Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C
Welcome children to their worship space.
Explain: Today is the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Ask: Does anyone remember what we talked about last week? <Hold up the symbol of the praying hands> <the reflection was about praying – Jesus taught us how>
Say: Today’s symbol <hold up the symbol> is a treasure chest.
Ask: What do you think might be in a treasure chest? <the children will probably answer with items like money, jewels, etc.> Where do these treasures come from? <expected answers are: under the sea, underground, win a lottery, etc.> But ultimately where do our gifts and treasures come from? <God> Why do you think we might put things in a treasure chest? <expected answers are: to protect them, to save them, to hide them from others>
Explain: Today we are going to talk about the treasures that God gives us and what Jesus tells us to do with them. We are going to talk about two different kinds of treasures, treasures of earth and treasures of heaven.
Ask: What are some treasures of earth? <money, jewels, gold,etc.> What are some treasures of heaven? <expected answers are very literal: clouds, angels, rainbows>
Explain: “Treasures of heaven” is another way to say “things that are important to God” What are some things that we people do that are important to God, that make him happy? <share, love, be kind, etc.> These are “treasures of heaven”.
Say: Let’s look at the poster. What does it say? <Happy are all who long for the coming of the Lord.> This is our Responsorial Psalm for today, a psalm of praise.
Say: Let’s light the candle to show that we are ready to listen to the Words of God.
Say: Today’s first reading is from the New Testament letter to the Colossian people. (Colossians 3:1 –4) St. Paul’s letter tells us to think about “things of heaven”, which would be like “heavenly treasures”, because Jesus is in heaven. Let’s see if we can understand what he is saying to the people in the early church (and to us!)
Have the reader read the first reading.
Ask: The Scriptures often use the word “dying” to show the difference between the time before someone knew Jesus and the time after. What do you think St. Paul meant when he said that we died? <discuss> Jesus taught us to think in new ways. He taught us to love and to forgive instead of hating and being selfish. The difference in our lives is so great that it might seem that the person we used to be is dead and we are new people altogether.
Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm. Your part is to say the words of praise nice and loud:
Happy are all who long for the coming of the Lord.
Say: Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Luke. (Luke 12:16-21) Do you remember who the Gospel writers were? <Matthew, Mark, Luke and John> Today St. Luke tells us about a time that Jesus told a teaching story. Can anyone tell me what we call those kinds of stories that Jesus told? <parable> This parable is about a very lucky farmer. He had a great crop one year and grew lots of food. In the parable, the farmer was only thinking about himself. Let’s listen to what Jesus tells us about the farmer.
Say: Now we will get ready to hear the Gospel. Please stand up.
Say together: Alleluia, Alleluia.
Have the reader begin: “a reading from the holy gospel.....”
Read: Read the Gospel
Say: What did the farmer do? <stored all his grain> What was the message in this parable? <discuss> Do you think that Jesus meant that the farmer shouldn’t store anything to take care of himself later? <no, but the farmer should think about and plan to share his good luck>
One thing that is clear is that you won’t need food in heaven. We spend a lot of time here on earth worrying about things that won’t matter at all in heaven. Can anyone tell me something that we should think about that WILL matter in heaven? <love, sharing, being a better person, forgiving others> Those are our true treasures.
Hand out the poster & Offertory symbols to color and cut out. (The symbol is a treasure chest). Ask the children to put their names on the small poster symbols.
Explain: Color this symbol of the treasure chest and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!) to show that we have learned about appreciating and sharing the treasures God gives us.
Ask the older children to write the name of one of their treasures on the chest.
If there is time, review the lesson.
Give out stickers and hand-outs as they leave.
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Today is the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The children listened to the same readings you did: Colossians 3:1-4 and Luke 12:16-21
Symbol: Treasure Chest
To reinforce at home:
Today we are reminded about the difference between what we value and what God values. We tend to spend more time hoarding and conserving our earthly treasures than about sharing our treasures of money, time and talent.
Activities to do at home:
*With your child, think of one special gift or talent that you can share with someone else this week.
*Write a card or a letter to someone who is lonely or housebound.
*Find one hour this week that you can offer your faith community. Make a phone call to someone who can help you find that one our task.
Thank you for sharing your children!