Sunday, October 23, 2016

Proper 26 C (October 30): Come on Down








THERE IS A 2022 UPDATED VERSION OF THIS POST WITH  MORE STUFF - SEE MY ARCHIVES AT LEFT.

Bible Readings: Habakkuk 1:1-4,2:1-4, Psalm 119:137-144, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12, Luke 19:1-10

About the Images:
Upper Left:
Photo by Gunnar Bach Pedersen found on Wikimedia Commons and in the public domain.
Upper Right:
A free image from Hermano Leon (see my links at left)
Lower Left: A free image from the Heartlight site - see my link column at left.
Lower Right: This image comes from the awesome Church Galleries website which was decimated by hackers last year. At present it is possible to buy these images very cheaply however this particular one is free on the site this week.  Well worth the subscription!!! Visit the website at www.churchgalleries.com.

Kid's Story:
The Magpie's Story
by Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen, 1988, ISBN 0551015799 (pictured at left).

Drama: Up a Tree
This is a drama which can be used with puppets or two people. You need an old grumpy person or puppet and a young or teenage person or puppet. I think I have written this with a sort of inbuilt Australian accent so if you are not Australian just adapt it or change it as you see fit.

          
Oldie: G'day there young fella!
Kid: Hi Gramps! Did ya hear all about Zacchaeus?
Oldie: Is he that short fat bloke who lives in the huge house on the corner? I hate him. He collects our taxes and he rips off everybody by making us all pay heaps more than we should and keeping most of our money for himself.
Kid: Yeah, that's the man alright.
Oldie: There's al ot of stories going around about him at the moment. Tell us what you know.
Kid: Well....you know the other day when Jesus came to town?
Oldie: I certainly do! I went down to see him myself. By golly, it was a big crowd, wasn't it? It took me all my time to elbow my way to the front of the crowd. I'm glad I took me walking stick! It's an advantage being as old as me sometimes. He, he, he!
Kid: Well, ole Zac had even more trouble than you did! Because he's so short he couldn't see over the crowd so he tried to push and squeeze his way through near where me and my mates were standing. But we all jammed up so that he couldn't get past us. Then we all pretended he wasn't there. It was great fun - me and my mates don't like him any more than you do.
Oldie: Gee, I wish I'd been near you lads. I'd 've helped by giving him a good poke with my walking stick. Accidently, of course.
Kid: Well, Zacchaeus had us beaten in the end because he climbed this big sycamore tree growing by the edge of the road..........just as everybody starts yelling out and cheering because Jesus was coming.
Oldie: Hmmp! Ole Zac sure is cunning. Why didn't you young blokes accidently just shake him out of his tree?
Kid: But Gramps!! You haven't heard the really awesome part of this story yet. Jesus walks right up to the sycamore tree, stops and looks up at Zacchaeus .......... and says "Zacchaeus! Come on down!!!!! I want to come round to your place for tea."
Oldie: Well ! The idea !!
Kid: Zacchaeus nearly falls of his tree......he's so surprised. The rest of us just couldn't believe what we were hearing. Who'd want to stay with a cheat like him?
Oldie: If I'd been there I'd have given Jesus a piece of my mind. It'll only encourage the that little cheat to be even meaner to the rest of us!
Kid: NO! but it didn't. That's the amazing thing! Do you know what Zac said when he climbed down out of that tree? He said he was going to give a half of his stuff away and pay back everyone he's cheated by giving 'em four times as much as he pinched in the first place!
Oldie: I don't believe it!
Kid: Walk around to Zac's place with me now. You'll soon see that it's amazing but it's true!
Oldie: I think I will. Come on
c. Ann Scull

Story: Behind the Shower Curtain
Found in When God Whispers Your Name by Max Lucado, Word, 1996, ISBN 0849913241, page 51 (pictured at right). This story is based on the gospel reading and the idea of grace.



Communion Invitation: I Did Not know His Name
Found in Present on Earth by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose, 2002, ISBN 0901557642, page 30 (pictured at left).  This is particularly useful if you are using the gospel reading.

Film Clip: The Apostles Creed
From the excellent The Work of the People - see my link at left


Also:

Meditation: Perseverance
Found in Meditations from the Iona Community by Ian Reid, Wild Goose Publications, Trowbridge, 1998, ISBN 1901557022, page 42. This goes well with the gospel reading.


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