P is for Punch

Matt 5:43-45
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

It was the second day of school at Bunny Hill Elementary, and already there was trouble.

"Miss Rabbitski, Hu-Hu-Hubert dumped all my crayons out of the b-box." Ameila sobbed, elbowing her way through the other grade-four rabbits to the teacher’s desk.

"That Hubert! He’s so dumb! Yesterday, he tripped me when were playing ‘Duck, Duck, Goose’ and then laughed when I started crying," said Frances behind her.

"I know," moaned Reginald. "I saw him stick his tongue out at Miss Rabbitski!"

"Really? When?" Edgar asked eagerly, pushing his glasses back on his nose.

"When she put Hubert in the corner for pulling everything out of Donald’s desk," Nathaniel said, throwing his paint-shirt into a box.

"Well, I wish he weren’t in our class!" Amelia snapped, looking pointedly at Hubert. He sat in the corner -- a pencil in each long ear -- making faces at anyone who would look at him. As Miss Rabbitski suddenly took him by the hand, the pencils clattered to the floor. The children saw his eyes and mouth open very wide as he was marched out of the room.

They ran to the door, peering down the hall.

"Wow--Miss Rabbitski must be really mad," said Reginald, watching as Miss Rabbitski led Hubert into a side room at the end of the hall.

"Really? How do you know?" asked Edgar, pushing his glasses back on his nose.

"Because, silly, this is the first time anybody in our class has had to go to the principal’s office this year," exclaimed Frances knowingly.

Later, at recess, the same grade- fours gathered outside near the swings.

"That Hubert!" Amelia said, "Why did he have to come to our school anyway?"

"I could just punch him," said Nathaniel, kicking fiercely at a weed.

"Would you really? asked Edgar. "I would just stick out my tongue at him when he wasn’t looking."

"Yeah, who needs him," said Frances.

"What do you think, Reginald? Are you with us or not?" asked Amelia, hands on her hips.

"Well..." began Reginald hesitantly.

"Well? Well? Make up your mind!" Frances said impatiently.

"I don’t think this is right." said Reginald forcefully, "I don’t think this is what Jesus would do."

"What would Jesus do? What would Jesus do?" said Amelia disgustedly. "I hear that all the time in chapel and in church. What difference does it make? I say let’s get him back!"

The children were silent.

"I guess Jesus wouldn’t have punched anybody," said Nathaniel after thinking a moment.

"And he wouldn’t have stuck out his tongue, either," admitted Edgar.

"Why don’t we think of something we could do to help him. Maybe instead of punch... maybe we could pray for him." said Reginald. "P for punch, P for pray!"

"Yeah, and take the second letter, U...it could be....Understanding -- try to be Understanding him. Maybe he’s mad, or...or sad about something," added Edgar.

"N could be for Nice." Frances spoke next. "We could do something nice for him, like share our felts with him at art time."

"C...is for...Care," said Nathaniel. "We could show him we care if he has someone to play with or eat lunch with."

"What about you, Amelia? What do you say for H?" asked Reginald.

"Well...." said Amelia reluctantly, "H is for.....Hit." Then, as the other rabbits groaned, she quickly added, "Just kidding....H is for Help. Maybe we could...help him fall over a chair."

"AMELIA!!!" the rabbits yelled in unison.

"I’ll be serious this time. We could help him with his spelling. He’s really bad at spelling. Since I’m so good at it, I could help him." said Amelia proudly.

"Let’s go find him right now," said Reginald. Everyone dashed off.

"Hey...wait for me!" yelled Edgar, hopping quickly after them.

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