Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Twenty-ninth Ordinary Sunday 

Imagery

Humility

Being a leader

Points to note

According to the Missal, the first paragraph of this reading is optional.  I would feel that the first paragraph is essential for us for several reasons.  One, it is a narrative and narratives go down well with children.  Narratives also help give background to the discourses.  This particular paragraph echoes another reading about humility a few weeks back (cf. Sunday 25).  You may wish to revisit this reading.

This Sunday’s reading takes the concept a little further in that it applies the ideas of humility to leadership.  Some of the older children may have had some position of responsibility, either in school activities or over younger brothers and sisters at home.  This will provide some material for you to work on during the sessions as you draw out of these children their idea of leadership.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;

no one can come to the Father except through me.

Alleluia!

Gospel

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

(Mk10: 35-45)

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus, “Master,” they said to him, “we want you to do us a favour.”  He said to them, “What is it that you want me to do for you?”  They said to him, “Allow us to sit one at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”  “You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them.  “Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or to be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?”  They replied, “We can.”  Jesus said to them, “The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for the seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.”

What we discussed in Sunday 25 At our baptism, we are 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 king 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.

When the other ten heard this, they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that among the pagans their so called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all.  For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Discussion

Do you have prefects and monitors in school? What are their jobs? To get everyone to keep the school rules. Have you noticed that different prefects and monitors have different ways of doing their jobs? Discuss how monitors and prefects carry out their tasks as monitors and prefects.  BE CAREFUL!! Some of the children could be monitors and prefects themselves.  You don’t really want a slanging match in the middle of your session.

Discuss the different styles of leadership.  Some people are strict.  Some people use reason.  Some people use charm.  Get the children to talk about the teachers they like.  Each would have a different style of leadership.  Which type of teacher would they like?   The one who bosses everyone about because he is the teacher or the one who is willing to do things with the children?  Extend the discussion to the monitors and prefects that the children like.  Extend the discussion to how they would like to be a monitor or prefect if they were appointed one and still keep the rules.

Jesus expects his disciples to be leaders in the Church.  But he expects them to be a different type of leader. Discuss the concept of the inverted pyramid of the Christian hierarchy (one of the titles of the Pope is ‘servant of the servants of God’ – the idea that he is at the bottom of the hierarchy as servant to all).  You may want to bring in what we discussed four weeks ago about our anointing as a king at our baptism

With this in mind, how do the children think Jesus would like them to be if they were to be a monitor or a prefect?  Discuss also broadly how we should act when we meet people less fortunate than us or weaker than us.  We should remember that these people may be closer to the kingdom of God than us if they approached their misfortune and their weakness in the Christian spirit. Therefore we should not lord over them.

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A

Twenty-ninth Ordinary Sunday

Image

Things that should be given to God

Points to note

This is a simple and well-known story but there seems to be a dearth of materials in the story to make a good discussion.  It is recommended that we concentrate on idea that we are citizens of two societies and that we contribute to both.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

You will shine in the world like bright stars

because you are offering it the word of life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Explain that Pharisees are Jews who believes that the only way to heaven is to follow strictly all laws to the point that laws can even be more important than love.

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 22: 15-21)

The Pharisees went to discuss between them how to trap Jesus in what he said.  And they sent their disciples to him, together with the Herodians, to say, “Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you.  Tell us your opinion, then.  Are we allowed to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”  But Jesus was aware of their intentions and replied, “You hypocrites!  Why do you set this trap for me?  Let me see the money you pay the tax with.”  They handed him a coin and he said, “Whose head is this on the coin?  Whose name?”  “Caesar’s,” they replied.  He then said to them, “Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar - and to God what belongs to God.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Discussion

Do we not belong to two families?  God’s family and our family at home.  Discuss the similarities of the two families: each has a head, all members know each other, etc.  Concentrate on the fact that each member has obligations to each other in the families.  Discuss the kind of work we do for each other in each of the families. 

Explain that we also belong to two societies: the human society and the divine.  Each has its own set of rules: the laws of society and the laws of the Bible.  Discuss the obligations of each set of laws.

Who is the head of the government?  Who is the head of the Church.  The king/prime minister/president and God.  Do we owe anything to them?  To answer this, what are the symbols of government?  A dollar note.  Actually, it can be any symbol, but try to lead them to a symbol with a picture of the king/queen/president on it, e.g., in a government office, a picture of the king/queen/president on the wall or a stamp with the king’s/queen’s/president’s picture on it.  Eventually, lead them back to the dollar note. 

