Children's Liturgy Sunday November 25th 2007

Fifth Sunday of Lent 2007

CHRIST the KING

Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.
When we think of kings, we think of thrones, crowns, riches and power to rule others.
The Feast was introduced into the Church's year by Pope Pius the second, in 1925. In Italy,people called Fascists were gaining power. Fascists think that power should be held by a select group and anyone who is different should be pushed aside. Around the world, people in other countries copied these ideas. During this time, many people became Nationalists, keen on saying they represented their country, and that gave them the right to choose who should be allowed to live there and how they should live. They thought their country mattered more than other countries, which gave them the right to be hostile to other countries.
Pope Pius wanted people to think again about power- that it wasn't just about pushing others around- it also involved thinking about the power given by God.

Today's Gospel (Luke 23: 36-43) tells us how the Roman soldiers made fun of Jesus as he hung on the Cross. The Romans were afraid he had come to take away their power in the land. As he died, it seemed safe to taunt him.They had put a crown of thorns on his head,in mockery, because it looked as though he never would have any power.They failed to understand that the power Jesus had talked of was the power of love. The kingdom he had talked of was the Kingdom of God.
The criminal being crucified on one side of Jesus also jeered, telling him to save himself.
The criminal on the other side of Jesus recognised he did not deserve to be treated as someone who had committed a crime.

We made triangles which were black on one side and gold on the other. By holding the triangles in a certain way as we stood in a circle, we could make ourselves into a crown of thorns, then a crown of gold for Jesus in Heaven. Here we are practising. We showed everyone back in church.