20/6/2010 Proper 7

Theme: Everybody Equal!

Bible reading

Galatians 3.23-29

Preparation

You are going to play a game of “Simon Says” – it would be helpful to think about the categories you are going to use beforehand to ensure that you do not inadvertently discriminate against any particular children – see below.

Introduction

Have you ever stopped to think that although we are all different and special, we are all very similar to each other too? For example, we all need food, although your favourite food might be pizza and the person next to you might prefer fish and chips, some people like their food really hot and spicy and other people might like ice cream best! Let’s play a game of “Simon Says” to see how alike or different we all are.

As you play the game, make sure that you have some categories for which everyone will stand up (“ stand up if you have teeth”), as well as others for which fairly large groups should stand (stand up if you have brown eyes”). Do not make suggestions that will suddenly leave a child or a small group of children looking “odd”.

The Message

Two thousand years ago, in the time of the Roman Empire when the Church was getting started, people were divided into many different groups and often they looked down on other people who were not like them. Men looked down on women because they thought it was best to be a man. People from some countries thought they were better than people from the country next door. Rich people turned poor people into slaves, and sometimes treated them badly, because they didn’t think they were proper people like themselves. Nobody seriously thought that everybody could be absolutely equal, and that it didn’t really matter where they were born, or how rich or poor they were, or whether they were a man or a woman. Then Jesus started treating everyone he met as if they were all important. He talked to women; he touched lepers whom nobody else would even go near; he behaved as if poor people were just as important as rich people. The rich rulers of his country hated him for this, and they thought he was strange and mad because he was not acting in the right way…..but Jesus just kept on doing it!

Jesus’ followers taught the same thing as he did. In the Bible we have a letter from Paul to the Christians who lived in Galatia, and it has one very important statement in it, here it is:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

In other words, it doesn’t matter who or what you are; Jesus loves you. This is why for hundreds and thousands of years people have followed Jesus, because of this promise that he doesn’t care who or what your are, or what you have done in the past, he still loves you.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for your promise that you love us all the same, whoever we are and whatever we do. May we remember that promise when we feel sad or lonely.