The Good Bad Apple

(A Retelling of The Good Samaritan)

The Cast (in order of appearance)
Mr. Potato Head
2 Robbers (unnamed and dangerous)
The Badly Mashed Mr. Potato Head
Pastor Parsnip
Kathy Cuke
Andy Apple and his YAMaha 250

In The Bible (Luke 10:27), Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself." Watch this little play and see if you can decide who was a real neighbor.

Once upon a time, Mr. Potato Head was walking down the road, minding his own business and humming along to the tunes on his iPod, when who should turn up but a couple of robbers. They beat Mr. Potato Head and whipped him soundly, stole his iPod and all his money, and left him for dead on the side of the road .

A short while later, Pastor Parsnip happened to be going down the same road, on his way to the library to study for his Sunday sermon. When he saw the man lying on the side of the road, he didn't know what to do. He thought, "Oh dear. Look at that poor man! But God has called me to write a sermon, so I must be on my way," and he walked by on the other side.

Later, cute and oh-so-cool Kathy Cuke came to the same place as she was heading to choir practice . When she saw the man who had been beaten and mashed so badly, she was very concerned. "If only I hadn't just had my nails done! But I don't want to be late for choir practice!" And she, also, went by on the other side.

Some time later in the day, a young man came by on his YAMaha 250. VROOM VROOM. He was called a "Bad Apple" because of his tattoos and piercings and loud motorcycle ... not to mention his purple mohawk. When Andy saw the hurt man, he felt sorry for him. He carefully put Mr. Potato Head on his motorcycle and took him to the nearest hospital. VROOM VROOM. He asked the doctor to take care of the man and, if he didn't have insurance, he'd be back in a few days and pay the bill.

Now, which one of these 3 -- Pastor Parsnip, Kathy Cuke, or Andy Apple -- was a real neighbor to Mr. Potato Head?

Lettuce Pray
...

This was my Children's Message at Chestnut Grove United Methodist Church on April 3, 2011.