Tuesday, September 30, 2014

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time


Year A

Twenty-seventh Ordinary Sunday



Image

God love us


Points to note

This is very vivid parable and is very much an allegory.  In fact, Matthew has amended Mark’s version to fit it more into the history of Israel.  Details can be found in the adults leaflet.  Role-playing should work very well with this reading and it would be quite fun, too. 


Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!
I call you my friend, says the Lord,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!

Gospel
(optional) Have a missal at hand and read the first reading informally as an introduction (Is 5:1-7).  Explain that this is a love ballad about God’s love for us.  Read it slowly as a piece of poetry and paint a picture of God’s love lavished on his vineyard.  This imagery is very important to depict God’s sadness at the actions of the tenants in the Gospel reading.

Before the Gospel reading, explain to the children what is an allegory: it is a story where each character and action represent something or someone.  Tell the children that this parable is an allegory very much like the one we had last week and you would like them to identify whom the characters in the parable represent.

The Lord be with you.
All:   And also with your spirit.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew
All:   Glory to you O Lord

 (Mt 21: 33-43)
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, “Listen to another parable.  There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower.  Then he leased it to tenants and went abroad.  When harvest time came, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his rent.  But the tenants seized the servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third.  Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number.  And they did the same thing to them in the same way.  Finally he sent his son to them.  ‘They will respect my son’ he said.  But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir.  Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.’  So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”  They answered, “He will bring those wicked people to a wicked end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the rent to him when the season arrives.”  Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

       It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone.
       This was the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful to see?

I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruits.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord


Discussion

So, who were the various people in the story?  The owner represents God; the tenants, the chief priests and the elders of the people; the servants, the prophets; and the son, Jesus who was killed outside the walls of Jerusalem.  Who is the vineyard?  Be prepared to explain why a thing here is used to represent people.  Go back to the first reading, if necessary.  The vineyard represents Israel, which God has entrusted to the priests to take care.  The grapes from the harvest represent the love and worship that the people were due to give to God.

Read the reading again and interpret it as you go along with the events of the history of Israel.  At the end of it all, the children should understand that we are the object of God’s love and God does get very sad and upset if those he has assigned to watch over us do not do their job properly.


Context from the first reading
This parable is more an allegory.  The first reading for this Sunday gives a description of the vineyard.  Here, it represents the Chosen people.  The owner represents God; the tenants, the chief priests and the elders of the people; the servants, the prophets; and the son, Jesus who was killed outside the walls of Jerusalem.

Mt expanded on Mk’s conclusion to emphasise the eschatological aspects of the parable.

An interesting feature of the parable is that under Jewish law, three successive failures by the owner to claim his share of the harvest gives the tenants a case for claiming the vineyard as their own.  The case would be strengthened in practice, but not in law, if there is no heir to the property.  Hence the three attempts at murder.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time


Year A
Twenty-sixth Ordinary Sunday


Image

Self-righteous people


Points to note

This is a short and simple parable, aimed very much at the Pharisee in us.  Pharisees are still with us today, in some ways.  When I was wondering around the London district of Stanford Hill one Saturday, where many orthodox Jews live, a little Jewish boy (complete with skullcap and braids) came up to me and asked me to ring the doorbell for him.  To orthodox Jews who are not allowed to work on Saturday, touching something electrical is work.

Not just the Pharisee in us, but the children too.  For some children, it may hit to close to home for comfort.  Protracted quiet during the session may mean a great deal.


Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!

Gospel
Explain to the children what a parable is.  Explain the situation in Israel at the time of Jesus.  There were Pharisees and priests who thought that because they knew God’s law and kept them, they were better than others who do not.  They also believed that as descendants of Abraham, they will automatically go to heaven whatever they do.

The Lord be with you.
All:   And also with your spirit.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew
All:   Glory to you O Lord

 (Mt 21: 28-32)
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, “What do you think?  A man has two sons.  He went and said to the first, ‘My boy, you go and work in the vineyard today.’  He answered, ‘I will not go’, but afterwards changed his mind and went.  The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, ‘Certainly, sir’ but did not go.  Which of the two did the father’s will?”  “The first,” they said.  Jesus said to them, “I tell you truly, tax collectors and Gentiles are making their way into the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you as a model of true righteousness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and the Gentiles did.  Even after seeing that, you refused to change your mind and believe him.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord


Discussions

Run through the story again and list all the different characters.  Point out whom the different characters are supposed to represent:  the father, God; the first son, the Pharisees; and the second son, the sinners.  Discuss how the Pharisees see themselves as people destined for Paradise and how they see others who do not measure up to their standards of righteousness.

