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2 SEPTEMBER

22nd Sunday in Ordinary TimeREADINGS: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8; James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27; Mark 7:1-8,14-15, 21-23

“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe.” (Deuteronomy 4:1a)

God gave us laws so we may live well with each other.

Primary1. Classroom rules are important because they help children learn to be responsible and respectful. When Moses presented God’s laws to the Israelites, he pointed out that when the people observed these laws, other nations would see them as wise and intelligent. Help your students to understand that classroom rules are given because you care about the children and want them to learn how to belong and get along in school. Keeping the rules will show how smart they are.

2. Plan a celebration of rules for classroom behavior. List on the board several commands that, when observed, would make the children more kind and thoughtful, more responsible, and more aware of other’s feelings. Let children work in small groups to make and decorate signs stating these com-mands. Provide some marching music and lead a procession with

the signs, ending at a spot where they can be displayed as reminders.

Intermediate1. Ask students to explain the purpose of rules. Then read Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 5-6 and ask them what reason Moses gave for observing God’s commands. When they see that keeping God’s com-mands would make the Israelites appear wise and intelligent and that God gives such commands as a sign of caring for the people, tell the students to apply that idea to classroom rules. Give them some quiet time to list some rules that would help to create a caring com-munity of learners.

2. Assign students to small groups to compare lists and decide on four rules that would provide the best possible guidelines for classroom behavior in order to produce the result of an intelligent, caring community of classmates. Let groups print their rules on posters to display in the room.

Secondary1. Provide each student with this Sunday’s reading from Deuteronomy and attach these questions for them to answer in writing:

a. What seems to be Moses’ purpose for giving these

commandments to the Israelites?

b. What will happen as a result of people observing these commands?

c. What does the issuing of these commands say about God’s relationship to the people?

d. Compare several school rules and parents’ rules to the pur-poses, results, and relationships you described in the above three questions.

2. After sufficient time for re-flecting and writing, discuss the responses. Point out that rules that come from caring parents and teachers are meant to help us grow into kind, responsible, wise adults.

SUNDAY SCRIPTURE ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES

September 2 to November 30, 2018

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Remember that God has a special love for

the poor and for those who show love.

9 SEPTEMBER

23rd Sunday in Ordinary TimeREADINGS: Isaiah 35:4-7a; James 2:1-5; Mark 7:31-37

“Listen, my beloved brothers. Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?” (James 2:5)

Christians are warned against showing favoritism to the rich.

Primary1. Bring dolls into the classroom dressed in various types of cloth-ing. Invite the children to make up stories about these dolls as if they were real people. Tell them to imagine looking into the hearts of these dolls to make up stories about some very loving thing each doll did: helping, sharing, being kind, and so on.

2. After hearing their stories, ask the children if the way the dolls looked had anything to do with their stories. Do people judge other people by how they look? If people looked into other people’s hearts, might they find some love they weren’t expecting? Read or para-phrase James 2:1-5. Explain that the writer, a Church leader, was encouraging Christians to treat everyone equally and with respect and to remember that God has a special love for the poor and for those who show love.

Intermediate1. Ask the students if they have ever seen a beggar on a street corner or a homeless person lying on a bench. What did they think about this person? What feel-ings did they have toward him or her? Have they ever traveled through a poor neighborhood

or encountered someone dressed poorly? Did they make any judg-ments about these people? How do they choose their friends?

2. Read James 2:1-5. Invite students to discuss the attitude toward the poor that this writer is advocating. Give students quiet time to think of examples when they judged another person by what they had or didn’t have. Read James 2:1-5 again and tell each child to write a prayer asking God to help them see poor people in a new way.

Secondary1. List these words on the board: politicians, money, rights, rich/poor, prejudice, judgment, lobby-ing, partiality, appearances. Tell students to each pick three words from this list and use them in a paragraph to describe a reality in the United States today. Assign groups of four students to share

their paragraphs and write a group response to this question: How do people in the United States treat each other? Have the groups read their responses to the class.

2. Read James 2:1-5. Tell each student to pick three words from the same list, this time writing a paragraph response to James that includes a personal pledge to see people the way God does. Invite individuals to read their para-graphs. Lead a class prayer about seeing the value of every human being.

