Twenty-fifth 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.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year C

Twenty-Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time

Image

No one can serve two masters

Points to note

The passage is a shortened version that includes a difficult parable on the crafty servant.  Unless you are well prepared for the very difficult questions that will inevitably arise, it is best to avoid the parable and concentrate on the rump reading.

It is sometimes very easy to caricature children as being too much a slave to televisions, Playstations, etc.  This is too much of a generalisation and it does no credit to children who have other interests.  Therefore, we should be sensitive when exploring the other masters that children may have and we should be prepared to digress into any other areas where children may have obsession.  Or we may need to be ready for children without any pre-conceptions whatsoever.

Liturgy

Gospel

Discuss trust with the children.  Does it ever happen that a parent will trust a child with everything right from the very beginning?  Usually the parent will start with small things and then lead onto bigger ones.  Give them examples like pocket money, or that only older children may ride their bicycles on the road, etc.

The Lord be with you.

All:   And with your spirit.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke

All:   Glory to you O Lord

(Lk 16: 1-13)

Jesus said to his disciples, “Anyone who can be trusted with unimportant things can be trusted with the important ones; anyone who is dishonest with unimportant things can be trusted with the important ones.  If you cannot be trusted with money, who will trust you with true spiritual wealth?  And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will trust you with what is your own?

“No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn.  You cannot be the slave of both God and of money.”

This is the Word of the Lord

Dialogue

What is a master?   Someone who can make us do certain things.

Can only persons be masters?  Can things also be masters?  Explain that sometimes there are things that will make us do work.  Alarm clocks tell us to get up, etc. 

Some things can be very strong masters.  Discuss the television and how some people will watch it without end.  Or where they need to rush home to catch a particular programme.  Here, the television is making us do things and thus, they are our masters.  There are addictive things like gambling and smoking that can become very strong masters.

In this modern age, it is the computer.  I am reminded of the girl who sleeps on the floor of her bedroom as the extension cord of her laptop was too short – she wanted to sleep next to her laptop so that she can get Facebook updates immediately!

When things become strong masters, it is often very bad because they will make people ignore others.  Do you like talking to someone who won’t take his eyes off the television?  Discuss further examples of how things that become very strong masters can be very destructive.

Who is our true master?  God. Only he can tell us what to do.  Explain that God, as the father in our family, will be upset if we are disobedient and do not do what he asks us to do.  God does not like rivals.

Jesus has been talking about how money can become a rival to God.  Discuss how money can be destructive.  Remember that Jesus never said that money is the root of all evil; it is the love of money that is the root of all evil.  Of course, we can also say that it is not the Playstation that is the root of all evil but rather the love of the Playstation that is the root of all evil.

Someone once said that there are two types of people in the world:  those who are rich and those who want to be rich.  The Christian is called to be neither type.  It does not mean that the Christian can only be poor people.  It merely means that we should be indifferent to wealth.  Whether or not we do have a lot of possessions should not make a difference to what we do.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Twenty-fifth Ordinary Sunday

Images

Servants

Points to note

The story goes that the Patriarch in Constantinople, who was the leader of all Eastern Orthodox Christians, at the time of Pope St Gregory declared himself the Ecumenical Patriarch, which means the Patriarch for all Christians in the world.  Pope St Gregory got upset over this as he felt it was unbecoming for a Christian leader to take on such a title.  He then added a new title to the many that popes already have:  Servant to the servants of God.  We see that title today when they list all the titles of the Pope: it is still there to this day.

The session therefore concentrates on the third of our three anointing we received at our baptism:  as priest, prophet and king.

Liturgy

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

I am the light of the world, says the Lord,

anyone who follows me

will have the light of life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem from Galilee, passing in and out of Jewish territories.  After Peter’s profession of faith, he explained the conditions of following him and about the coming of the Son of Man.

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

(Mk 9: 30-37)

After leaving the mountain Jesus and his disciples made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, “The Son of Man will be given up to some men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.”  But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him.

They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”  They said nothing because they have been arguing which of them was the greatest.  So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.”  He took a little child, set him in front of them, put his arms around him, and said to them, “Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who does not welcome me, will not be welcoming the one who sent me.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Discussion

Do you know that when we were baptised, the priest puts oil on our forehead?  Encourage the children to talk about the baptisms that they may have attended and describe what they see.  The oil is there to symbolise strength and the putting of the oil is called ‘anointing’.  People get anointed to do certain tasks.  David was anointed to be the king of Israel, for instance.

We too are anointed at our baptism, using the oil of catechumens, which has been blessed by the Bishop on Maundy Thursday.  At our baptism, we were anointed priest, prophet and king.  Discuss each of the three anointing in turn.  Discuss briefly what we should be doing in our three roles.  Our anointing as priest calls us to prayers.  Our anointing as prophet calls us to be teachers and proclaimers of the Word. 

Our anointing as kings calls us to be servants.  Explain that the structure of Jesus’ kingdom is such that the least will be greatest and whoever wants to be a leader has to be servant to all.  Note the washing of the feet at the Last Supper.

Discuss what we could do to answer our calling to be king-servants:  caring for others, helping, etc.  Discuss the people who we know have answered the call to be servant to all and how they have done it.  Do not limit to people whom the children know personally, but broaden it out to others in the world.  Mother Teresa is a good example.

Other than caring for others personally ourselves, is there anything else we can do?  Contribute money and material to charitable groups.  Or we can even join such groups ourselves.  Name some of the groups and discuss what they do.  Start with the groups the children may know in our parish.  There are those that are part of the caring ministry: SVP.  There are also those that take on a caring ministry as part of its activities; for instance, when a youth group visits a old folks home.

You can also discuss other groups within the Church: the orders of nuns and priests dedicated to hospitals, hospices, teaching, orphanages.  There are also orphanages run by lay-people.  What about non-Church organisation?  Peace Corps and Medicins sans Frontieres are examples.

Discuss again how the children can be king-servants.  Do the caring ourselves or help these organisations by telling others about it, help in support/fund-raising activities, contribute your time and money.

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.