Children's Liturgy Series: 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

In today's Gospel, Jesus teaches us that to be great in the kingdom of God, we must be servants to others and that "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted".

Father in Heaven we praise and glorify you. We thank you for bringing us together for this Children's Liturgy lesson.  Please send us the Holy Spirit so we can have the wisdom to understand the lesson you have for us today. Help us to not be so preoccupied with seeking honour, but rather, help us to find joy in our humility. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Ask the group to name people they think of as leaders. For each person they name, ask: What are some key characteristics of this leader? What are some of this leader’s responsibilities? (Accept all reasonable responses.)

Ask: Do any of these leaders inspire you to want to be a leader? Why or why not? (Accept all reasonable responses.) Are there any other characteristics you would hope for in a leader? (Accept all reasonable responses.)

Say: In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks to the crowd about some of their religious leaders. In fact, he is rather critical of these religious leaders. Let’s listen to what Jesus says.

Ask: What does Jesus tell the crowd about some of their religious leaders? Why? (He tells them to follow what they teach, but not to follow their example; Jesus says that they do not practice what they preach.) Jesus then tells the crowd what characteristic he looks for in a good leader. What does he say? (Jesus says that leaders should be humble; a good leader serves others.)

Ask: In what ways are the leaders we named earlier like the kind of leader that Jesus described? (Accept all reasonable responses.) Are there others we might list as leaders in the model of Jesus? Who? Prepare such a list discussing what makes each a leader in the model that Jesus teaches.

Conclude in prayer together, petitioning God for the wisdom to grow to be people who humbly serve others as Jesus taught. Pray together the Act of Love.

Create a scene out of clay that displays an act of humility. For example, the following scenes show Jesus washing the feet of St. Peter:

Father in Heaven we thank you for the lesson today. Please bless each one of us in this room. Please give us the grace to have the courage to show our love to God by loving others. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.