Children's Sunday - dialogue

H:  Who are we?

J:  We are all children of God. 

H:  Are we?  We are all so different, how can we all be children of God?   We don’t even like each other.  We judge each other on our skin color, the language we speak, and the religions we practice. 

J:   Well, God loves us, each and everyone of us.  God does tell us, we should love our neighbors, and not just our neighbors, but our enemies too.

H:  Seriously, we should love our enemies.  No way.  Why would I want to try and be nice to the bully in my gym class? 

J:  Because that bully is a child of God. 

H:   But he doesn’t go to church. And have you seen the crowd of people he hangs out with? 

J:  God still loves him, and that crowd that he hangs out with.  Think about it, if we can’t get along with the people in our schools, why should we expect people in the greater world to get along? 

H:   I know, it seems like there is so much bad stuff on the news.  There are people that are living in the middle of war, there are people that are afraid because of hate crimes, there are people left out because of where their families are from.    

J:   I thought all of this stuff with discrimination was a thing of the past.  But it seems people still find ways to separate themselves from others.   We seem to find ways to make others the enemy.

H:  Wouldn’t it be great if we could find a way to remove the labels from people, the things that make us different, and focus on the things that make us the same? 

J:  It does seem that throughout the world, most people do want what is best for their children, for their families, and for their communities.  Parents work hard to make sure their children are fed, have and education, and medical care. 

H:  So why is there war?  Why is there discrimination?  Why do we not treat people kindly? 

J:  Maybe it is something that we have learned.  Maybe each generation has to ask the question:  Who are we? 

H:  Who are we?

J:  We are God’s people, we are called to be a people of peace, a people of love, a people that show others that kindness does matter. 

H:  Who are we? 

J:  We are a people, like Esther, that need to be a voice for the voiceless.  We need to have courage and faith that God wants a better world, that God wants us to love our neighbors and yes, even love our enemies. 

H:  Who are we? 

J:  We are dancers and football players, we are artists and musicians, we are students and children, we are friends and children of God. 

H:  We are sad and lonely, we are happy and energetic, we are hurt and healing, we are stressed and strong, we are courageous and faithful, we are children of God. 

J:  We are all so different, and we give thanks for the moments where our diversity is celebrated. 

H:  We are like Esther, where we will not let the bad news be final.  We believe that good can come out of the bad. 

J: We see the bad and we believe in the good.

H:  we are a people that believe we are all children of God.

J:  We are are people that dreams of day when we can all love our neighbor and we no longer will say, you are my enemy.

H:  Who are we?

J:  we are learning to be a voice for the voiceless, we are learning to be courageous, we are learning to be faithful to our God.

H:  We are a people seeking to live into God’s new creation in Jesus Christ, where there are no Jews or Greeks, where there are no slaves or free, where there are no male or female, for we are one, we are human, we are God’s children.