Year B - The Fifth Sunday of Easter (May 6, 2012)

Acts 8:26-40

e Display a map or globe on which to locate Ethiopia.  Display pictures of Ethiopia and Ethiopians.  Note your congregation’s or denomination’s connection to Ethiopia.  And, pray for people of Ethiopia today.

e Without Philip to explain what he was reading in the Isaiah scroll, the Ethiopian would never have understood it or learned about Jesus.  Teachers ARE important.  As the end of the school year ends, children are ready to recognize how important their teachers/coaches/mentors have been to them.  After exploring the difference Philip made, invite children (and all worshipers) to identify the teachers who have made a difference to them.  Offer prayers of thanksgiving for teachers, especially those who help us learn about God.

e When Philip met the Ethiopian, he faced a challenge.  He had to introduce this stranger to Jesus.  He started with what the man was reading in Isaiah, but went from there to tell the story of Jesus.  Give children paper, pencils and crayons with which to write or draw what they would tell someone who asked them “Who was Jesus?”  Take time to talk with them about their work as they leave the sanctuary.

e To honor Philip and the Ethiopian sing an African hymn.  “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us With With Your Love” is one good choice.

Acts 9:26-31 (Reading from the Roman Catholic Lectionary)

I was caught by this text on Textweek.com.  It  is the story of Barnabas introducing Saul to the Christians in Jerusalem who were  very reluctant to welcome him.  It is not included in the Revised Common Lectionary at all.  Instead, on The Third Sunday of Easter (Year C), Saul’s conversion is included with the follow-up story about Ananias’ taking him in as optional reading.  It is a real Easter story.  An old enemy becomes a friend and is welcomed ushering in an era of peace in the church.  The church in Jerusalem even arranges his escape when his preaching creates trouble for him.  There is also a connection to today’s texts about abiding in Christ and love within the community.  If you use it, I’d read the Damascus road story from a children’s Bible story book, then invite children to hear what happened next.

If most of your children are younger elementary schoolers, try “Saul Learns About Jesus” in The Family Story Bible, by Ralph Milton.  If most of the children are older read the more detailed account in The Children’s Illustrated Bible omitting the last two paragraphs.

Psalm 22:25-31

e This portion of Psalm 22 also appeared on the second Sunday of Lent.  Both Sundays this year fall on a first of the month which is a Communion Sunday in many congregations.  Go to The Second Sunday in Lent (Year B) for activities linking these verses to the Communion liturgy in which worshipers join all people of all times and all places in praising God.

e Add congregational “alleluias” to make this psalm an Easter responsive reading.

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Psalm 22:25 - 31

All:       Alleluia!

When your people meet,

        you will fill my heart with your praises, Lord,

     and everyone will see me keep my promises to you.

All:       Alleluia!

The poor will eat and be full,

        and all who worship you will be thankful and live in hope.

All:       Alleluia!

Everyone on this earth will remember you, Lord.

People all over the world will turn and worship you,

because you are in control,

the ruler of all nations.

All:       Alleluia!

All who are rich and have more than enough

will bow down to you, Lord.

All:       Alleluia!

Even those who are dying and almost in the grave

will come and bow down.

All:       Alleluia!

In the future, everyone will worship and 

         learn about you, our Lord.

People not yet born will be told,

“The Lord has saved us!”

All:       Alleluia!

Psalm from Contemporary English Version

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1 John: 4:7-21

Last week’s epistle insisted that Love is not what we feel but what we do.  This week John adds a few more ideas about Love.  Pick one or two to explore to highlight for the children.

e God is love.  Concrete thinking children (and lots of the rest of us) are more likely to hear this as “God is the most loving being in the world.”  Children are willing to accept this as a simple fact and move on to implications.

e No one has ever seen God, but we have seen Jesus.  So, if we want to know what love looks like, we look at what Jesus did and said.  To get to specifics recall stories about Jesus and/or display pictures of those stories.  After each one conclude, “That is love.”

e John uses a couple of arguments to get us to love others. 

We love because God first loved us.  Children hear this as “it is only fair if God loves us that we should love others.”

We love in order to become like Jesus and God.

