Frogs

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.