Discuss the meaning of the terms ‘the letter of the law’ and ‘the spirit of the law’.  Give examples:  when Mom says ‘No cookies before dinner’, eating sweets but not cookies would be obedience to the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law.  Explain that God does not expect merely that we observe the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law as well.  What he wants is that we do the right things for the right reasons.  Link this up with the second son in the story of the Prodigal Son.

Explain that in the parable, Jesus does not condone the sins of the sinners.  Nevertheless, he loves them because they repented.  Link this up with the thief who repented while on the cross next to Jesus.

Who are the modern day Pharisees?  Restrict the discussion to the types of situations where the children have encountered people who are self-righteous, and not the individuals themselves.  We do not want a litany of other people’s sins.  Do they find these people irritating? 

Among the examples could be those who scrupulously do all their own chores in the house but refuses to help in other chores as they are other people’s work; those who observe all the school rules but tell on others who do not without discussing with the offending person first; those who attend mass every Sunday and do good deeds because they think that that is all they need to do to get into heaven. 

Do we do these things?  There would normally be silence in addition to a few shaking of heads.  Leave it to them to think about it and discuss how others feel if they see us doing the things we just mentioned – exactly the same thing that we mention about others.

Note that in all these, God is not looking at what is done but the intention.  For instance, he does not want us to attend mass to chalk up a score for our eligibility for Paradise, but because we love him and his Church.  In all things, love and only love should be the motivation.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time


Year A
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time


Images

God’s gifts are unlimited


Points to note

This is a long parable reading and deals with concepts of ‘unfairness’ with which adults often struggle.  Children encounter these similar concepts of ‘unfairness’ in what we see as their own little childish ways.  Or is it we, adults, who react to such ‘unfairness’ in childish ways.  In this sense, to discuss this with children could be difficult unless the facilitator has, at least to a certain extent, come to terms with this ‘unfairness’.  Care should also be taken that we do not project our prejudices on the children.


Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel
Alleluia!  Alleluia!
Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in the heaven and glory in the highest heavens!
Alleluia!

Gospel
Jesus has explained forgiveness to his disciples and he expects everybody to forgive everyone.

The Lord be with you.
All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew
All:   Glory to you O Lord

(Mt 20: 1-16)
Jesus said to his disciples, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner going out at sunrise to hire workers for his vineyard.  He made an agreement with his workers for RM30, and sent them to his vineyard.  Going out at about 9 o’clock he saw others standing idle in the market place and said to them, “You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage.”  So they went.  At about noon and again at about 3 o’clock, he went out and did the same.  Then at about the 5 o’clock he went out and found more men standing round, and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?”  “Because no one has hired us,” they answered.  He said to them, “You go off into my vineyard too”.  In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his accountant, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first.”  So those who were hired at about the 5 o’clock came forward and received $30 each.  When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received $30 each.  They took it, but grumbled at the landowner.  “The men who came last,” they said, “have done only one hour’s work, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in al the heat.”  He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on $30?  Take your earnings and go.  I choose to pay the last-comer as much as I pay you.  Have I no right to do what I like with my own?  Why be jealous because I am generous?”  Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.

This is the Word of the Lord


Dialogue

Describe the scenario: the child was caught fighting with the little brother or sister.  Mom comes along and had a severe punishment for the child, but little brother or sister got off without even a telling off.  Do they feel it is fair?  Get them to describe any other situations like this.  Be careful that the whole session does not get too vindictive!

Ever played a game, like football, with the rest of the team?  Or on sports day?  (You may use any other team activity such as putting together a collage with others, etc.)  Imagine that the child played very hard and ran a lot during the game or race.  Some others did not do so much work.  But because it is a team effort, everyone gets a prize irrespective of the effort put in.  How does the child feel about it?  Is it fair?  Encourage different points of view.

Ask the child to imagine him or herself as the one who was less skilled or talented and yet got the same prize as others.  How would this child feel?  Is it fair for such a child to feel like that?

Go thorough the story again and see what workmen felt, those who worked all day and those who worked only one hour.  
·       What do you think those who worked one hour thought they will get when time came for them to be paid?  Do you think they expected a full day’s pay?  How do you think they felt when they got a full day’s pay?
·       What do you think those who worked all day thought when they saw those who worked one hour get a full day’s pay?  Do you think they thought they will get more than those who worked one hour?  Why?  How do you think they felt when they got exactly the same?
·       How do you think those who worked one hour and got a full day’s pay felt when they saw those who worked all day getting the same as them?