No one can see God, but they can see us.  Our job is to be so loving that people look at us and see what God’s love is like.

e Verses 20-21 are clear and important to children.  “Those who say ‘I love God’ and hate their brothers or sisters are liars.”  The first step to exploring this with them is to define and name their familial brothers and sisters AND add everyone in the church as brothers and sisters AND add everyone in their school and community as brothers and sisters AND add everyone in the world as brothers and sisters.  Then, ask or ponder what it means to love each of those groups. 

e “There is no fear in love….” (verse 18) is probably the hardest idea to explore with children.  I’d save that one for the adults.

e There are lots of children’s books about love.  A few that might fit today are:

Horton Hears A Who, by Dr. Seuss, describes the love an elephant lavishes on Whos who live on a speck of dust.  The other animals at first ridicule him, then try to destroy the speck of dust, and finally cage him.  In the end, the Whos on the speck of dust make enough noise that the other animals hear them and tumble to the truth that “a person’s a person no matter how small.”  The book is too long to read in worship.  I’d briefly tell the beginning of the story, then turn to the pages about Horton chasing the bird across the hills and working though all the clovers in a huge clover field to find the Whos.  I'd conclude "That is love."

Miss Tizzy, by Libba Moore Gray, describes what an elderly eccentric lady did with the children of the neighborhood each day of the week.  Each day ends with “And the children loved it.”  When she gets very sick and must stay in bed, the children figure out how to do each of the things for her.  The book then concludes, “and she loved it.”  The book features a multi-racial cast of children around an African American Miss Tizzy.  Read it in a little over five minutes.  Read it to explore the ways Miss Tizzy loves the children and the children return the love.

And of course there is The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams.  It is trite from overuse, but fits this text exactly.  “'Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'"

e One of the ways we love each other is to pray for each other.  To help children pray for people they are concerned about, invite them to make a big scribble that makes big spaces.  In each space have them write the name of one person or group they for whom they wish to pray.  Then, instruct them to go back and decorate each person’s space with details and key words for that person.  This can be done with a pen or pencil, but colored pens add a strong dimension.  Give children a sheet of paper on which to work during the worship service.  Invite them to drop their prayer sheet in the offering basket as it is passed, tape to a rail at the front, pin it to a bulletin board set aside for that purpose, or take it home as a prayer reminder for the week.

For a fuller description of the practice of praying with colored pens, see Praying in Color: Drawing A New Path to God, by Sybil MacBeth.

John 15:1-8

e Urban children do not know much about pruning, unless their parents are gardeners.  The easiest way to help them get this story is to present a dead branch and ask if leaves or fruit will ever grow on this branch.  Pursue the discussion to the point that branches have to stay attached to the tree to stay alive.  Note that the same thing is true of vines.  The branches of vines curl up and die when cut from the vine.  Then challenge listeners to figure out what Jesus was trying to tell us as you read the text.

e Children don’t often hear the word ABIDE in everyday conversation.  If you will use it frequently in sermon and liturgy today, introduce it at the beginning of worship as the word of the day  - a la Sesame Street.  Display it on a large poster.  Translate it as “stay close to me” and/or “hang tight with me.”  Illustrate it with reference to reading everything you can and learning all the stats for a favorite athlete to learn to be like him or her or hanging out with an aunt or uncle you want to grow up to be just like.  Briefly suggest that today we will be talking about ABIDING with God and Jesus.  Identify specific ways we can hang out with God, Jesus and each other, e.g. worshiping, reading the Bible, taking care of people who need our help, etc. Encourage children to listen for ABIDE in the songs and prayers and readings today and to figure out what it means in each place it appears. 

e A variation on the scribble prayer described above, is to invite children to scribble the top of a fine, large tree.  Challenge them to write the names of people and groups in your church that they want to pray for today.  Encourage them to decorate each name with colored pens as they talk to God about that person or group. 

e If you show film clips in worship:

Find the scene in “The Empire Strikes Back”(1980) in which Yoda is training Luke Skywalker to be a Jedi.  Yoda says, "Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere. Yes, even between the land and the ship."  Yoda speaks of the Force, but the parallels to abiding in Christ are clear.

