Third Sunday of Easter

Year B

Third Sunday of Easter

Theme

Loving in obedience

Points to note

The second reading in all the Sundays of Easter in Year B is from the first letter of St John.  John is the only one of the Twelve who was not martyred and lived to a ripe old age of over ninety.  At the end of his life, John was exiled to an island where it was said he had all the time to reflect on and to understand the manifestation of God as love.  Little wonder that the tone of his letter is very much on the themes of love and God.

To John, Jesus left us with only one commandment, the commandment to love (Jn 15:12).  This is discussed much more in depth in Easter 6, where in both the second and the Gospel readings, St John culminates his teaching on these twin themes.  As such, the next few Sundays are part of a short journey to that understanding in Easter 6.

In each Sunday, John wants us to understand that we cannot love without God and, if we have God, we cannot do anything but love.  We start off with the idea, therefore, of obedience in this reading, followed by the ownership of God over us and God’s expectation from us of this ownership in the next few Sundays.

When discussing the concept of love, it is easy to lose focus and end up with very broad ideas instead.  It is critical to anchor the discussions on very concrete examples of action and the daily life events that children understand.  If possible, end up with commitments from the children on how they should make real in their lives what they have heard in the readings.

 

Liturgy

There is no the Gospel Acclamation as the Gospel is not read.  For the same reason, there is no opening dialogue.

Reading

Explain to the children that John was probably the youngest of the Twelve Apostles, the only one not to be martyred and that he lived to a ripe old age.  In the Gospel he wrote, he always referred to himself as the beloved disciple.  So, this must really very much be someone who have felt the loving power of Jesus and knows he is loved by God.  The story goes that when he was teaching his own disciples at the end of his life, he was asked by one of them why he always talked to them about love and nothing else.  John stared out into the distance for a while and replied, “Because there is nothing else … but love … love … and love.”

A Reading from the first letter of St John

(1Jn 2: 1-5)

I am writing this, my children, to stop you sinning;

but if anyone should sin, we have an advocate with the Father,

Jesus Christ, who is just;

he is the sacrifice who takes our sins away,

not only ours, but the whole world’s.

we can be sure that we know God only by keeping his commandments.

Anyone who says “I know him”, and does not keep his commandments,

Is a liar, refusing to admit the truth.

But when anyone does obey what he has said,

God’s love comes in perfection in him.

This is the Word of the Lord

Discussion

Is there anyone among us who is perfect?  Discuss the idea of perfection and only God is perfect.  Is there any among us who sometimes wished that we have done something that we omitted to do or wished that we did not do something that we did?  You may wish to allow to children to talk about mistakes they made.  Gently weed out those mistakes that are merely incorrect (eg., giving an incorrect answer in a test) from those that are wrong (wrong from a moral angle).  Such wrongs are sins.

Point out that often when we do a wrong, someone else has warned us against it.  When we end up fighting with our brother or sister, Mom would surely have warned us against it.  So, when we do a wrong, it is often an act of disobedience against someone.  That is why when we fight with our brother, it is not just our brother who is upset with us, but Mom too. 

Expand it to the idea of sin.  God is very much a parent in our whole Christian family, very much like Mom in our little family at home.  When we sin, even if it is against someone else, it is a disobedience against God.  Both God and that someone else are upset with us and we have to apologise to both God and that someone else.  Therefore if we say we want to be obedient to God, we cannot sin against anyone else too, not just God. 

Illustrate these points using events from children daily lives.  I always find fighting with our brother a good example but there many countless more.

Third Sunday in Easter

Year A

Third Sunday of Easter

Images

Remembering Jesus

Points to note

The reading requires a little explaining in order to highlight certain interesting features that the author has included into the passage.  Following that, the idea of the disciples not recognising Jesus until he broke the bread is an interesting one to explore.  This links with the idea of the Eucharist as the commemoration of Jesus.

The idea in this reading is also that of Jesus eating together with his apostles Basically, we say that a family that eats together stays together: the idea being that eating somehow has a bonding effect on people.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Lord Jesus, explain the Bible to us.

Make our hearts burn within us as you talk to us.

Alleluia!

Reading

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke

All:   Glory to you O Lord

(Lk 24:13-35)

Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened.  Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him.  He said to them, “What matters are you discussing as you walk along?”  They stopped short, their faces downcast.

Then one of them, called Cleopas answered him, “You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.”  “What things?” he asked, “All about Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered, “who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and or leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified.  Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free.  And this was not all; two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our group have astounded us:  they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seem a vision of angels who declared he was alive.  Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw nothing.”