Discuss the symbol of the Church: the crucifix.  What God asks of us is in that symbol: for us to do things for him out of love.  Discuss what else that is on the crucifix that God requires from us.

Take a look at the crucifix and see what is it on top. It is a square with the letters "INRI" on it, representing the proclamation that Pontus Pilate put on the cross to state the crime Jesus was supposed to have committed: "Iesu Nazarene Rex Idumea" which means "Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews". Discuss what type of king that Jesus was. Washe the type of king that we have around?  As a Christian anointed as priest, prophet and king, our kingly role is carried out as a service to others.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

LSW children

Year C

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Images

Perseverance

Points to note

This Sunday’s reading is a parable that can be a little abstract for children.  Sometimes, it can be a little abstract even for us adults.  As usual, we will try to reduce it to simple terms that children experience.  For instance, we use examples in the children’s domestic lives.  We should be careful, however, that the examples we use are not interpreted in a way that encourages the children to persevere in pestering their parents in a negative way.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

son that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

Gospel

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 18:1-8)

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart.  “There was a judge in a certain town,” he said, “who had neither fear of God nor respect for man.  In the same town there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘I want justice from you against my enemy!’  For a long time he refused, but at last he said to himself, “Maybe I have neither fear of God and nor respect for man, but since she keeps pestering me I must give this widow her just rights, or she will persist in coming and worry me to death.”

And the Lord said, “You notice what the unjust judge has to say?  Now will not God see justice done to his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays to help them?  I promise you, he will see justice done to them, and done speedily.  But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?”

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Dialogue

How many of you have younger brothers or sisters?  Have you noticed the way they ask things from Mom and Dad?  They keep asking and asking until Mom and Dad agrees to give it to them.   It should be interesting that children will be quicker to claim that younger siblings unfairly get things because they are persistent.  Be careful that this does not become a grouse session and that we do not convey the impression that this is acceptable.

Explain the meaning of the words, persistence and perseverance.  Explain how we use them, in language and the context that it is used.  Older children may be able to differentiate between persistence and pestering.  Persistence is when we do it while pestering is when someone else gets something unfairly simply because they are persistent.

What is your record for the longest you have to ask before you finally get what you want?  Is it easier to be persistent if you get what you want quickly?

Go back to the reading.  Note how Jesus explains the concept of persistence.  Ask if the children have encountered any examples of such persistence where the person persisting is asking for something someone else unreasonably but will not give.  There should be examples at home and in school.  There are also examples of people who persist in fighting for freedom:  Gandhi, Mandela, Aung San Su Kyi.

Translate these into our spiritual lives.  How do we persist in our spiritual lives?  When we ask for things from God, we constantly pray to him.  Care should be taken that we do not convey the impression that God is someone unreasonable whom we have to keep bugging to get what we want. 

Some people say that if we pray hard enough, God will give us what we want and we do not get what we want when we ask God because we did not pray hard enough.  Do we agree with that?  Explain that it is not how hard we pray but also that what we pray for must be something good.  Therefore, we must be persistent in wanting the right thing. 

Also, in praying, we don’t just ask God for things.  We also make sure that we live good lives.  It is of no use if we pray to God everyday but do not behave as good Christians do.  Therefore, we must be persistent in living good lives because our lives are also a part of our prayers.

Most important of all, we pray to trust God.  We leave it in his hands that he knows best what is good for us.  So, we pray for the calm to accept his will.  I find it odd that people pray for their exam results on the way to school to pick it up.  The results are already printed and are they expecting God to change the pattern of ink on the paper from an F to an A?  Or should they be praying to be able to accept whatever results God has set up for them and to take it as a lesson in their life.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Twenty-ninth Ordinary Sunday

Imagery

Humility

Being a leader

Points to note

According to the Missal, the first paragraph of this reading is optional.  I would feel that the first paragraph is essential for us for several reasons.  One, it is a narrative and narratives go down well with children.  Narratives also help give background to the discourses.  This particular paragraph echoes another reading about humility a few weeks back (cf. Sunday 25).  You may wish to revisit this reading.

This Sunday’s reading takes the concept a little further in that it applies the ideas of humility to leadership.  Some of the older children may have had some position of responsibility, either in school activities or over younger brothers and sisters at home.  This will provide some material for you to work on during the sessions as you draw out of these children their idea of leadership.

What we discussed in Sunday 25

At our baptism, we are 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 king 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.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;

no one can come to the Father except through me.

