Sunday, March 26, 2017

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Year A

Fifth Sunday in Lent


Images


Life of men


Points to note


We have returned to using the Gospel reading.  The account of the raising of Lazarus has a vividness that can only be captured by an eye-witness.  The richness of detail and action will also appeal to children.  To be viable as a children story however, an adapted short form of the reading is used.

The imagery used for the last three Sundays centres around the baptism.  For this Sunday, the imagery is rather abstract, that of life.  It is, of course, the ultimate goal of baptism.  An appropriate object, if one has been used in the last two Sundays, would be a flower. 

Much of the symbolism of Lent is lost on anyone who lives in the tropics.  Spring, the meaning of the word ‘Lent’, is the season when seemingly dead trees that have shed its leaves in winter come back to life and flowers blossom.  Spring is also the time when many animals like sheep and rabbits have their young.  If this is explained to the children, care must be taken to ensure that the children do not get confused or lose their orientation.


Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
Who ever believes in me will never die.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

Reading
Explain to the children that Lazarus was a close friend of Jesus and he had two sisters, Mary and Martha.  Do they remember any story about them?  Refer to Lk 10:38-42, if necessary.

The Lord be with you.
All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John
(Jn 11: 1-45)
Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus sent this message to Jesus, “Lord, the man you love is ill.”  On receiving the message, Jesus said, “The sickness will not end in death but in God’s glory.”  Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, but yet when he heard that Lazarus was ill he stayed where he was for two more days before saying to the disciples, “Let’s go.”

On arriving at Bethany, Jesus found that Lazarus had died and had been in the tomb for four days already.  When Martha heard that Jesus had come she went to meet him and said, “If you had been here, my brother would not had died, but now I know that, even now, whatever you ask God, he will grant you.”  Jesus said:
       “I am the resurrection and the life.
       Anyone who believes in me will live even if he dies,
       and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
       So you believe this?”

“Yes Lord,” she said.  Mary then went to Jesus, and as soon as she saw him she threw herself at the feet of Jesus, saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not had died.”  At the sight of her tears, Jesus said with a sigh that came straight from the heart, “Where have you put him?”  They said, “Lord, come and see.”  Jesus wept; and the Jews present said, “See how much he loved him!”  But there were some who remarked, “He opened the eyes of the blind man, could he not have prevented this man’s death?”  Still sighing, Jesus reached the tomb; it was a cave with a stone to close the opening.  Jesus said, “Take the stone away.”  Martha said to him, “Lord, by now he will smell; this is the fourth day.“  Jesus said, “Have I not told you that  if you believe you will see the glory of God?”  So they took away the stone.  Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and prayed:
       “Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer.
       I knew indeed that you always hear me,
       but I speak for the sake of all these who stand round me,
       so that they may believe that it was you who sent me.”

When he had said this, he cried in a loud voice, “Lazarus, here! Come out!”  The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound with bands of stuff and a cloth round his face.  Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, let him go free.”

Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what he did believed in him.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.


Dialogue

When you look at an egg, does it look alive?  Helps if you have an egg handy.  Make sure it is hard boiled of course.  What happens if the mother hen sits on it for three weeks?  Discuss how things that look dead can come to life.  Any other examples?

In the reading, was Lazarus dead?  Stress that Lazarus was dead for four days by the time Jesus arrived.  He was bound up like a mummy and place in a tomb.  Explain that the tomb was not like the cemeteries that we have.  It was a cave with a huge boulder rolled over its opening as a door. 


Jesus seemed to have taken his time to arrive at the home of Lazarus.  This was to make sure that he had a dead body to bring back to life so that everybody could see God’s glory.  If he had arrived early and Lazarus was still alive, he would only need to heal him and that wouldn’t be that great a miracle.  The Jews believed that the soul of a dead person will hang around the dead body for three days before finally going to the place of the dead.

How did Jesus bring Lazarus back to life?  By calling him out of the tomb.  Note the miracle within the miracle --- dead people cannot hear but Lazarus did.

Jesus called himself the resurrection and the life.  What did he mean by that?  Discuss how Jesus said that those who believe in him will never die but will live forever.  Explain that Jesus has promised us eternal life in Paradise.  For children less easily satisfied, you may need to use images of misery for death and images of happiness for life.  If you have the time, you may wish to explain the other symbolisms in the reading as found in the adults leaflets but make sure they are not beyond the children’s capacity to understand.