16 SEPTEMBER

24th Sunday in Ordinary TimeREADINGS: Isaiah 50:5-9a: James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35

“Jesus asked his disciples, ‘But who do you say that I am?’” (Mark 8:29)

The question Jesus asks his followers is one that each of us must answer.

Primary1. Play a question game with the children using two boxes. In the first box, place pieces of paper with questions about people the children know: Who is your mother? ... Your father? ... Your

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sister, brother, cousin, neighbor, friend? When a child steps for-ward to draw out a question and answers it, ask additional ques-tions about the person named: What does your mother do? What has your father taught you? Why is ___ your friend? What do you like about your sister/brother? What kinds of things do you do with your cousin ... for your neighbor?

2. In the second box, place ques-tions about spiritual beings: Who is God? Who is Jesus? Who are angels? Who are the saints? When each of these papers is drawn, let several children respond to the question. Then ask the children where they learned about God, Jesus, angels, and saints. Tell them to imagine Jesus coming into the classroom and asking, “Who do people say I am?” How would they answer? Imagine Jesus asking,

“But who do you say I am?” Would they give a different answer? How can they express their own under-standing of Jesus?

Intermediate1. Ask the children if they ever wonder what other people say about them. Jesus wondered too, and he asked his disciples. They said people were comparing Jesus to prophets they knew about from their nation’s history. Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was. Peter answered for the group and called him “the Christ,” meaning someone sent by God to save people.

2. Suppose Jesus came into this classroom and asked students to tell him who they think he is. Place students in groups of four to prepare a group response. Each group will illustrate their response by making a poster with the title: “Who do you say I am?” They can draw pictures and write phrases to answer the question. Let each group present their post-er and explanation to the class.

Secondary1. Read Mark 8:27-29. Talk about why people thought Jesus might be another Elijah or John the Baptist and why Peter said he was the Christ. Discuss the role of a prophet as a spokesperson from God and explain the meaning of

“Christ” as God’s chosen, anointed one. If people were asked today to compare Jesus to prophets of our own time, whom might they name? Who advocates for the poor, takes a stand against violence, promotes peace, attempts to save the world? Choose five people, di-vide the class into five groups, and assign one person to each group. Have them research that person, collecting quotes from or about them.

2. Choose one spokesperson from each group to represent their

“prophet” on a panel. Appoint a student to take the role of Jesus and ask the panel, “Who do people say I am?” Each panel member will respond, “You are like___ ,” and give reasons why, using the quotes collected in research. When the panel is finished, have the Jesus character turn to the rest of the class and ask, “But who do you say I am?” Have the students write a personal paragraph as their own response.

23 SEPTEMBER

25th Sunday in Ordinary TimeREADINGS: Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; James 3:16—4:3; Mark 9:30-37

“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me.” (Mark 9:37a)

Jesus challenges us to value the small and simple … to not seek power and prestige.

Primary1. Ask the children what is good about being young. What do they do that grown-ups don’t do? Evaluate which of their respons-es are good things and write those examples on the board. Explain today’s Gospel about Jesus’ friends wanting to be great and powerful and how Jesus told them to be like children. What did Jesus like about children that he wished his disciples would imitate?

2. Teach students the song “Jesus” by Mariano Fuertas, featured on the CD My Gospel Friends: Songs for Children (OCP.org). It is a song about Jesus blessing the

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children and saying his kingdom belongs to them. Choreograph the song so the children can move with it as they sing. Music will add to children’s joy about the fact that Jesus loves and val-ues them.

Intermediate1. Jesus obviously valued children very much. Tell your class what Jesus said in today’s Gospel about being simple, childlike, and hum-ble. Tell the children they can be ambassadors for Jesus, going out in his name to call forth the best in people. Help them think of ways to do this. List the ideas on the board.

2. Choose one of the ideas and make this a class project. One idea, for example, could be to promote consumerism awareness. The Story of Stuff (a 21-minute video that can be viewed at StoryOfStuff.com)

draws students into an awareness of how their need for more and more stuff contributes to environ-mental devastation. After seeing and discussing it, children can evaluate their own habits and then carry their discoveries to the adults in their lives.

Secondary1. Give the students time to write a paragraph or two about what they value most from their child-hood. Did they have an innocence then that they don’t have anymore? Was life simpler then? Invite them to share what they have written.

