Children's Liturgy Series: The 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

In today's Gospel we learn about how Jesus was rejected by the people in his own home town of Nazareth.

Come Holy Spirit, fill our hearts and our minds. Fill us with your peace, love, and understanding. Help us to hear God's message today and recognize His voice in our daily activities. Amen

Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying: "Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, "Isn't this the son of Joseph?" He said to them, "Surely you will quote me this proverb, 'Physician, cure yourself,' and say, 'Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'" And he said, "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.

Ask: What was the first response of the people of Nazareth to Jesus' words? (Their first response was favorable. They spoke highly of Jesus, and they were amazed. They also discussed Jesus' identity.) What do they want to do to Jesus at the end of the Gospel? (drive him out of town; kill him) What happened in between? (Jesus challenged them to respond to him differently than their ancestors responded to the prophets)

Observe that the people who knew Jesus best did not accept his words to them; they were not persuaded by him. Ask: Why not? (He challenged them to act in a different way.) Say: Jesus spoke challenging words to the people of Nazareth. He wanted them to respond to him differently from the ways others had responded to the prophets. But they wouldn't let his words lead them to change, or even to see a different perspective.

Say: Sometimes we can be like the people of Nazareth; we don't want to trust Jesus' message because we find his words challenging. We don't want to do what he says. But we can trust his words to us and can rely on his guidance in our lives.

Encourage the children to pray for guidance when deciding how to act. Conclude in prayer together by praying the Prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Father in heaven, for the sake of bringing others closer to you, we give you today, all that we think and do and say, and we join it with all that was done by Jesus Christ, your Son. Amen