Then he said to them, “You foolish men!  So slow to believe the full message of the prophets!  Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?  Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.

When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them.  “It is nearly evening,” they said, “and the day is almost over.”  So he went in to stay with them.  Now while he was with them at the table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them.  And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he vanished from their sight.  Then they said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?”

They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem.  There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, “Yes, it is true.  The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”  Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him in the breaking of bread.

     This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussion

Do we have any close friend or relative who have left us?  Discuss how we remember them.  Through photos, videos or gifts.  How many of your daddies and mommies have your photograph in their phones?

Go through the reading again to identify some interesting features of the reading:

• How many times did Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection: to Mary Magdalene; on the road to Emmaus; in the locked room; to Thomas, at the lakeside.
• The disciples did not first recognise Jesus.  This is the same as in some of the other resurrection stories: who else?  Mary Magdalene, the disciples when they met Jesus by the lakeside. When did they properly recognise Jesus?  When he started eating with them, just like at the lakeside.

In this reading, when did the disciples recognised Jesus?  Emphasise that it was during the breaking of bread.  Why did they remember Jesus at the breaking of bread?  Explore the earlier occasion when Jesus broke bread with his disciples – at the Last Supper.

Explain that in those days, there were no photographs, videos and the like.  So, to remember him, Jesus asked them to re-perform the Last Supper.  Do this in memory of me, he said.

For the younger children

Discuss how they would want to remember Jesus.  Emphasise that Jesus want us to remember him by being obedient to him.  How would we do that?

For older children, especially those preparing First Communion

Discuss what took place at the last supper.  Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to his disciples.  These four actions are repeated from other occasions: the feeding of the five thousand, for example.  So, Jesus repeated them often enough for them to be imprinted in the minds of the apostles so that they will remember his actions.

Then he took the cup of wine, which he said was his blood of the everlasting covenant.  Explain what a covenant is.  In ancient days, people seal a contract by sacrificing animals like pigeons, etc.  Jesus sealed his contract with us with his blood instead of blood of animals.  Discuss what was the agreement between Jesus and us.

Go through the words of the institution of the Lord’s Supper carefully.  Discuss where the children would have heard it before.  Emphasise that re-enacting the Lord’s Supper is our way of remembering Jesus and what he commanded us to do, in the absence of photos, videos and tapes.

Third Sunday in Easter

Year C

Third Sunday in Easter

Images

Eating together

Points to note

I have taken a mid point in the options for this reading in the missal.  The full reading runs to verse 19 while the short version only runs to 14.  I have taken to reading to verse 17.

The reading requires a little explaining in order to highlight certain interesting features that the author has included into the passage.  Following that, the idea of Jesus eating together with his apostles is also interesting to explore.  Basically, we say that a family that eats together stays together:  the idea being that eating somehow has a bonding effect on people.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Lord Jesus, explain the scriptures to us.

Make our hearts burn within us as you talk to us.

Alleluia!

Gospel

The Lord be with you.

All:   And also with you.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John

All:   Glory to you O Lord

 (Jn 21:1-19)

Jesus showed himself again to the disciples.  It was by the Sea of Tiberias, and it happened like this:  Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of his disciples were together.  Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”  They replied, “We’ll come with you.”  They went out and got into a boat but caught nothing that night.

It was light by now and there stood Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did not realise it was Jesus.  Jesus called out, “Have you caught anything, friends?”  And when they answered, “No”, he said, “throw out the net to the starboard and you’ll find something.”  So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in.  The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”  At these words “It is the Lord”, Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak round him and jumped into the water.  The other disciples came on in the boat, towing the net and the fish; they were only about a hundred yards from land.

As soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it.  Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”  Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore, full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them: in spite of them being so many the net was not broken.  Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”  None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, “Who are you?” they knew quite well it was the Lord.  Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish.  This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.

After the meal Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others do?”  He answers, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”  Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”  A second time he said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”  He replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”  Jesus said to him, “Look after my sheep.”  Then he said to him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”  Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” and said, “Lord you know everything; you know I love you.”  Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussions

Go through the reading again to identify some interesting features of the reading:

©    How many times did Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection: to Mary Magdalene (in the morning of Easter Sunday); on the road to Emmaus (in the afternoon); in the locked room (in the evening); to Thomas (a week later).  Apparently, John called this the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples.

©    Jesus asked Peter if he loved him three times.  The number three came up again in another Jesus-Peter story.  Which one?  When Peter denied Jesus three times.  People say that Jesus asked Peter three times, to forgive him for the three times Peter denied him.

