The Second Sunday in Lent
March 1, 2026
On March 1, Ellie prepared a puppet sermon. Here is the script:
Ellie: Did you hear that John just said that God is speaking to us all the time?
All: yes
Ellie: Do you know what God’s voice sounds like?
All: no!
Ellie: Do you think it sounds like a man’s voice yelling down from the sky like your dad yelling down the stairs? Maybe it does to some people. Do you think it sounds like the wind, where ‘you can hear where it blows but don’t know where it came from’ like it says in the scripture Trish read? Maybe to some people.
To me, it actually usually sounds like my own voice coming from within.
But if God’s voice sounds like yourself, how do you know when to listen? Do you ever feel like you get in your own way of hearing God’s voice?
All: yes!
Ellie: Sometimes, I know something in my heart before I’m willing to admit it to myself. But it can be easier to accept it if it feels like it’s coming from outside me, from someone else. People use all sorts of things to work with what I’m talking about; writing in a journal, talking to an empty chair… but my favorite thing to use is puppets.
Puppets can help me figure out what ‘myself’ is saying.
Here are some examples of puppets that I made. Who knows how puppets work?
**demonstration of rod puppets**
People have been making puppets for tens of thousands of years. The oldest puppets we know of actually represent deities!
This morning, I’d like to demonstrate how I use puppets to talk to God. But first, I want you to know you can try this at home, too! You already have puppets at home, right?
All: no….
Ellie: No? Well then let’s get creative about it…
**demonstration of how coffee filters could be a puppet**
It’s natural for humans to assign character to everything. When you say “the forks live in that drawer” or “my computer doesn’t want to work today,” you’re assigning character to those inanimate objects.
Well, if you don’t have coffee filters, I bet everyone here has this at home..
**pulls out two rolls of toilet paper, demonstration of how toilet paper rolls can look like a puppet**
One of my favorite puppeteers, Bradley Freeman, says that a puppet is “a rough sketch of a soul” and that a good puppet is “a rough sketch of your soul.”
Now let me introduce you to the puppet I brought with me as a special guest to our pulpit today.
**Rosie the monkey peeks out of the basket, timidly waves hello**
All: ahhh, hi!
Ellie: Who knows how this kind of puppet works? There aren’t rods like the earlier ones. I put my hand inside, and if I want my puppet to talk, I talk, and if I want my puppet to move, I move my hand, right? Does it feel like I’m ruining the magic by telling you this?
All: yes/no
Ellie: I don’t think I am. In fact, I think it makes it even more magical to know its you in there because I guarantee your puppet will still say and do things that surprise you
**Rosie pats Ellie’s shoulder**
Ellie: Since it’s you giving the puppet voice and personality, interacting with it can reveal something about yourself to you. The magic of a puppet is that they reflect you, or your soul if we agree with Bradley, back to you.
So now I’m ready to do my demonstration of how I use puppetry to hear God’s voice from within me. Rosie, do you think you can help?
**Rosie nods nervously**
Ellie: One more thing before we start. Did you all hear the bit in the scripture Trish read that said something about adults being born again as children? It said “what is born of the spirit is spirit” so I’d like to invite all of you to be born into this moment with the spirit of children, and if you ever do try this at home however feels right to you, consider entering that experiment with the same spirit as well.
Ok, ready?
**all nod**
Ellie: Rosie?
**Rosie nods**
Ellie: I said this was a demonstration of how you can use puppets to talk to God, right? So should we ask her something only God would know? Hmmm what would you want to ask God…
**Rosie leans in expectantly**
Ellie (to audience): Ok I’ve got it
Ellie (to Rosie): Can God make a boulder so heavy that God himself can’t lift it?
**Rosie: tilts her head in thought, slowly turns to the audience, gulps.**
Ellie: Ok ok scratch that, because Rosie isn’t a fortune teller, she’s just me, remember? **gestures to the arm that’s controlling Rosie**
I believe that God is part of me, too. And when I pray to God, I’m not asking some mythical being to tell me something I don’t already know, what I’m asking for is the clarity and trust to be able to hear what I already do know. It’s just easier if it feels like it’s coming from someone else.
So let’s try something else. The other day, I made a big mistake and it really hurt someone’s feelings…. So maybe I’ll ask her…
Ellie (to Rosie): What do you think I should do?
**Rosie: stands up, prepares herself, clears her throat, opens her mouth, and… **squeak**
**tumbles into Ellie, hiding her face, feeling embarrassed**
Ellie: Oh! Are you feeling shy?
**Rosie nods**
Ellie (to Rosie): Is it because you’ve never done this before?
Ellie (to audience): neither have I! I’ve never actually used puppets in front of an audience before. I’m feeling like it’s harder to hear your inner voice when you’re in front of a room of people watching you…
Earlier, I said that puppets reflect things about you back to you. Maybe Rosie is acting shy because that’s how I feel.
Do you know the golden rule?
All: nod, yes
Ellie: It says to treat others how you would want to be treated. Well I think that at this church, we are pretty good at being kind to others. I usually am. But I sometimes find it harder to be as kind to myself.
When Rosie acts sad or scared, I see her like a sweet baby monkey and I find myself wanting to comfort her. And then I remember that I’m inside her, and it makes me consider how I would also like to be comforted.
Sometimes, the thing getting in the way of being able to hear my inner voice is that it doesn’t feel safe to come out, which Rosie showed me.
So what can we do to feel safer? Let’s try taking a deep breath
Rosie and Ellie: **deep breath**
All: **deep breath**
Ellie (to Rosie): I feel a little better! Do you?
**Rosie nods**
Ellie: So about that mistake I made.. It really hurt someone’s feelings and I feel so bad about it that I don’t want to tell anyone. I’m scared that if I talk about it, they’ll be mad at me.
**Rosie is reproachful**
Ellie: Hm, If they hurt my feelings, I think I’d want them to apologize. I’d want to know if they felt sorry. Ok Rosie, I think that’s what I’ll do, I think I’ll go say sorry!
**Rosie nods confidently**
Ellie: Thanks, Rosie
**Rosie hugs Ellie**
Ellie (to audience): You might say that Rosie didn’t say anything new to me, actually she didn’t say anything at all, and that I came to this conclusion all on my own. You’d be exactly right!
Sometimes, listening to God is listening to yourself, and you need to take time to make yourself comfortable enough for that to happen.
On a recent call, I heard Fern say that the power of being listened to is that you had the answers all along, they just didn’t come to the surface until you had the conversation.
For me, puppetry is a great technique to use for that.
It’s a universal language, and a really old one.
A good puppet will help you see your own thoughts, answers, and truths you didn’t even know you had. And that might feel a lot like hearing God.
Thank you.
And thanks, Rosie!
**Rosie and Ellie high five**