Frogs
There was once a princess who lived in a
great palace. One morning she was walking in the palace gardens with her page
boy. As they got near the lily pond, suddenly they saw in the grass in front of
them a small green frog. Now the page boy didn’t like frogs: they looked slimy
and wet, and you never knew which way they were going to jump. So he said:
‘Quick, let’s get a stick and kill it.’
But the
princess, a wise young woman, stopped him. Instead she bent down and gently
picked up the very surprised little frog. And to the page boy’s horror she…
well, you know the rest of the story.
Frog number two. There was once a little
frog called Jesus. Well, he wasn’t really a frog, but there were
a lot of rich and powerful people who didn’t like him. They weren’t sure what
to make of him – or which way he was going to jump next. So they did just what
the page boy wanted to do: they killed him. But God, rather like the wise young princess
in the story, did something amazing. He bent down and gently lifted up the
little ‘frog person’ into new life.
Frog number three is actually lots of
little frogs because if you think about
it, not only was Jesus a sort of frog person, but he also had a lot of very
froggy friends. Little people that the more powerful people
wanted to bash, not with sticks – but with rules and regulations that made them
feel worthless and rejected. This happened a lot to people who were ill; people
who had got things wrong in their lives; and people who were poor.
But, unlike a lot of the powerful,
religious people, Jesus didn’t send them away. Instead he befriended them and,
no matter how frightened they were, he gently lifted them up and loved them
back into life. He respected them and showed them love and friendship. Just
like the princess – and just like God.
Frog number four
is millions and billions of little frogs.
These are ordinary people just like you and me. We’ve all got or we have had, mums. Many of us have children but even if we
aren’t mothers we do a lot of caring for other people. Sometimes mums can be a little bit like the
frogs in my story, they can be misunderstood, they want a kiss. Sadly there are also lots of children who are
misunderstood and just want a kiss as well.
Mothering Sunday reminds us all of the importance of a kiss and a hug
and telling each other that everyone is loved
So what does Jesus the Frog Person want us
to do about mums and children and indeed about everyone as everyone is
someone’s son or daughter. Maybe on this
Mothering Sunday he wants us to do what all good mothers would do – to treat others
with love and understanding. And, when we do that, we make an amazing
discovery. They don’t look like frogs any more. Instead, we discover they are
gifted and sensitive people made in the image of God. Just like you and me.