When Rafiki, the baboon, finds Simba in hiding, he shows him a reflection of himself in the lagoon and insists that he sees Simba’s father there.  Simba refuses to see his father, dismissing it as just a reflection of himself. Rafiki pushes on "Look harder, he lives in you." When Simba looks again he hears the voice of his father saying, “Simba, you have forgotten who you are.  You are more than you have become.  Remember who you are..."

e Songs about love that children know may be from the hymnal or may come from campfires.  All worshipers may enjoy singing them today.

“Love, Love, Love, the gospel in one word is love….”

“We Love Because God First Loved Us”

“For the Beauty of the Earth”  

Point out the love in verse 3 and challenge singers to listen for other references to love as they sing.

Year B - The Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 29, 2012)

	Catacomb of Callixtus - The Good Shepherd, from Art in the Christian Tradition,  a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.  http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54382 [retrieved March 24, 2012].

Catacomb of Callixtus - The Good Shepherd,
from Art in the Christian Tradition,
 a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.
 http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54382
[retrieved March 24, 2012].

The Fourth Sunday of Easter might be called Good Shepherd Sunday.  It always includes Psalm 23 and something from John about the Good Shepherd.  Go to Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year A) for background on children’s understanding of this image.

Acts 4:5-12

U This is the only non-shepherd reading for this day.  In it Peter gives the Council basically the same sermon he gave the crowd after healing the lame man in last week’s text.  Before reading either sermon it is essential to present the story of the healing.  Go to The Third Sunday of Easter (Year B)  for two suggestions about how to do this.

U Explore the image of Christ as the rejected stone that turned out to be the cornerstone in 4:11

Use children’s blocks to lay a foundation for a square building.  Start with a misshaped block at the corner letting it lead the walls off square.  Ponder the problem.  Then replace that cornerstone with one that is square and rebuild the sides of the foundation.  Having looked at the two cornerstones, reread 4:11 to see what Peter is saying about Jesus.

If you have a cornerstone in your church, display a large picture of it.  Tell how it works.  If it has a cross or other faith reference on it, point them out and note how they set the direction of the church.

After talking about cornerstones, sing “Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation.”  It is filled with language children will not understand, but begins with a reference to Christ the cornerstone.  Before singing, point out this reference and put the first verse into your own words.

Psalm 23

U Psalm 23 has already appeared several times in the Revised Common Lectionary Years A and B.  Use the links below to gather ideas from them.

Go to The Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year A) for a reading of the psalm thinking like a sheep and the catacombs painting of Jesus the Good Shepherd which is the first picture we have of Jesus.  The catacombs are narrow, twisting underground tunnels.  The walls are filled floor to ceiling with graves that have been dug out of them.  They are dark and spooky.  Imagine walking quietly through them with a small oil lamp to find Christian friends who are gathering to worship by a designated grave.  Listen for the clank of soldiers’ armor as you go.  Given this it is easy to imagine why someone painted on the ceiling a picture of Jesus as a strong young shepherd who would take care of them.

BTW - the image in the Year A post is a scan of a postcard I bought on my 1974 trip.  The image at the top of this page is the same painting, but comes with permission from the Vanderbilt University collection.

Go to The Fourth Sunday in Lent (Year A) for a child’s view of the usual Psalm 23 hymns, a coloring sheet idea, information about shepherding tools, and a reminder about cups that overflow.

Go to Year A -Proper 23 (28th Sunday in Ordinary Time) to explore the feasting image in the psalm and God’s promise to be with us even in the hard times.

U To help children pay attention to the verses of Psalm 23, display a different colored sheet of construction paper for each page.  The rainbow page is either the multi-colored sheet that comes in some packs of construction paper or a home-made sheet with stripes of all the other colors.  You could write the verse on the back of the sheet so that you can read from them as you display them.  After reading the whole psalm, go back to the rainbow page to ponder the truth that God is with us, caring for us like a good shepherd.

Yellow            The Lord is my shepherd…

Green              He… green pastures

Blue                 … beside still waters

Rainbow          He restores my soul

Brown             … in paths of righteousness

Black               … in the valley of the shadow…

White (table cloth)

… a table in the presence of enemies

Yellow             Surely goodness and mercy….

