Who gets the attention

Jesus, help me cheer for younger kids when they learn new things! Amen.

"A man had two sons," Jesus said. "He gave them some money. One stayed home, but the other ran away and spent it all. He got so poor he fed pigs to live. Finally, he went home. `Father, I've sinned,' the boy said. `Don't call me your son.' But the father wouldn't listen: `Let's have a party!' he cried. The good son was angry that the bad one got a party. His father told him, `You know I love you, but we have to celebrate. Your brother was lost, and now he's found!'"

Do you know anyone with a little brother or sister? Being called "big brother" or told what a great big sister she is doesn't always make up for the fact that the littler person gets more attention from grownups.

An older brother might do a cartwheel, but a little kid gets admired by adults just for walking!

The big brother in this week's Gospel (Luke 15:1-32) was bothered by his younger brother, too. The older brother did grownup things -- saved money, worked on his father's farm -- but the younger one ran away and wasted money, then got a party just for coming back!

Why does this happen? Little brothers and sisters usually get more attention because they're starting to do something new. When you learned to walk, you probably got attention, too -- you just don't remember.

Little kids learn to be good and do things that are new to them because adults act happy when the kids do something right. Just like that, the father in the Gospel story (who's really God) gets excited when his young son (who's really us) learns a lesson.

It doesn't mean the older son doesn't deserve attention, too; it just means that when a kid succeeds at something for the first time, cheering is the way to help them keep it up!