Second Sunday in Lent

Year 1: March 17, 2019

Preaching Text: Matthew 20:1-16

Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev

(Written for ages 4-8)

Comment: In Jesus’ parable of the laborers in the vineyard, those who are hired first and those who are hired last are paid the same, even though their working was different. Those who were hired first feel upset by this, but the owner of the vineyard wants to bring in and benefit as many people as possible. The owner of the vineyard wants things to be more abundant and open for everyone. In Strictly No Elephants, a little boy and his pet elephant are turned away by the Pet Club, who only consider certain specific animals to be pets, and elephants do not meet the criteria. When he meets other people whose pets have been excluded from the original Pet Club, he decides to form his own club, a club where all pets are welcome. Like the owner of the vineyard, the boy wants as many people and pets included as possible. He wants a pet club to be abundant and open. This parable is hard for us, especially if we are like first-hired workers, but Jesus’ parable shows us that we can choose a different attitude. Instead of being envious of generosity, we, like the little boy and his elephant, and like the vineyard owner, can look to make things as open and abundant as possible for everyone.

Thanks to Sara Anne Berger, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Nachitoches, LA, for writing the Year 1 Narrative Lectionary Links.

Lectionary Links (NL): March 17, 2019 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.