1 John 3:16-24

U If you have not used stickers recently, discuss John’s insistence that God wants us to love others.  Then, put a heart sticker on the back of each child’s hand reminding each of them that God wants them to love others.  Or, pass baskets of the stickers to the pews instructing people to put heart stickers on the backs of each other’s hands saying “God says to love other people.”

U Children’s version of 3:17-18:  If we have all we need and see another person who has nothing but do not share what we have, we cannot say we love God.  Love is not what we feel, but what we do.  God wants us to love each other with actions.

Children hear this literally which is appropriate.  The challenge to us as adults is to speak honestly and early about their responsibility to share with others.  Several years ago the local paper ran a series it called the Teen Distinguished Dozen.  Each day an article featured the service of one teenager in the community.  Every single one of those teens noted that they began serving others during elementary school.  We in the church should be helping all elementary school children develop the service mindset.  So talk literally about the verses with the kids in front of the adults.  Be ready with specific ideas for kids and their families.  Direct them to sacks printed with grocery lists for the local food bank.  Suggest that they make lunch for a Habitat building crew.  Send them to the Church World Service website (http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/PageServer?pagename=kits_main) to learn about the many kinds of disaster response kits needed by Church World Service.

John 10:11-18

U There are many ways to “lay down your life.”  Jesus allowed himself to be killed.  But we lay down our lives every time we set aside what we want to take care of the needs of others.  For example, when you set aside your game or book to play with a younger sibling so your parent has time to do something that needs to be done that is a way of “laying down your life.”  Children also need to hear Jesus’ insistence that if he lays down his life he can take it up again.  For them it says that giving up what you want once does not mean you will never get it or that you will always be called on to give up what you want.  Adults have learned that, but it takes a while for children to learn it.  This passage can help them.

U In “Babe” (full length DVD) there are several good shepherds.  Mr. Hoggett understands and cares for Babe, the runt piglet.  Fly, the sheepdog, comforts Babe as he settles into the barn and teaches him about the sheep.  Babe, the pig, is the main good shepherd.  If you project film clips during worship, there are several good scenes:

-          About halfway into the film an old sheepdog explains his view of his job and his disdain for the sheep.  He emphasizes the importance of letting them know who is boss.

-          Just past that there are several scenes in which Babe listens to the sheep and learns why they call all dogs “wolves” and why they hate them so.  He also learns that if you ask sheep politely, they will do what you ask.

-          The film ends with championship sheepdog trials.  In one scene, a dog herds the sheep by nipping at them.  Then Babe speaks to the sheep respectfully telling them what needs to be done and they do it.

U Use toy sheep, a cardboard pen and a small shepherd figure to demonstrate the shepherd calling the sheep by name as they go out into the field to graze under the care of the shepherd and later return to the sheepfold.  If you have a wolf figure, also demonstrate the shepherd coming between the sheep and the wolf rather than running away. 

If your congregation uses the Young Children and Worship program, borrow the figures for Story #39, “The Good Shepherd and the Wolf.”  Children who have been through the program will grasp more fully the program’s connection to worship in the sanctuary when they recognize this story that is told in both places.

Year B - The Third Sunday of Easter (April 22, 2012)

This is Earth Sunday as well as the Third Sunday of Easter.  If you are including care of the earth in worship, include one or more of the hymns and books below.

Hymns

“All Creatures of Our God and King” calls on all parts of the world God created to praise God using the Easter word “Alleluia!”

“All Things Bright and Beautiful” and “For the Beauty of the Earth” are songs about God’s world that many children know.

“Earth and All Stars” may be new to children, but especially older children enjoy all the specific descriptions of ways we use God’s creation.  It could be the basis of good discussion about our partnership with God in  caring for the earth.

Books

A Prayer Book for the Earth: The Story of Naamah, Noah’s Wife, by Sandy Sasso.  This midrash gives Noah’s wife the job of gathering seeds to take on the ark and then plant after the flood.  She sends the seed for the olive tree out with the dove instructing him to drop it in a good place. 

The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, describes a single Once-ler destroying the whole environment in order to convert the puffy tops of the Truffula trees into thneeds he could sell.  At the end he entrusts the single remaining tarfuffle seed to a young boy hoping he will plant, tend, and use it better than he had.

