This story attempts to begin to explore these themes in a very simple way.
Wind, Clouds And Sun
Wind was feeling restless. He was only young, but he felt like getting up to mischief. As he frolicked along the street in the town, he lifted a hat from an old man's head. Wind laughed gleefully as he watched the old man clutch for his hat then begin to chase it down the road.
Wind waited until the old man reached out his hand for the hat, then Wind whisked it just out of reach again. This was fun! When the old man, panting and wheezing, gave up the chase, Wind grew bored. He lifted a pretty girl's skirt and enjoyed her screams. Then he discovered that if he blew a little harder, he could remove the tiles from roofs.
Wind began to grow wild in his delight. The Clouds up above frowned in displeasure. They gathered together, muttering between themselves and growing blacker and angrier with every one of young Wind's antics. Then they suddenly opened their arms and emptied themselves. Rain fell like a deluge, swamping everything in sight.
"That'll teach young Wind," muttered the Clouds in satisfaction.
But there was so much rain that the river began to fill and the drains began to overflow and the puddles grew so deep that you could swim in them. A child splashing through a puddle slipped and was nearly drowned. His mother dragged him out just in time.
People became frightened as they watched the river about to burst its banks and flood their houses, so Sun took a hand.
Sun came out and shone gloriously for all he was worth, anxious to dry up all the water. Sun shone and shone and shone. He shone for three days without stopping, until people began to faint and their skin began to burn.
Then God said, "Stop! Come here, Wind."
Wind stood crestfallen before God. "Wind," said God sternly, "you are still only young, but you are growing up fast. It's fine to have some fun, but you must learn to be responsible in your fun. With strength and power comes responsibility."
"Yes, God," whispered Wind, chastened to a gentle breeze.
"Clouds!" called God.
The Clouds sauntered into God's presence, rather pleased with themselves for stopping young Wind's tricks.
But God said, "Wind's behaviour is nothing to do with you. You must learn to be yourselves, not try to be someone else. You are not judge over Wind and you have caused fear and consternation in my people by your actions. Perhaps you had better not clump together and follow each other, but follow my lead instead."
The Clouds turned very pale and drifted apart. They allowed Wind to lift them high in the sky, well away from causing harm.
"Sun!" yelled God. "Sun, you are the oldest and should therefore be the wisest of all my natural elements. Yet you have overdone your duties -- look at the harm you have caused my people. They are tired and lethargic and sore from your excess rays."
"But -- but -" spluttered Sun, "I was only trying to help." Then he added virtuously, "Look at all the damage done by the Clouds. I was trying to clear up their mess."
God sighed and shook his head. "Sun, you are responsible for yourself, no-one else. You cannot decide what is good or bad for others. All I want from you is for you to do your duty to the best of your ability. And you can do that simply by being yourself."
Sun rose high and his light became soft and warm. Clouds gently drifted across the clear, blue sky. Wind blew lightly and smoothly, with only the occasional boisterous gust because he was still very young.
And the people sighed with delight and said, "Thank God for this beautiful day."
Activity:
You need:
An old sock for each child -- try to get bright colours if possible
Glue
Buttons -- two for each child
Needles and thread
Scissors
Some scraps of red felt or other material
Make sock puppets. At the foot of the sock, get the children to either sew or glue on buttons to form the eyes, and either glue or sew on a red mouth.
Talk about how we follow Jesus today -- by learning to be truly ourselves, ie facing up to trouble instead of trying to avoid it, learning to be always truthful and honest, learning to care for other people, offering and receiving love. Using the sock puppets, act out the story of the call of the fishermen.
Ask the children how we hear God's call today? Perhaps through other people -- parents, teachers, friends -- perhaps through God's word in the Bible, perhaps through our own thoughts and feelings.
Prayers:
God who calls us, enable us in the church to hear your call. Open our ears and our eyes so that we may hear and see you more clearly, and then enable us to respond to your call.
God who calls us, we pray for our damaged and hurting world. May all who are under-privileged hear your call of hope and may all who are over-privileged hear your call to share.
God who calls us, thank you for your love, showered upon us freely and unconditionally. Help us to respond to your love, so that your love may radiate out from us to all who are around us.
God who calls us, we hold within the orbit of your healing power all who are sick, asking for your help and support and healing love for them. We name them before you .....
Blessing:
May your eyes and ears be opened
To the glory of God around you.
May your minds be opened to God's call.
May your hearts be opened to God's love.
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. Amen.
