My children’s message for 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 14, 2026)
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Bring your orange bag full of your daily stuff.
I’m so glad you are here today and I brought with me something I carry everyday. This is the bag I bring to the church every time I come here and so lets spend some time looking through it. This is an old bag that I’ve had for years and I even had it repaired at one point. It used to have a strap that broke off and it has small holes on the corner. This is a bag I use to carry stuff – and I’ll admit I put stuff in it that I forget it is even there. So we have my laptop, my prayer book, a series of papers and receipts and things I’m supposed to do. I have an old mask I used during COVID because I’m terrible at throwing things away. I have receipts that I need to record that are used by the Tri-Boro Food Pantry. I have an old plastic bag with little knickacks including a cross and other things. I’ve got a directory with contact information of various people at the church. And also few notebooks full of notes – some that are brand new and some that are old. This is sort of like my version of the backpack you bring to school – and is full of different kinds of stuff I use to be a pastor.
So I wonder – what are the things you carry in your backpacks? Accept answers.
Today’s reading about Jesus is going to include words where Jesus sends his friends on a journey. He’s sending them out to show kindness and compassion to others. And since they’re going on a journey, Jesus invites them to pack their own bags full of stuff that might help them. What are the things that might help Jesus’ friends? Accept answers.
Those are great answers. And we can imagine Jesus’ friends need all those things to help them. They’d need extra clothes, food, first aid kits, a map, a guide, and all those other things to help others. They might run into people who don’t speak their same language even though they share the same background – so a translator could be helpful. Or they might need money to buy the food and other things they would need. Jesus will, in verses we don’t here today, talk a little about what not to bring. But he begins this whole conversation, I think, reminding his friends what they always bring wherever they are going. And that’s because what they carry with them in Jesus himself. Jesus, in his love for you, and in the baptism he’s extended to you, and in the way he has promised that you belong – you matter – and you have value – Jesus promises to also be with you wherever you go. So when you’re at school, Jesus is with you. When you are on vacation, Jesus is with you. When you are at home, Jesus is with you. And Jesus invites us to remember that we carry Jesus with us even if we don’t always sense his presence or realize he is with you. Jesus, though, promises that he is. And just like Jesus says you matter, we get to show others by listening to them, talking to them, getting to know them, by sitting with them when they’re sad, including them when we play games, and by choosing to work through our conflicts rather than just fight and yell – by being patient and kind and showing compassion – we get to be the ones who show others how they matter to Jesus too.