The Third Sunday of Easter Texts

The gospel and epistle readings for this week are hard to read together.  In the gospel the disciples (presumably including Peter and John) are confused and disbelieving.  In the epistle Peter and John have healed a lame man and are boldly defending Christ to the Council.  What is missing, of course, is Pentecost which comes between them.  Rather than try to explain that, I’d choose one or the other, not both for reading today.

Acts 3:12-19

This week’s reading is what Peter said to the crowd that gathered after he and John healed a lame man.  Next week’s reading is what he said before the Council the next morning.  It is pretty much “second verse same as the first, a whole lot louder and a whole lot worse.”  Either reading will require telling or reading the story of the healing that precedes both.  So, I would tackle the whole story (Acts 3:1 - 4:22) on one Sunday.  Since that is a long complicated reading, either:

Prepare a group to pantomime the story as it is read from the Bible.  The group could be an older children’s class, but a youth or adult group will offer more nuanced facial expression, especially during the Council meeting.  A good rehearsal with time to ponder how people felt and reacted at different points in the story will help the actors more fully appreciate what was going on and enable them to communicate that with their faces, posture, and gestures.  As a result, children in the congregation will understand the story more fully.  The pantomime requires a minimum of 7 actors, but the Temple crowd and the Council could include more as needed.

Or, turn to The Children’s Bible in 365 Stories, by Mary Batchelor, for a concise version.  “A Healing – and Trouble” (Story #340) can be read aloud in three minutes.  (If you don’t have this particular book, check out the children’s Bible story books already on your shelf.  But, do consider purchasing this one as an addition.  It is well worth the purchase price.)

Peter and John healed the lame man “in Jesus’ name.”  They were very clear with themselves, the crowd and the Council that they could not do that on their own.  Only Jesus had the power to heal the lame man.  They acted in Jesus’ name.  Explore how the phrase “in Jesus’ name” is used today.  Often we end prayers “in Jesus’ name.”  That is rather like saying “I’m with Jesus.”  We also do things that we know Jesus would want us to do “in Jesus name.”  Name some of things we do as individuals and as congregations “in Jesus’ name.”  Point out that after the resurrection, Jesus is counting on us to act and speak for him in the world.  Sing “Take My Life and Let it Be Consecrated” to dedicate yourselves to acting “in Jesus’ name.”

Since I am writing this just after the 10 Commandments were read on the Third Sunday of Lent, I also wonder about connecting to the commandment to use the name of God (and Jesus) appropriately.

NOTE ADDED WHILE PREPARING FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER:   Next week all the texts except the Acts text connect to love and good shepherd themes.  I'm not sure where that leads you, but it seemed worth knowing as you plan when/if to work with this text.

Psalm 4

The psalmist feels that his honor has been besmirched.  Children will not hear that as the psalm is read, but they know what it is like to be looked down on, dissed, discounted, overlooked, bullied, etc.  Especially near the end of a school year, those who for a variety of reasons do not feel successful at school, can feel hopelessly trapped and doomed.  It is no accident that most school shootings happen in the spring.  All children need to hear the psalmist claim that only what God thinks of them is important.  No teacher, bully, snobby classmate, or disloyal friend can define them.  Only God does that and God says, “I created you and love you.  You are not junk.”  The pastor at the university based church I attend, reminds all the students the Sunday before every exam week that their worth is not determined by any grade or any teacher’s evaluation.  Only God has the right to decide their worth and God has declared every one of them is loved and worthy.  We need to get that message to children as well.

Psalm 4:8 is probably the best verse of this psalm for children.  “I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety.”  Use it to celebrate the peace with which we can settle down to sleep at night.  Describe being tucked in with a story, a prayer, and lots of hugs.  Link it to living like God’s children (1 John 3:1) or to Christ’s gift of peace (Luke 24:36).

The Moon Shines Down, by Margaret Brown Wise, describes children settling into sleep all around the world.  Each description ends with “God bless the moon and God bless me, And God bless“…the children in that country.  Only a child snuggling in bed would want to read about all 10 places included in the book.  In worship, I’d choose five or six to read.

If children know the round “Dona Nobis Pacem,”  this would be a good time to ask a children’s group/class/choir to sing it in worship or to sing it as a whole congregation.

