Lent 2004 - Cycle C - Revised Common Lectionary
February 29 through April 4, 2004

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him. (Antiphon for Lent, Book of Common Prayer, page 81) And what if, during this season of Lent, we sought a deeper understanding of this amazing gospel of grace. Will that image of grace energize us to do the spiritual housekeeping we need to be ready for the "new thing" God is doing in Easter?

The age-old question: why are some people killed in bizarre accidents -- and others amazingly spared? It is not about good guys or bad guys. Our responsibility is to notice when we need to repent. Part II: A hopeful gardener spares a fruitless fig tree. Perhaps a bit of fertilizer will help the barren tree produce fruit. What "fertilizer" might help us be more fruitful?

Before Class. Bring in the container of bags from last week, additional pieces of paper and pencils, and an adequate supply of tape. You will also need Bibles. Be alert for a news story the children will have heard about where a tragedy involves some and amazingly spares others. Perhaps it was a fire that some escaped, an accident some walked away from. Then, if you happen to have a really large backpack -- the kind hikers carry that can hold many pounds, bring it. If you do not have one, then fashion a backpack out of two black trash bags (one inside the other). Bring heavy stuff to put in the backpack, such as books, bricks, a 5 pound bag of flour. (Don't purchase anything, just scrounge in your house -- or possible on the church premises.) The object will be for the children to see how it feels to be carrying an increasingly heavy load and how much better it feels to put it all down. This feeling will be related to the Lenten theme, ‘giving it up’.

Beginning. Ask the children if they have anything to share about their Spring Training. Then ask them to give you a definition of the word "repent". Accept what they come up with and tell them we will look into it a bit more today.

Opening Prayer. Thank you, God, that you always forgive us and are ready to hear us when we say we are sorry. Amen.

The Scripture. Luke 13: 1- 9. Tell the children that we really have two stories today, so we will need different voices. The first story is verses 1 - 5 and you will need a narrator to read verses 1 and 2a, and Jesus for verses 2b - 5. The second story has the narrator (verses 6 and 7a) the Man who owned the garden (verses 7b) the narrator verse 8a and the gardener, verse 8b-9.

Some Questions.
The people are asking whether those who died were more guilty than those who were spared. What does Jesus say to this question? (verse 5)
If you have been able to think of a comparable local story, bring it to the children's attention and ask them the same question about this event.
What does Jesus say that everyone needs to do about this situation? (Repent, stop doing what they know is wrong, tell God they are sorry, and do things differently afterward.)

Activity. Tell the children you have a "Repentance Simulation" the children can demonstrate. Repentance in the religious language means to ‘turn around’.  Let's apply ‘turning around’ to mean we need to let go of stuff we are hauling around. Show them the "stuff" you have brought and the backpack or trash bags. Ask for a volunteer to be the "hauler" and ask the rest of the children to load up the backpack after the volunteer has put it on. (If you are using trash bags, show the child how to cross arms and hang onto the edges of the trash bags on the child's back.) Add stuff, a bit at a time until the child clearly has all he or she can carry. Suggest they take a couple of steps and then let the load slide to the floor. Ask them to describe how it felt to have all that "stuff" on their back? How did it feel when you got free of it? What things ‘weight’ us down, keeping us from being who God wants us to be? What might we ‘give up’?

Some More Questions.
What did the owner think needed to happen to the fruitless tree? (Chop it down. It was using up good soil!)
What did the gardener think needed to happen? (Some care, loosening up of the soil that was packed down, adding a bit of fertilizer.)
If we thought of our Spring Training as needing soil dug up a bit and fertilizer added, what would the digging be and what might the fertilizer be? (See if the children can come up with parallels for loosening up and for added help.)

Getting Closure. Bring out the container with the bags and let the children open the large container and find their bags. Allow a bit of time for the children to look at what is in their bags and notice what they might want to add. Offer paper and pencils. When they are through, provide tape so they can, again, secure their bags and place them in the larger container which they will also tape shut and return to your care for the week.

Closing Prayer. Thank you, God that you are full of compassion and mercy. Amen.