©    The disciples did not first recognise Jesus.  This is the same as in some of the other resurrection stories: who else?  Mary Magdalene; the disciples on the road to Emmaus. When did they properly recognise Jesus?  When he started eating with them, just like at Emmaus.

©    The story is very similar to another story of the catch of fish, which one? The one after which Jesus called Peter to be his disciple.  We seem to be coming round to one big circle.

©    Why did Jesus eat with his disciples?  Because he was hungry after three days in the tomb; because he wanted to prove that he was not a ghost.  After all, ghosts can’t eat, can they?

If we take each of these interesting points, there is something to say in each of these.  Let’s take two of them.

Remembering Jesus

In each of the occasion when the disciples did not recognise Jesus after the resurrection, there was something in common about when they recognised Jesus.  Go through each of these: Mary recognised Jesus when Jesus called her by her name; the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognised him when he broke bread with them; the apostles recognised him when they hauled in the fish and confirmed it when he ate with them.  In each of these, they recognised Jesus when Jesus did something familiar to them, which he had done before with them.

For older children

Explain that the words of the Institution in the Eucharistic prayers at mass are our way of recognising Jesus.  Like the disciples, we often do not recognise him but we will when we see something familiar to us – the Eucharist.  That is why the priest says the word, “Do this in memory of me” at the end of words of the Institution.  In truth, though, we do more than remember, we relive it.  

Fishers of men

Remember how Peter first met Jesus?  He was fishing without success when Jesus asked him to cast his net out and he ended up with a lot of fish.  He then asked Jesus to leave him for he was a sinful man.  But, Jesus asked him to follow him.  Hence, the ending of the story for this Sunday, “Follow me”. 

Jesus also told him that the apostles will be fishers of men.  In this Sunday’s story, you will see that there were 153 fishes in the net.  Now, in the ancient world, they believed that there were 153 countries in the world.  So, the apostles will be able to make Christians out of all countries of the world and being them into the Church.  Just as the net did not break, neither will the Church break with so many different languages, cultures and customs from so many different countries.

 

Third Sunday of Easter

Year B

Third Sunday of Easter

 

Theme

Loving in obedience

Points to note

The second reading in all the Sundays of Easter in Year B is from the first letter of St John.  John is the only one of the Twelve who was not martyred and lived to a ripe old age of over ninety.  At the end of his life, John was exiled to an island where it was said he had all the time to reflect on and to understand the manifestation of God as love.  Little wonder that the tone of his letter is very much on the themes of love and God.

To John, Jesus left us with only one commandment, the commandment to love (Jn 15:12).  This is discussed much more in depth in Easter 6, where in both the second and the Gospel readings, St John culminates his teaching on these twin themes.  As such, the next few Sundays are part of a short journey to that understanding in Easter 6.

In each Sunday, John wants us to understand that we cannot love without God and, if we have God, we cannot do anything but love.  We start off with the idea, therefore, of obedience in this reading, followed by the ownership of God over us and God’s expectation from us of this ownership in the next few Sundays.

When discussing the concept of love, it is easy to lose focus and end up with very broad ideas instead.  It is critical to anchor the discussions on very concrete examples of action and the daily life events that children understand.  If possible, end up with commitments from the children on how they should make real in their lives what they have heard in the readings.

 

Liturgy

There is no the Gospel Acclamation as the Gospel is not read.  For the same reason, there is no opening dialogue.

Reading

Explain to the children that John was probably the youngest of the Twelve Apostles, the only one not to be martyred and that he lived to a ripe old age.  In the Gospel he wrote, he always referred to himself as the beloved disciple.  So, this must really very much be someone who have felt the loving power of Jesus and knows he is loved by God.  The story goes that when he was teaching his own disciples at the end of his life, he was asked by one of them why he always talked to them about love and nothing else.  John stared out into the distance for a while and replied, “Because there is nothing else … but love … love … and love.”

A Reading from the first letter of St John

(1Jn 2: 1-5)

I am writing this, my children, to stop you sinning;

but if anyone should sin, we have an advocate with the Father,

Jesus Christ, who is just;

he is the sacrifice who takes our sins away,

not only ours, but the whole world’s.

we can be sure that we know God only by keeping his commandments.

Anyone who says “I know him”, and does not keep his commandments,

Is a liar, refusing to admit the truth.

But when anyone does obey what he has said,

God’s love comes in perfection in him.

