(Adults, you could begin by lighting a candle and reading the Word of God to your child.)
In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus continues to talk to the people who gather to hear him speak about the Kingdom of God. They can tell how much he loves it. They can tell he has a dream for the earth. Like us, they want to build the Kingdom of God with him, but they do not know how. So Jesus gives them "maxims"—ways to live so as to build the Kingdom. The maxims show us how to love as God loves.
Let's consider one of these maxims:
What do people beg for? Sometimes we see people begging for money in the middle of the streets. Why do they do this? We can guess. They need food; they need drink; they need shelter. Some people say that people beg because they just want money for bad things like drugs. Possibly this is true, but we do not know. If this is true, then something is not right in their lives; we know they have an even greater need. We may not know exactly what their needs are, but we know their needs are not being met. They are not getting the help they need.
What about people we know?
Among our classmates at school, are everyone's needs being met?
When someone asks to borrow something, do they always get what they need?
Does everyone get the help they need to read or to do math?
Does the teacher have the space and quiet to teach?
Is everyone being listened to?
Does everyone have a friend to laugh with?
What if everyone was given what they need?
How would our classroom change?
How would the world change?
Would there be lonely people?
Would there be hungry people?
Would there be homeless people?
What would happen to the person in the middle of the street?
How well we would all live if no one's needs were ignored!
Perhaps we would be close to building the Kingdom of God.
We can tell how much Jesus loves it.
We can tell he has a dream for the earth.
We want to build the Kingdom of God with him
and we know how.
Let's share his dream. Let's pray together:
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