Faces of Easter V
As we move through the season of Lent, we’ve been sharing the Godly Play story we tell in Sunday School every year, the Faces of Easter. This story takes us, week by week, on a journey through special moments in the life of Jesus from infancy through adulthood, and brings us closer to the mystery of Easter. This week, share in the fifth part of the story, the one that tells of Jesus’s work with those in need of help and healing. If you didn’t have the opportunity to join us for Family Time this morning, or if you’d simply like to experience the story again, you can watch the “official” version of it here.
Then, together with your family, spend some time “wondering” about these questions:
* I wonder if you have ever come close to God?
* I wonder if you have ever felt far away from God?
* I wonder if there is anything in our house that we could bring to this story to help us tell it better?
Though this story is short, it includes two very big concepts: the parables of Jesus, and the act of coming close to those whom no one else wants to come close to. We wonder if your family can spend some time with these concepts in the coming week. With regards to the first, tell each other your favorite parables. In our Sunday School classroom, we have a number of golden boxes that help us tell and re-tell some of Jesus’s parables. The young people in your life might be able to tell you some of their favorites – and maybe you have some favorites you’d like to share with them. Tell them from memory, or from your Bible; if you need a refresher on which stories can be found in which books, there is a breakdown of all 42 parables here.
As for the second big concept, in these times when we still cannot come physically close to each other, your family can still reach out to someone who might be in need of that feeling of closeness. Send them an email or a letter, or give them a call. Be sure to consider reaching out not only to those you’ve been thinking about, but also those you HAVEN’T – your gesture of fellowship might mean even more to them. You can also talk about what it means to come close to “those no one else wants to come close to” – what acts of service can your family take part in that will benefit those members of our society who are the most overlooked and in need of help?
What parables has your family decided to tell this week? What family-friendly acts of service have you targeted that others might be able to contribute to as well? Share them with us on our Facebook page!
