Cycle B 21st Sunday Ordinary

Twenty-First Sunday of the Year [CYCLE B] MAIN MESSAGE

[This is for reference only. Please do not read it at Mass] In the readings today we see God challenging us to CHOOSE. Joshua asks the Israelites to choose freely - between the Lord and other gods. As some of Jesus' followers turn back from following him, he challenges the twelve - "Will you also go away?" In both cases, the answer was - 'We choose you! You are the life-giver.' We too have an important choice to make: to choose Jesus or to reject him. We need to choose wisely, thinking of the future, and of God’s goodness to us. Then we can say, as Simon did, 'We choose you. You have the words of eternal life!'

INTRODUCTION: Celebrant: • What is the important word today? Look around the church (or hall) and tell me… [The word is ‘CHOOSE’]. • All of us have to choose every day: Should I sit next to this friend, or that one? Should I take the window seat in the bus, or sit near the door? Should I wear this shirt or that one for mass? • When you are older you will have to make more important choices: Should I become a teacher, or a doctor? Should I live in Pune, or take up a job in Delhi? Should I marry this person, or that one? • Today we will think about a very important choice we have to make. It will make a very big difference to your life. Listen carefully to the readings today and find out what the people in the readings had to choose. LITURGY OF THE WORD: Commentator: This first reading is about Joshua, who was a great leader of God’s people. With God’s help he led them out of the desert to a wonderful land that God had promised them. Now he tells them to choose something. Listen and find out what they had to choose. First Reading: Joshua 24: 1-2a, 15-17, 18b. Psalm: 34:1-2; 17-18, 19-20. Commentator: This reading is especially for children, so listen to it carefully. Second Reading: Ephesians 6:1-4. Commentator: At the end of the Gospel we hear Jesus asking his followers to choose something. Find out what it is. Gospel: John 6:60-69. Homily: Celebrant: We will first watch a short act by some of our children. After that we will talk about the act and also the readings that we heard. Commentator: It is a special day for Rohini and Rina. They have been given money for their birthdays and they are going shopping with their mother to buy new shoes. Rohini is the older sister and Rina is the younger one. [Mother with two daughter come in dressed for shopping: bags, purse, etc. They stop at a shoe shop (a stand with many pairs of children's shoes) There is a salesman in attendance.] Rohini:

Here's a shoe-shop! Let's try here.

Salesman: Come in Madam, welcome! Come and see all the latest shoes in the market Mother: Rohini, Rina, come here. Come and look here. [She picks up a pair of open sandals with flat heels.] These look comfortable and pretty. I'm sure they will last a long time! Rina: I don't like them. I want these high-heeled shoes. They're much cuter! Mother: (Picks up the high-heeled pair and looks at them carefully.) They look pretty Rina, but your feet will hurt in them. You won't be able to run around freely. And I think they will not last longer than two months. Rina: But I like them! I want them ! Mother: You are free to choose what you like Rina, it's your money! [Rina picks up the shoes and completes the sale with the salesman] Mother: (Turning to Rohini) What about you Rohini? Have you chosen yet? Rohini: (Looking thoughtfully at both shoes) I will choose the sandals, Mummy. I'd rather be comfortable than fancy. And I want to wear them for a long time ! Celebrant: In the act we just saw, the mother left the children free to choose their shoes, because she had given them the money for their birthdays. • Who do you think made a good choice: Rohini, the older sister or Rina, the younger one? Why? • What helped Rohini to decide so well? [She realized that her mother was giving her good advice. She looked carefully at the sandals and saw that they were good. She was far-thinking, that means, she didn’t just think about now, but about later also.] • After a few months, Rohini would be happy about her choice, because she would still have comfortable shoes to wear. • In the first reading Joshua asked the people to choose something. What was it? Was it where to live? Or which shoes to buy? [No, he asked them to choose which God they would follow: He told them they could choose to follow the Lord, who had looked after them in the desert and brought them to the Promised Land, or they could choose some other god.] • The people chose to follow the Lord. They said, “He is the one who saved us from Egypt and worked wonderful miracles as we travelled to this place. So we choose to serve him!” • What about the Gospel? Jesus said something to his followers after some people left him and went away. What did he say? [He said, “What about you? Do you also want to go away?”] • Jesus was asking them to choose. They could follow him or they could go away and leave him. He didn’t want to force them to follow him. • Simon Peter answered for all the others. He said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!” He knew that only Jesus could take him to heaven. He made a wise choice, like Rohini, in the act. He was not just thinking about now, but forever. • Today, God is asking you to choose. Even though you are children, you can choose. Do you want to follow Jesus, even if it is sometimes difficult, or do you want to leave him? If we trust Jesus (like Rohini trusted her mother, and Simon trusted Jesus) we will also choose wisely and be happy forever! OFFERTORY: Let's tell the Lord Jesus that we want to choose Him today. We want to follow him and do whatever he asks us: at home, at school and with our friends. We'll sing - 'I'll Say Yes, Yes, Yes' with our eyes closed and imagining ourselves following Jesus.

