7 Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A, Matthew 5:38-48 (Children's Homily)

What do you think of when you see a heart? (Hold up the Heart) Maybe you think of St Valentine’s Day, which we celebrated last Monday. Maybe you think of your Mum & Dad, and how much you love them, and how much they love you. Or maybe you think of your brother or sister; or your best friend; or maybe even your teacher in school. It’s easy to love the people who love you, isn’t it?

It’s not just as easy to love people who don’t show us love though. Maybe someone was mean to you in school; maybe they didn’t pick you to play football on their team; or maybe someone made fun of you or called you names. It’s not so easy to love them, is it?

Today, Jesus teaches us a lesson about love. Jesus taught this lesson to the disciples on the side of a hill. The lesson started a few Sundays ago, and it’s nearly finished this Sunday. It’s a long lesson isn’t it? So, what does Jesus teach us about love? (Hold up the Heart again) This Sunday, the lesson that Jesus really wants to teach us is that we have to do our best to love the people that don’t really love us.

You know when you fall out with your Mum or Dad, your Teacher, friend, brother or sister? You know the way that it’s fairly easy to make up with those who love you by saying you’re sorry for what you did wrong?
Well, today, Jesus asks us to love those who don’t love us. He asks us to love those who don’t really like us, and for the A+ grade, Jesus tells us to love those who hate us!

Jesus tells us that love is what God has already shown us, and so we have to try to love everyone as well. And while it isn’t easy to do that, we know that if we try really hard to love everyone, then even those who hate us can one day become our friends.

Maybe we can say a prayer to God to help us to love those who don’t love us:

Father,
it is easy to love those who love us.
Help us to love our enemies
so that they might know
that we are all your children.
We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.