The gospel reading for the
Second Sunday of Easter is the same every year of the lectionary cycle. It is also the key text of each Sunday. Rather than list links to other years, I’ve
gathered all the resources here and added one or two more. So there is no need to check out Years B and
C for this rich day.
+ 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 Joyful Noiseletter - Holy Sunday.
Go to the entry for this day on Ralph Milton Rumors Blog. 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 Alleluias 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.
The Texts
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
This sermon is long and deals
with generalities which are hard for children to follow. When the gospel includes not one but two
stories that interest children, I’d be inclined to work with those texts and
leave this one for the adults.
Psalm 16
+ On the Second Sunday of Easter turn this psalm into a responsive
reading of short praises separated by congregational “Alleluia”s. For the sake of keeping focused on Easter
praises I have selected praises that seem to especially fit Easter. Children are more likely to catch the focused
praises as they add their alleluias to each one than they are to hear the psalm
read without interruption.
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Selected
Verses from Psalm 16
One: I say “Only you are my Lord!
Every
good thing I have is a gift from you.”
All: Alleuia!
One: Your people are wonderful,
and they make me happy,
All: Alleuia!
One: You, Lord,
are all I want!
You
are my choice,
and you keep me safe.
You
make my life pleasant,
and
my future is bright.
All: Alleuia!
One: I praise you, Lord,
for being my guide.
Even
in the darkest night,
your teachings fill my mind.
I
will always look to you.
All: Alleuia!
One: You won’t leave me in the grave
or let my body decay.
All: Alleuia!
One: You have shown me the path to life,
and
you make me glad by being near to me.
Sitting
at your right side,
I
will always be joyful.
All: Alleuia!
Selected verses from CEV
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1 Peter 1:3-9
Children will not understand
all the abstract language of this passage as it is read and most of its message
is beyond their understanding. I can
think of two possible ways for them to connect with it.
+ Point out that this is a letter Peter wrote to
Christians living in what is now Turkey two thousand years ago. Then read or tell in your own words verses 3
and 6.
Let us give thanks to the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by
raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope. Be glad about this, even though it may now be
necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you
suffer. (TEV)
Briefly
describe the persecution Peter’s readers were facing and how Peter was trying
to encourage them. Then, imagine or ask
for a
list of people today who might like to receive Peter’s encouraging letter. People of the Ukraine and families of those
on the missing Malaysian airliner come to my mind this morning. If worshipers join in the conversation expect
to hear as well about individuals in tough situations. Close the conversation by restating or
rereading the two verses.
Read
verses 8-9 as a follow up on the story of Thomas to recognize the fact that
though we cannot actually touch Jesus as Thomas did, we still believe as Thomas
did.
John 20:19-31
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
! ? !
? ! ? ! ?
! ? ! ? !
? ! ? !
? ! ? !
? ! ? !
? ! ? !
? ! ? !
? ! ? !
Or
+ Invite
children forward for the back story before hearing the gospel read:
The disciples were behind
locked doors because they were afraid, embarrassed and ashamed. Recall some of their names and what they had
done as Jesus died. Then note that they
were afraid of what Jesus would say to them about all their desertions if he
really were alive again. They were
afraid the soldiers would come for them like they had for Jesus. And, if the women were wrong and Jesus was
still dead, they were afraid to face people who now knew that they had been
wrong about Jesus. They had been so
sure, so loud in proclaiming Jesus and were apparently so wrong. They did not want to see anyone ever again. That is why they were hiding in locked
room. Then read the story from the big
Bible. After reading it, point out that
Jesus did not say, “What happened? Where
were you? You screwed up!” He said, “Peace.” In other words, “It’s OK. I understand.
I forgive you.” Imagine how they
felt when they heard that.
+ 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 of reflection in the sermon. Or, it could be introduced before reading the
scripture. In this 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.
Forgiveness
and Peace
+ 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).
+ Jesus’ forgiveness and call to
the disciples to forgive in this story provide another opportunity to highlight
and explore the Lord’s Prayer petition “forgive our debts/trespasses/sins, as
we forgive…” Write “forgive us
our debts/trespasses/sins” on one poster strip and “as we forgive our debtors/those
who trespass or sin against us” on a second poster strip. Present them first in the order they appear
in the Lord’s Prayer. Then connect the
first strip to Jesus forgiving the disciples on Easter evening and the second
strip to his command that they forgive others.
Flip the order of the phrases and point out that we often have to pray
this prayer backwards when we have someone to forgive. Note how hard it is to forgive people who
have treated us badly. The only way we
can do it is by remembering how Jesus forgave the disciples and forgives us.
+ Create a responsive prayer in
which a worship leader describes situations in the world and in personal lives
that need forgiveness and the congregation responds with “forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.” Pray this
prayer after having explored it’s meaning in light of today’s story.
Thomas
 |
| Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da, 1573-1610. The Incredulity of Saint 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=54170 [retrieved March 13, 2014]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: The_Incredulity_of_Saint_Thomas_by_Caravaggio.jpg. |
+ There are two especially
interesting paintings of Jesus and Thomas.
Show one or both of them. Look
first at Thomas’s face and imagine what he is thinking and feeling as he
touches Christ’s body. Then, look at the
faces of the other disciples and imagine what they are thinking and
feeling. (I suspect they are glad Thomas
asked his question because they really wanted to know the same thing but were
afraid to ask. It does take courage to
ask some questions and Thomas had it.)
 |
| 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 13, 2014]. |
Both
of these paintings can be downloaded at no cost when no used to make
money. Click on the link under each
picture.
+ The story of Thomas is important to children
who already ask lots of questions about everything and to those who will ask deep
questions as they get older. If we 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.
It
would also be possible to broaden the scope of questions to include all
questions about God and God’s world.
Pondering these might even become a summer sermon series. Some questions children ask include:
Why
didn’t you make me taller or prettier or smarter or…..?
How
can God pay attention to everyone in the world at every minute?
Why
did you let that (awful thing – like someone dying) happen?
Why
don’t you make this (wonderful thing – like a sick person getting better)
happen?
Why
can’t I see you or at least hear your actual voice like people in the Bible
did?
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