This is the Word of the Lord

Discussion

Is there anyone among us who is perfect?  Discuss the idea of perfection and only God is perfect.  Is there any among us who sometimes wished that we have done something that we omitted to do or wished that we did not do something that we did?  You may wish to allow to children to talk about mistakes they made.  Gently weed out those mistakes that are merely incorrect (eg., giving an incorrect answer in a test) from those that are wrong (wrong from a moral angle).  Such wrongs are sins.

Point out that often when we do a wrong, someone else has warned us against it.  When we end up fighting with our brother or sister, Mom would surely have warned us against it.  So, when we do a wrong, it is often an act of disobedience against someone.  That is why when we fight with our brother, it is not just our brother who is upset with us, but Mom too.  That is why when we fight with our brother, it is not just our brother who we have to make up with, but Mom too.

Expand it to the idea of sin.  God is very much a parent in our whole Christian family, very much like Mom in our little family at home.  When we sin, even if it is against someone else, it is a disobedience against God.  Both God and that someone else are upset with us and we have to apologise to both God and that someone else.  Therefore if we say we want to be obedient to God, we cannot sin against anyone else too, not just God. 

Illustrate these points using events from children daily lives.  I always find fighting with our brother a good example but there many countless more.

Third Sunday in Easter

Year A

Third Sunday of Easter

Images

Remembering Jesus

Points to note

The reading requires a little explaining in order to highlight certain interesting features that the author has included into the passage.  Following that, the idea of the disciples not recognising Jesus until he broke the bread is an interesting one to explore.  This links with the idea of the Eucharist as the commemoration of Jesus.

The idea in this reading is also that of Jesus eating together with his apostles Basically, we say that a family that eats together stays together: the idea being that eating somehow has a bonding effect on people.

Liturgy

Acclamation before the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Lord Jesus, explain the Bible to us.

Make our hearts burn within us as you talk to us.

Alleluia!

Reading

The Lord be with you.

All:   And with your spirit.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke

All:   Glory to you O Lord

(Lk 24:13-35)

Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened.  Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him.  He said to them, “What matters are you discussing as you walk along?”  They stopped short, their faces downcast.

Then one of them, called Cleopas answered him, “You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.”  “What things?” he asked, “All about Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered, “who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and or leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified.  Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free.  And this was not all; two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our group have astounded us:  they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seem a vision of angels who declared he was alive.  Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw nothing.”

Then he said to them, “You foolish men!  So slow to believe the full message of the prophets!  Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?  Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.

When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them.  “It is nearly evening,” they said, “and the day is almost over.”  So he went in to stay with them.  Now while he was with them at the table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them.  And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he vanished from their sight.  Then they said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?”

They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem.  There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, “Yes, it is true.  The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”  Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him in the breaking of bread.

     This is the Gospel of the Lord

Discussion

Do we have any close friend or relative who have left us?  Discuss how we remember them.  Through photos, videos or gifts.  How many of your daddies and mommies have your photograph in their wallets?

Go through the reading again to identify some interesting features of the reading:

• How many times did Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection: to Mary Magdalene; on the road to Emmaus; in the locked room; to Thomas, at the lakeside.

• The disciples did not first recognise Jesus.  This is the same as in some of the other resurrection stories: who else?  Mary Magdalene, the disciples when they met Jesus by the lakeside. When did they properly recognise Jesus?  When he started eating with them, just like at the lakeside.

In this reading, when did the disciples recognised Jesus?  Emphasise that it was during the breaking of bread.  Why did they remember Jesus at the breaking of bread?  Explore the earlier occasion when Jesus broke bread with his disciples – at the Last Supper.

Explain that in those days, there were no photographs, videos and the like.  So, to remember him, Jesus asked them to re-perform the Last Supper.  Do this in memory of me, he said.

For the younger children

Discuss how they would want to remember Jesus.  Emphasise that Jesus want us to remember him by being obedient to him.  How would we do that?

For older children, especially those preparing First Communion

Discuss what took place at the last supper.  Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to his disciples.  These four actions are repeated from other occasions: the feeding of the five thousand, for example.  So, Jesus repeated them often enough for them to be imprinted in the minds of the apostles so that they will remember his actions.

Then he took the cup of wine, which he said was his blood of the everlasting covenant.  Explain what a covenant is.  In ancient days, people seal a contract by sacrificing animals like pigeons, etc.  Jesus sealed his contract with us with his blood instead of blood of animals.  Discuss what was the agreement between Jesus and us.

Go through the words of the institution of the Lord’s Supper carefully.  Discuss where the children would have heard it before.  Emphasise that re-enacting the Lord’s Supper is our way of remembering Jesus and what he commanded us to do, in the absence of photos, videos and tapes.