Good morning boys and
girls!
How
many of you like to go out on a nice, sunny day and play with your friends? Has
anyone ever said that they can't play with you because they don't like you, or
because of where you live, or because of who your parents are? Well boys and
girls, I certainly know how you feel because I was shunned at times when I was
your age.
Jesus also knows how you feel because he was
often rejected because of what he told people. For example, in Luke 4:14-21 he
attended worship services in the synagogue in his hometown. He was asked to
read a portion of Scripture, and the reading he chose was written by the
prophet Isaiah. That particular reading talked about the long-promised Messiah.
After
he finished his reading, he told the people that he was the long-promised Messiah
that Isaiah talked about. The people couldn't accept this statement because
they saw him only as the son of Mary and Joseph, or as the son of a carpenter. That
was a shame, because when they rejected him, they rejected someone who was part
of the body of Christ that the apostle Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians
12:21-31.
Boys
and girls, someone else who knows about rejecting people is a little boy named Johnny. Johnny was lying in
his bed after a nice bath getting ready
to go to sleep. His mommy and daddy were seated on the bed beside him. They were talking about things that had
happened that day. Johnny's daddy asked
him, "Did you play with the new boy next door, today?" "No, he's
weird," said Johnny.
"What
do you mean?" asked his father.
"He talks funny." said Johnny
trying to copy the way the new boy talks. Johnny made himself laugh, but
his parents didn't laugh. "I think
the boy has trouble starting
words," said his Mother, "but if you wait for him, he can say
anything anyone else can say. You just
have to wait for him."
"I
still think he's weird," said Johnny.
"Well,"
said his father, "God gives
different gifts to different people. You learn soccer fast, but you
learn piano slowly. You start words
quickly, but he starts words slowly. Starting words is not one of his gifts. Do you know what gifts
God has given him?"
"No,
I didn't think about it," said Johnny.
"When
you think someone is weird, you aren't
looking for the gifts God has given them, so you won't find them," said his mother. "Tomorrow, you can find out
one of his gifts. Maybe he is good at a
game."
"Maybe
he can play marbles," Johnny said.
"Remember
in Church the story of Pentecost where
God gave something to each of the disciples that made their faces light up, gave each one something
wonderful?" asked his father.
"Yes!"
said Johnny. "They all caught on
fire."
"The
Bible doesn't say they caught on
fire," said his mother. "It says there was something like fire
on their heads. Maybe it was like fire
because it was a bright light." "Maybe it was like fire because
it warmed their hearts," said his
father. "We do know that God gave them the gift to love one another, and God has given you
that gift too, Johnny. God has given you
the gift of playing nicely with the boy next door."
Johnny
had never thought about that. He'd
thought about other gifts from God but never the gift of playing happily with the boy next door. So, he
thought about that. But first they said a
prayer , and boys and girls, I'd like to you to close your eyes, bow
your heads and repeat that same prayer after me.
Dear
God, thank you for giving us the gift of
loving you and loving each other. Help us play happily with the people next door. Amen.
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