The Magnanimous Heart of Lanello Aesop Sunday Service Children s Story

Transcription

1 The Magnanimous Heart of Lanello Aesop Sunday Service Children s Story Time: Ten minutes depending on storyteller delivery and children s responses. Good morning and welcome. We also welcome all the children and families on the broadcast. Today we celebrate the ascension of our beloved Lanello. Mark L. Prophet was born on December 24, 1918 and made his ascension in 1973 from Colorado Springs, CO. He was an anointed messenger of the Great White Brotherhood. He founded The Summit Lighthouse in 1958 under the direction of the Ascended Master El Morya. He and his twin flame, our beloved Guru Ma, gave us the wonderful teachings of the ascended masters and taught us about our I AM Presence, Christ Self and threefold in our heart. They gave us teachings on how we can become ascended masters, too. To honor Lanello today, we are going to hear about one of his embodiments, Aesop. Are you familiar with that name? (Pause.) Yes, he is the creator of the wonderful fables we enjoy so much. Guru Ma told us that if we want to put on Lanello s mastery, we must learn about his previous incarnations. She said that to know just about the facts is not enough. To truly understand the essence of a virtue or an attainment or the heart fire of an ascended master, we must go back to the point where the virtue was forged and won, where the 1

2 soul demonstrated courage, fearlessness, where a particular gift from God, unique in that lifetime, was outplayed to its fullest. As we listen to our story today, see if you can recognize the virtues and attainment that Aesop had. Let s listen to our story now. Aesop According to legend, Aesop was born mute, meaning he wasn t able to speak. He was small in size and his body unpleasant to look at. He was a Greek slave, and although his master and others first saw him as a fool, they discovered that he had wisdom far greater than theirs. It was this expression of the Christ mind that eventually won Aesop his freedom. We can see this wisdom in his fables as well as in stories about his life. As one story goes, some of Aesop s fellow slaves decided to play a trick on him. Let s eat some of our master s figs and then blame it on Aesop, said one. Yes, he will not be able to defend himself as he cannot speak and he is slow in thinking, replied another. So, the two slaves took some of the master s figs. When the master discovered this, he roared, Who ate my figs? The slaves responded, Sir, it was Aesop who stole your figs and ate them. However, Aesop, although he could not speak, managed to find a way to prove his innocence. With gestures, he indicated that he wanted 2

3 a basin of warm water brought to him. He then drank it and coughed up all that was in his stomach, showing that he had not eaten yet that day. Then he motioned to the two slaves to do the same, thus exposing their unkind trick. You see, the two thieves thought they could trick Aesop. They judged him by his outer appearance and not by his inner attainment because they were limited in their own heart development. After this incident, Aesop returned to work in the fields at which point two men approached him. Dear Sir, we are lost and tired and hungry. Can you help us? Aesop was happy to help and led them to the shade of a tree and brought them some meat, fruit and water. He bade them to rest and then set them on the correct path. Thank you for your kindness, they said as they continued on their journey, rested and well fed. Later that day after working many hours in the hot sun, Aesop took a nap and fell asleep and had a dream. In this dream he heard a voice thanking him for his kindness to strangers. As a reward his voice would be restored and he would receive the gift of storytelling. Do you know what happened when he woke up? (Pause) He could speak! From that point on, his stories were passed down orally, by word of mouth, from generation to generation. Only many centuries later were they written down. In another incident, Aesop s master sent him on an errand to clean the baths. A magistrate and his aids happened to be passing on the same road and he approached Aesop. Where are you going? he asked. You see, it was unusual to see a slave walking alone, like a free man along the street. 3

4 Aesop answered, "I don't know." What do you mean, you don t know? demanded an annoyed magistrate. He ordered his men to take Aesop to prison. As he was being taken away Aesop replied, "You see, I told the truth. I didn't know I was going to prison, today." So amused by this comment, the magistrate let Aesop go. Many years later, because of his wit, humor and Christ wisdom, Aesop s master released him as a slave and he became a free man. CONCLUSION: What virtues and attainment do you think Aesop had? (Allow children to answer.) Yes, wisdom, kindness, courage, the mind of Christ. The entire life of Aesop was to expose that which was unreal in our thinking and behavior. He was able to do this in a humorous way through stories that mock those proud and conceited parts of people. His stories taught us morals or lessons of life that help us connect with our Real Self. Let us end today by listening to our beloved Guru Ma, Lanello s twin flame, read an Aesop fable called Father and Son. After reading it, she talks about Aesop s legacy, meaning his stories, and she gives us the main moral of all his stories. We will then rise and end by saying 3x together, Hail, Lanello! Play excerpt. (1:49 min.) Then stand and recite, Hail Lanello! Thank the children for sharing in the story today. 4

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12 Permission is granted to copy and share this lesson in its entirety, including all copyright and contact information. This lesson may not be sold or used in any way to gain profit. Published by Montessori International. Copyright 2017 Summit Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. 12