Alleluia!

Gospel

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark

(Mk 10: 35-45)

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus, “Master,” they said to him, “we want you to do us a favour.”  He said to them, “What is it that you want me to do for you?”  They said to him, “Allow us to sit one at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”  “You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them.  “Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or to be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?”  They replied, “We can.”  Jesus said to them, “The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for the seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.”

When the other ten heard this, they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that among the pagans their so called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt.  This is not to happen among you.  No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all.  For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Discussion

Do you have prefects or hall monitors in school? What are their jobs? To get everyone to keep the school rules. Have you noticed that different prefects and hall monitors have different ways of doing their jobs? Discuss how monitors and prefects carry out their tasks as monitors and prefects.  BE CAREFUL!!  Some of the children could be monitors and prefects themselves.  You don’t really want a slanging match in the middle of your session.

Discuss the different styles of leadership.  Some people are strict.  Some people use reason.  Some people use charm.  Get the children to talk about the teachers they like.  Each would have a different style of leadership.  Which type of teacher would they like?   The one who bosses everyone about because he is the teacher or the one who is willing to do things with the children?  Extend the discussion to the monitors and prefects that the children like.  Extend the discussion to how they would like to be a monitor or prefect if they were appointed one and still keep the rules.

Jesus expects his disciples to be leaders in the Church.  But he expects them to be a different type of leader.  Discuss the concept of the inverted pyramid of the Christian hierarchy (one of the titles of the Pope is ‘servant of the servants of God’ – the idea that he is at the bottom of the hierarchy as servant to all).  You may want to bring in what we discussed four weeks ago about our anointing as a king at our baptism

With this in mind, how do the children think Jesus would like them to be if they were to be a hall monitor or a school prefect?  Discuss also broadly how we should act when we meet people less fortunate than us or weaker than us.  We should remember that these people may be closer to the kingdom of God than us if they approached their misfortune and their weakness in the Christian spirit.  Therefore we should not lord over them.

At the same time, we should also remember that being a leader brings hardship as well.  Look at Jesus - being a leader means to die on the cross.  Not a very nice way of being a leader.  Similarly, our parents sometimes have to make very difficult decisions as the leader of the family.  Decisions about how to bring up the children; decisions about money; decisions about discipline.  Each of these decisions often involves sacrificing something they would like to have so that the family can have food, education, etc instead.  Jesus reminded his disciples that it is not easy being a leader. 

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A

Twenty-ninth Ordinary Sunday

Image

Things that should be given to God

Points to note

This is a simple and well-known story but there seems to be a dearth of materials in the story to make a good discussion.  It is recommended that we concentrate on idea that we are citizens of two societies and that we contribute to both.

 

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

You will shine in the world like bright stars

because you are offering it the word of life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Explain that Pharisees are Jews who believes that the only way to heaven is to follow strictly all laws to the point that laws can even be more important than love.

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 22: 15-21)

The Pharisees went to discuss between them how to trap Jesus in what he said.  And they sent their disciples to him, together with the Herodians, to say, “Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you.  Tell us your opinion, then.  Are we allowed to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”  But Jesus was aware of their intentions and replied, “You hypocrites!  Why do you set this trap for me?  Let me see the money you pay the tax with.”  They handed him a coin and he said, “Whose head is this on the coin?  Whose name?”  “Caesar’s,” they replied.  He then said to them, “Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar - and to God what belongs to God.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Discussion

Do we not belong to two families?  God’s family and our family at home.  Discuss the similarities of the two families: each has a head, all members know each other, etc.  Concentrate on the fact that each member has obligations to each other in the families.  Discuss the kind of work we do for each other in each of the families. 

Explain that we also belong to two societies: the human society and the divine.  Each has its own set of rules: the laws of society and the laws of the Bible.  Discuss the obligations of each set of laws.

Who is the head of the government?  Who is the head of the Church.  The king/prime minister/president and God.  Do we owe anything to them?  To answer this, what are the symbols of government?  A dollar note.  Actually, it can be any symbol, but try to lead them to a symbol with a picture of the king/queen/president on it, e.g., in a government office, a picture of the king/queen/president on the wall or a stamp with the king’s/queen’s/president’s picture on it.  Eventually, lead them back to the dollar note. 

Discuss the symbol of the Church: the crucifix.  What God asks of us is in that symbol: for us to do things for him out of love.  Discuss what else that is on the crucifix that God requires from us.