Relate it to the message of Jesus.  All people who are saved belong to the one big happy family of God.  And all members of the same family will enjoy the same rewards from the same father, just as all members of the same team get the same prize.  There is only one reward: going to heaven.  There is no such thing as a lower grade of heaven.  Either we make it to
heaven or we don’t.  And everyone who does, gets to the same heaven.

There are people who committed their lives to living in a community, like nuns and some priests.  Those who are able work more.  Those who can’t work as much as they can.  Those who are able draw little from the common funds.  Those who are sick draw as much as they need.  Maybe, the kingdom of God is a little like that.  People contribute as much as they can and takes as much as they need: everyone gets the same chance of life.


Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Feast of the Triumph of the Cross

Year A, B, C
Feast of the Triumph of the Cross


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Defending the Cross


Points to note

There are various angles that you can use on this reading.  Much of it could be abstract, and doctrinal.  I would like to focus on some topical issues arising from what the Pope called Christianophobia, which sometimes degenerates into downright discrimination or even violence and persecution.

While the Cross may have saved us, we too must defend the Cross, not in the meaning like in the Crusades, but more of the ensuring that the Gospel values that the Cross stands for, lives on.  We may not succeed in defending the existence of the Gospel values in the world but we must at least ensure its existence in our hearts, from where no one can extinguish it, but ourselves.  The Cross has no triumph except through us and in us.


Liturgy

 

Acclamation before the Gospel
Alleluia!  Alleluia!
We adore you O Christ, and we bless you:
because by your cross, you have redeemed the world.
Alleluia!

Gospel
The Lord be with you.
All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John
All:   Glory to you O Lord
(Jn 3:13-17)
Jesus said to Nicodemus
“No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who came down from heaven,
the Son of Man who is in heaven;
and the Son of Man must be lifted up
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that,
everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
Yes, God loved the world so much
that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost
but may have eternal life,
for God sent his Son into the world
not to condemn the world,
but so that through him, the world might be saved.

This is the Word of the Lord


Discussion

What is the difference between a cross and a crucifix?  A crucifix is a cross with the body of Jesus on it.  A crucifix is used by Catholics, Anglicans and Orthodox Christians while Protestants use only the plain cross.

If you look at the top of a crucifix, whether the big one in church or the little one on your rosary, what do you see in the top arm of the cross?  A little square with “INRI” on it.  It represents the paper, on which Pontius Pilate wrote out the crimes of Jesus for which he was crucified.  “INRI” stands for Iesu Nazarene Rex Idumea, Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews.

So the Cross was where a king ended up.  Does a king have an army?  Does a king have soldiers?  Yes.  Who are Jesus’ soldiers?  We are.  If we are Jesus’ soldiers, how do we fight for Jesus?

Explain that Jesus does not want us to fight like soldiers do.  But if needed, Christians have to die for the Cross like soldiers die defending their country.

Are you ready to die for the Cross?  St Agnes died for the Cross in ancient Rome at a very tender age.  She was only 12 when her father decided that he wanted her to marry an old man.  She refused as she has dedicated her life of Jesus and for this she was put to death.  Imagine that you are only in school and you die for Jesus!!  Would any of our school children be willing to?

Explain that not everyone likes Christians.  Jesus warned us about that in the Bible.  In ancient Rome, Christians were arrested and jailed or worse.  Some were crucified a lingering death: normally crucifixion takes days; Jesus’ crucifixion was shortened due to the Sabbath.  Others were thrown to the lions: they are taken to the sandy pitch in that big stadium in Rome, where hungry lions were let loosed on them while spectators cheered them on.

Even today, there are people who do not like Christians and would like to jail them.  In North Korea, the government has declared that they do not believe in God and Christianity is banned.  Still, there were Christians in North Korea who continued to pray and read the Bible in secret.

In Iraq, there are people who took over parts of the country and make the Christians convert to their religion or be put to death.  Most of the Christians left while most of those who stayed behind chose death.

Even in Malaysia, the government do not allow us to build many new churches.  They did that too in Poland once.  The communist government there at that time, who didn’t believe in God, built a new city with modern houses, factories, etc, but no
church.  So, every Sunday morning, people dressed up in their Sunday best and built a church out of any bricks, metal and glass that they could find.

In Malaysia, the government did not allow us to use the name of God in our prayers.  Those who prayed in Malay, especially those from East Malaysia, suffered.  In the kind of harsh environment, it is important for us to remain true to the Cross.  If people tell us that we cannot go for mass, we will have mass in secret.  If they do not build us churches, we will build our own.  If they do not allow us to use certain words in our prayers, we will continue to pray the way Jesus wants us to pray.

In doing all these, we will be able to defend the Cross and we will be truly soldiers of our king, Jesus.