Discuss the significance of new life in baptism.  Recapitulate the lessons of the last two Sundays.  During baptism by immersion, the person to be baptised is immersed under water and re-emerges as a new person with a new life, a Christian.  After being baptised at the Easter midnight mass, the newly baptised neophyte lights his candle from the Paschal candle.  You may wish to refer to previous weeks’ leaflets.  Also we all get Easter eggs, eggs to symbolise new life; and Easter bunnies, rabbits having their young in spring.
BAPTISMAL PROMISES
Do you reject sin, so as to live in the freedom of God’s children?
I do.
Do you reject the glamour of evil, and refuse to be mastered by sin?
I do.
Do you reject Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness?
I do.
Do you believe in God, the father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
I do.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
I do.
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
I do.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Fourth Sunday in Lent

Year A
Fourth Sunday in Lent


Images

Light of the world


Points to note

The imagery used for this series of Sundays starting last week centres around the baptism.  For this Sunday, the imagery is that of light.  (Last week's was water and next week is life)  You may wish to have a candle as the centrepiece during your session, but it must not be used as symbolic of anything.  Do not light it as the light of Christ.  Do not light it for the reading.  Do not light the Paschal candle.  Anticipating the symbolism of Easter will only dilute the impact of the Easter midnight mass.  Use the candle only to illustrate the ideas that you are trying to get across.  You may use last year’s Paschal candle.


The second reading in the Missal is not that easy to follow.  I have greatly simplified the language so that even adults can follow it.  The reading, like many of Paul’s letters, deal with concepts.  Fortunately, the concepts are quite basic and can be quite easily reduced to common everyday occurrence.


Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel
There is no acclamation as the Gospel is not read.

Reading
Explain to the children that Paul often writes letters to his friends to teach them about Jesus and to encourage them when they have problems.  In this reading, he is writing to his friends in the Greek town of Ephesus, who were so proud of the letter that they circulated it among the other Christian communities nearby.  This is one of the letters Paul wrote from prison.

As the Gospel is not read, the sign of the cross is omitted but the introductory dialogue (i.e., the Lord be with you...) may be used.

A Reading from the letter of St Paul to his friends in Ephesus
(Ep 5: 8-14)
You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord;
be like children of light, for the effects of light are seen in perfect goodness.
Try to discover what God wants you to do,
and have nothing to do with the works of darkness.
Things that are done in darkness are things people are ashamed of;
but anything exposed by the light will be lit up,
and anything lit will turn into light.
That is why it is said:[1]
     Wake up from your sleep,
     rise from the dead,
     and Christ will shine on you.

This is the Word of the Lord


Dialogue

Have you noticed what happens if there is no light?  Discuss the effect on the world if there is no light.  Nobody can see anything.  Anybody can get away with anything.  No one can trust anyone else.  Nobody can know anything.  Nobody can learn anything.

Imagine now that there is a little light.  Have you noticed that there only need to be a little bit of light in the room, for there to be not one spot in the room that will be in total darkness.  Discuss the fact that light drives out darkness.  Discuss the effect on the room if there are many mirrors to reflect the light.  Does everybody like the light?  Do criminals like the light or would they prefer to work in the darkness?  Discuss what Paul meant when he said “Things that are done in darkness are things people are ashamed of”.

Paul calls us ‘children of light’.  Who therefore do you think is the ‘father of light’?  Discuss that all light comes from God.  We call Jesus the ‘light of the world’.  Discuss that we are not the light, but we only reflect whatever light we get from Jesus.

What are the uses of light?  Discuss how light brings knowledge as we can see things and learn about the world.

Explain the symbolic significance of light at the Easter midnight mass.  In fact, the first part of the mass is known as the Liturgy of the Light, when the paschal candle is lit.  ‘Paschal’ is another word for ‘Easter’.  You may show them last year’s paschal candle.  All paschal candles will have the same symbols: the alpha α and the omega Ω (the first and the last letters in the Greek alphabet); the cross; and the year.

During the blessing of the candle, the priest traces all these symbols on the candle, and if you listen carefully, he will be reading them as he prays the blessings.  The blessed candle is then used to bless the water for baptism.  (We discussed that last week.)  The light from the paschal candle is then used to light the little candles we will be holding during the mass. Throughout the season of Easter, the paschal candle will be lit every time the Gospel reading is read.  It is our way of saying that we are enlightened every time Jesus, i.e., the Gospel, comes to us.

BAPTISMAL PROMISES
Do you reject sin, so as to live in the freedom of God’s children?
I do.
Do you reject the glamour of evil, and refuse to be mastered by sin?
I do.
Do you reject Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness?
I do.
Do you believe in God, the father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
I do.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
I do.
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
I do.
Text Box: LSW
children


 


[1]  This is an extract of a very early Christian hymn, probably sung during baptism when the newly baptised neophyte emerges from the baptismal waters.