1 John 3:1-7

This writer takes up the psalmist’s message.  Who are we?  We are the children of God!  God created us and loves us.  No matter how other people treat us, we know that God loves us.  Period.  End of discussion.

If you are Presbyterian, this would be a good Sunday to introduce the first questions of the Children’s Catechism.  The first two questions may be enough for the day, but the first six might help you unpack John’s whole message.  If you are not Presbyterian, but have a children’s catechism, check it out.

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Question 1:  Who are you?

Answer:  I am a child of God.

Question 2. What does it mean to be a child of God?

Answer: That I belong to God, who loves me.

Question 3. What makes you a child of God?

Answer: Grace -- God's free gift of love that I do not deserve and cannot earn.

Question 4. Don’t you have to be good for God to love you?

Answer:  No. God loves me in spite of all I do wrong.

Question 5. How do you thank God for this gift of love?

Answer:  I promise to love and trust God with all my heart.

Question 6. How do you love God?

Answer:  By worshipping God, by loving others, and by respecting what God has created.

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Read Desmond Tutu’s beautifully illustrated children’s book, God’s Dream.  He insists that all children of all races are God’s children and that God dreams of them all getting along well.  (Can be read aloud in less than 5 minutes and is best presented with the pictures.)

Before singing “God, Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens” invite worshipers to open their hymnals and look at the words with you.  Read through the words, stopping to comment or put a few phrases into your own words.  Pay special attention to the phrases that describe “we your children.”  Verse 3’s “serving others, honoring You” and “Great Creator give us guidance till our goals and Yours are one” complete this prayer about living as God’s children. 

Luke 24:36b-48

Go to Ralph Milton's Rumors Blog for a reader’s theater script for this text.  Scroll down almost to the end of the post to “Scripture Story as Reader’s Theatre – Luke 24:36b-48.”  Either read the whole script or start with the biblical conversation between Jesus and the disciples.  Only two readers are needed to bring this conversation alive and grab the attention of the children.

This is a great story with which to explore what Jesus was like after the resurrection.  His friends recognized him (at least in this story they did).  But he was different.  He could appear inside a locked room.  But he wasn’t a ghost.  They could touch him.  He could eat a piece of fish.  His body was new and different.  But he was also the same old Jesus they had known.  He talked to them about everything that had happened and explained it to them.  It was and is very mysterious.  No one understands it fully.  Point out the details and enjoy the mystery.

After Lent the words repent and forgive should be at least a little familiar.  Today present them as a pair that belongs together.  One way is to do this is to write them in large letters on opposite sides of a piece of poster board.  Briefly define each word.  Repent means try to do better.  Forgive means it is OK when you mess up.  Then point out that it would be really scary to repent if there was no forgiveness.  It would be too scary to try anything we might get wrong.  Turning to the forgive side, note that because we have God’s promise that God forgives us when we mess up, we can try anything for God.  We are safe.  We can dare anything.

Easter hymns for children to sing after Easter Sunday:

“O Sons and Daughter, Let Us Sing!”

There are two sets of words for this.  One is meant to be sung with the story of Thomas.  Use the other set that has us sing of the women on Easter morning, the disciples meeting Jesus in the locked room and us worshiping together today.  There are still more Easter “Alleluias!” here for the non readers!

“Christ is Alive!”

This should really be titled “Christ is Alive TODAY!”  Point this out.  Read verse 2 putting its message into your own words.  Then, invite all to sing it.

“Up From the Grave He Arose!”

This is an especially good follow up to a discussion about what Jesus’ resurrected body was like.  Children enjoy the difference in the sad verses and loud upbeat chorus.  Emphasize the difference with music. 