FIR ST REA DING : A reading from the book of Joshua:

Joshua brought together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. Then he told their leaders, judges, APPROPRIATE HYMNS PREPARATION REQUIRED: and officials to come into the presence of God. Joshua told all of them what the Lord, the God of ENTRANCE: HereHe We Are. • Practice readings. Israel had said. also told them, “If you don’t want to serve the Lord,the then today you must OFFERTORY: I'll Say Yes, Yes, Yes • Practice skit. choose the god you will serve. You may choose the gods your ancestors worshipped on the COMMUNION: Love Or is so Wonderful, is..one of the • gods Make posters and put other side ofGod’s the river. you may evenJesus choose of‘Choose’ the Amorites, since you up. are RECESSIONAL: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus living in their land. But as for me and everyone in my family, we will serve the Lord!” The people answered, “We will never turn away from the Lord to serve other gods! It was the Lord who brought us and our ancestors out of Egypt. And with our own eyes we saw the powerful miracles he performed to protect us during all the time that we travelled through the nations. The Lord is our God, and we will serve him too!” This is the Word of the Lord.

PSALM :

Response: Taste and see

I will always praise the Lord. With all my heart I will praise the Lord. Let all who are helpless listen and be glad.

the goodness o

f the Lord. The Lord’s people When his people pray for help, he may suffer a lot, listens and he rescues them from but he will always their troubles. bring them safely through. The Lord is there to rescue all Not one of their bones who are discouraged and have will ever be broken. given up hope.

SECO ND R EADI NG: A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians: Children, you belong to the Lord, and you do the right thing when you obey your parents. The first commandment with a promise says, ‘Obey your father and your mother, and you will have a long and happy life.’ Parents, don’t be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord. This is the Word of the Lord. ALLELUIA : GOSPEL :

Alleluia, alleluia. Your words, Lord, are spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life. Alleluia. A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. John.

Many of Jesus’ disciples heard him speak about the bread of life and said, “This is too hard for anyone to understand.” Jesus knew that many of his disciples were grumbling. So he asked, “Does this bother you? What if you should see the Son of Man go up to heaven where he came from? The Spirit is the one who gives life! Human strength can do nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are from that life-giving Spirit. But some of you refuse to have faith in me.” Jesus said this because from the beginning he knew who would have faith in him. He also knew which one would betray him. Then Jesus said, “You cannot come to me, unless the Father makes you want to come. That is why I have told these things to all of you.” Because of what Jesus said, many of his disciples turned their backs on him and stopped following him. Jesus then asked the twelve apostles, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have faith in you, and we are sure that you are God’s Holy One!” This is the Gospel of the Lord. NB. All Readings are taken from the ‘Lectionary for Masses with Children’ canonically approved for use in the USA.