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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me correct myself before I turn a little lie into a bunch of big ones! Amen.
Jesus said, "A man rented out his vineyard. At harvest time, he sent servants for the crops, but the renters killed them. So the man sent his son, thinking, 'They'll respect him.' But the renters killed the son." The listeners said, "The man will get rid of those renters and get new ones." Jesus told them, "In the same way, the people who go to God's kingdom will be those who grow its fruit."

It starts with a little lie: saying, "I want to go to Disney World," turns into saying, "I'm going to Disney World."

"When?" someone asks - and the lie turns big: "Next week."

Soon, surprised kids are asking you all about missing school next week to go to Disney World. You're panicking and don't know how to get out of the lie.

This week's Gospel (Matthew 21:33-43) is about negative stuff that grows. A man rents his land to people who say they'll grow grapes for him. The man must have had problems with the renters already, because when he sends workers to get the grapes, the renters kill them. Then the man sends his son. The renters are scared and angry - and they kill the son, too.

The landowner in the story is God the Father; the son is Jesus - and the people are us. Jesus did get killed by frightened, angry people who didn't believe what He taught, but the story is also about doing one bad thing that leads to worse things.

If you tell a lie, people often question it. A lot of lies sound like they can't be true, because they're not! The right thing is to say, "Well, no, I'm not going to Disney - but that's what I wish, anyway." Adding another lie isn't going to help.

A lot of people didn't believe in Jesus. They made fun of Him; then they ended His life. That's a serious example of negative actions getting out of hand - and a good lesson for us. A little lie can lead to big, bad things![[In-content Ad]]

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