Year B - The Second Sunday of Easter (April 15, 2012)

I have a friend who practices Holy Humor Sunday in his congregation on the Sunday after Easter.  I thought he invented it, but discovered he is part of a movement in which congregations are reclaiming a medieval practice of laughing at Satan’s defeat and reveling in Christ’s victory.  Proper Holy Humor Sunday worship services are filled with jokes, funny stories, even pranks and costumes.  The Easter reasoning for celebrating Holy Humor Sunday on the week after Easter is that “Humor is not the opposite of seriousness.  Humor is the opposite of despair.”(Conrad Hyers).  Google “Holy Humor Sunday” to find a plethora of links to all kinds of resources, including some complete liturgies.  Two of my favorite are:

“The Joyful Noiseletter” at LINK  http://www.joyfulnoiseletter.com/hhsunday.asp

The entry about this day in Ralph Milton’s blog “Rumors.”  Go to http://ralphmiltonsrumors.blogspot.com/2009/04/preaching-materials-for-april-19th-2009.html .  Scroll down to “Mirabile Dictu!” for wonderful collection of international jokes.  Also check out the reader’s theater idea for reading the gospel and epistle with a sense of humor.

If you have celebrated Holy Humor Sunday, tell the rest of us about it in Comment here or on the Worshiping With Children Facebook page.

Especially if you buried the Alleluia! for Lent, remember to include lots of them in today’s singing and praying.  If there was not time to allude to Alleluia! banners in Easter Sunday worship, do so today.  Practice saying the word together, define it, explain why it is on the banners and how long the banners will stay in place.

Connect Alleluia! to both Easter and Holy Humor Sunday with, Hallelujah, the Clown, by Kathy Long.  A court jester named Hallelujah tries to be good at a series of things (juggling, dancing, singing, etc) but everyone laughs at him.  In the end God tells him that his gift is making people laugh and that it is an important gift.

Acts 4:32-35

U  Because they will not get all tangled up in adult concerns about socialism, children can use these verses to explore the ways people in the church take care of each other.  Identify specific ministries of your congregation that are your way of doing what the first Christians did.  Interview one or more individuals who participate in some of these ministries.  

U  Read the passage just before the offering.  Note the connection between what the early Christians did and the offering you collect every week.  Tell about ways your congregation uses the money in the plate to love and care for others.  Then, take up the offering.

Psalm 133

U  Children love this psalm simply because it is the shortest psalm in the Bible.  To highlight that fact, invite worshipers to find the psalm in their pew Bibles.  Read it together.

U  Children are also grossed out by the idea of pouring oil over someone’s head and letting it run over his beard and down onto his collar.  YECH!  To get past this, explain that people in different times and places like different things.  The psalmist liked using oil on his head.  We prefer to rub good smelling lotion into our hands.  If the children are gathered around you, squirt a small bit of lotion into their hands for them to rub in as you talk.  Enjoy smelling one or two of the hands, then reread the psalm.

U  With older children try your hands at creating new psalms comparing living in peace and harmony as God’s people to things and activities we enjoy today.  For example,

Good smelling lotion on our hands

Sitting around a campfire on a cold night

A warm coat on a cool day

Running barefoot through fresh grass

1 John 1:1-2:2

U  This is the first of six consecutive epistle readings from 1 John.  So introduce the book.  Using the New Testament table of contents in your pew Bibles, identify the four books named John in the New Testament (5 books if Revelation includes John’s name).  Briefly, tell how the books are alike and different.  One is a gospel telling the story of Jesus.  The others are letters or communications to other Christians.  Explain that though we do not know much about the church to which John’s letters are addressed, we do know that they were having a fight.  We’re not 100% sure what they were fighting about, but we know that John’s suggestions to these fighting Christians make sense in any fight – then or now.

U  If you are going to deal with John’s ideas about the incarnation in this text, take time to explore the significance of the name Jesus Christ.  Point out that Christ is not Jesus “last name.”  Jesus is an earthly human name.  Jesus’ full earthly name would have been Jesus of Nazareth.  Christ is a heavenly name or title.  When we speak of Jesus Christ we are saying that Jesus was both fully human and fully God.  

U  If verses 7 and 8 (If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.   If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.)are used regularly in your prayers of confession, highlight them today.  Point out where, how and why you use them.  Describe every worshiper in the congregation as a sinner coming with sins to admit to God.  Walk through your ritual – the prayer of confession, maybe silence for personal confession, assurance of pardon and congregational response.  Use some of John’s ideas in this text to explain what each part of the liturgy means.  Then, invite worshipers to join you confessing your sins to God and hearing about God’s forgiveness. 

John 20:19-31

JESUS MAFA. Jesus appears to Thomas, from Art in the Christian Tradition,
a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.
http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48302
 [retrieved March 8, 2012].

U  This text is the gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Easter in all three years of the lectionary cycle.  (Other readings vary from year to year.)   Go to Second Sunday of Easter (Year A) to find suggestions for linking the forgiveness in this story to the forgiveness phrases in the Lord’s Prayer, a great quote from Laurel Dykstra, and suggestions for using some great art depictions of Thomas and Jesus.

U  This passage is not that long, but a lot of different things go on.  To help children follow it, try the following group reading

? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ?

John 20:19-29

Reader One (probably you) invites the children to come forward to help with the gospel reading.  Imagine with them that they are the disciples on Easter Sunday  night hiding out in a locked upper room, wondering about what the women said about Jesus’ tomb being empty, and still afraid the soldiers would come for them too.

Reader One:  When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Thomas joins the group off to one side to read this line.  Then sits with the group as Reader One continues.

Thomas Reader: But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

Reader One:  A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him,

Thomas Reader:  “My Lord and my God!”

Reader One:  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

New Revised Standard Version

? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ?

U  This passage offers several clues to what Jesus was like after the resurrection – he can appears inside a locked room, he can be touched (he is not ghostly), he still has the wounds, and still loves them and explains what is going on to them.  Next week he will eat fish.  Children are curious about all this.  Take time to ponder with them what they think Jesus was like after the resurrection, being open to new ideas and affirming the mysterious part of it all.

Either include this discussion/reflection in the sermon.  Or, introduce it before reading the scripture.  In the latter case listeners are instructed to listen for clues about Jesus after the resurrection raising a hand each time they hear one.  In an informal setting stop at each one to clarify the clue and ponder it briefly.

U  If want to encourage children to ask their questions, we must not label Thomas a doubter.  No amount of explaining can make doubter into a positive adjective – especially in this story.  So describe Thomas as a curious person who wanted to see for himself what others had already seen.  Recall what it is like when everyone is talking about an exciting event that you were not at.  Insist that Jesus welcomed Thomas’ questions and ours.  There is no honest question God/Jesus cannot handle.

In describing Thomas, remember that he was the disciple who cared enough to interrupt Jesus when he did not understand what Jesus was saying (John 14:5).  He really wanted to understand Jesus.  Thomas was also the one who after telling Jesus he was nuts to go to Jerusalem where his enemies were out to get him, replied to Jesus’ insistence that he was going anyway, “Let us go and die with him” (John 11:7-16).  He was that loyal.  Finally, upon seeing Jesus’ wounds after the resurrection, Thomas replies, “My Lord and my God!”  That was his statement of faith.

Thomas wasn’t the only confused, questioning disciple after Easter.  List the responses of Mary, Peter, John, and the others as they encounter the risen Christ.  Everyone was so confused that they were frightened. 

U  To celebrate Thomas’ questions turn this into Questions Sunday.  Collect questions about the Easter stories and God from the whole congregation.  Take them verbally or invite people to write them on pieces of paper to put in the offering plate.  Today read through the questions.  Celebrate them.  Elaborate on them adding related questions.  Even, ask for clarification on questions.  Do NOT answer any of them – even if you can.  Instead promise to deal with them during the coming weeks.  If there is high interest in this, you might even print the questions in the newsletter or on the website.  As you work through the Easter season, point to the question/s that you are working with at any given point.

I know there are some good books about God questions children ask, but can’t think of any right now.  Someone out there, speak up!!  OK what about Why Did God Make Bugs and Other Icky Things, by Kel Groseclose?

In this short passage Jesus gives the disciples (and us) two Easter gifts (the Holy Spirit and peace) and one Easter task (forgiving others as God has forgiven us).

U  If your congregation regularly passes the peace in worship, before you do so today connect the ritual with this story.  We are being like Jesus passing peace to other people.  We don’t just say “Hi.”  We say, “The peace of God be with you.”  It is a wish or prayer for the other person.  We can say it because we know God loves and forgives both of us.  Then invite people to pass the peace to their neighbors.

U  Go to Second Sunday of Easter (Year A) for ideas about tying “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” to Jesus’ Easter task of forgiving others.