2. Have a student read Sunday’s Gospel. Then assign the students to discussion groups of four or five, giving them the following questions. Tell them they will be reporting on their discussion.

a. What did Jesus value in children? Why did he choose a child to illustrate what he was teaching his disciples?

b. Why is it so important to people to be the first, best, greatest? Where in our society do we find this emphasis? What is good about this? What isn’t good about it?

c. Imagine being one of the disciples, embarrassed about arguing and then reflecting on Jesus’ use of a child to make a point. What did you learn from his example? What in you is childlike (not childish)? What will you allow children to teach you?

After sufficient discussion time, let the groups report on their conversations.

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30 SEPTEMBER

26th Sunday in Ordinary TimeREADINGS: Numbers 11:25-29; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

“The Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses.” (Numbers 11:25a)

Biblical symbols convey God’s communication with people.

Primary1. Tell the children that we sometimes read Bible stories about God speaking to people. Write these names on the board: Moses, Jeremiah, Jesus, Saul (Paul). Explain who each of these people were. Then read these Scripture quotes from the stories about them: Exodus 3:1-5; Exodus 19:16-20; Numbers 11:25a; Jeremiah 1:4-9; Mark 1:9-11; Acts: 9:3-6. Ask the children to describe the kinds of signs used in each story to explain how God was speaking. List them on the board (burning bush, thun-der, lightning, cloud, hand touch-ing mouth, split sky, dove, flashing light). Ask the children if God has ever spoken to them. What did that feel like?

2. Explain that people really do experience God calling them or giving them direction. It is hard to describe this in human words because it is felt inside. The writers of the Bible stories used images, often from nature, to try to say how special the experience is. Let children draw a scene of God speaking to them using one or more of the symbols they heard in today’s stories. What is God saying to them?

Intermediate1. Use the same six Scripture quotes listed in the primary lesson.

Tell the students to write down the symbols used in each story to describe God’s communication and then share them. List respons-es on the board. How would they react to these experiences of Moses, Jeremiah, Jesus, and Saul if some-thing similar happened to them? Is this how God communicates with us, or were the writers of these stories trying to find words to fit people’s feelings of being touched by God?

2. Lead the children in a qui-et meditation. Instruct them to close their eyes and imagine God communicating with them. (pause) How does God come to them? (pause) What does God want to say or ask? (pause) How do they reply? (pause) Let them write a few sentences about this experience. Tell them God will give them mes-sages if they watch for the signs.

Secondary1. Write on the board: How does

God communicate with you? Give students time to write a few sentences in reply. Then ask them to share what they wrote. Divide the class into small groups and tell them to find examples in the Bible of how God communicated to Abraham (Genesis), Moses (Exodus), the prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah), Joseph (Matthew), and Paul (Saul in Acts). Give the groups these questions to answer:

a. Why are the stories told as if people heard voices?

b. Why are nature symbols often used in these stories?

c. Can a “voice within” or meaningful dream be God’s way of talking to us today?

2. Get group responses from this activity. Encourage students to be aware of what happens around them and within them so they don’t miss any of the ways God is trying to communicate with them.

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7 oCToBER

27th Sunday in Ordinary TimeREADINGS: Genesis 2:18-24; Hebrews 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16

“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.’” (Genesis 2:18a)

People need other people in their lives.

Primary1. Using a children’s Bible, tell the children the story of the creation of Adam and Eve. Point out that from the very beginning, God did not want anyone to be alone. God provided animals for Adam and then a human friend. Invite children to tell stories of their pets who have been good companions, brothers and sisters who play with them and teach them, and friends they have made. Find out who likes to be alone sometimes. Would anyone always want to be alone? What is nice about having a friend?

2. Provide pictures from the creation story for children to color. Also provide supplies for children to draw themselves with their pets, family, and friends. On the back of their pictures, have them write rea-sons why it’s good not to be alone.

Intermediate1. Share the story of the creation of Adam and Eve from a children’s Bible. Why didn’t God think the animals would be enough compan-ionship for Adam? Let children tell stories about their pets and what they mean to them. Then ask them if the pets were the only friends they had, would that be enough? Write on the board: Family and friends help us to grow. Ask the students to list examples, and write them on the board.

2. Tell the students to each choose two examples from the board and write about their own experience of how this was true for them. Invite them to share their exam-ples. Afterward, tell the children to take a quiet moment to think about who God created and put into their lives so they would not be alone. Give art materials to everyone and direct them to create thank-you cards to God.

Secondary1. Use the first reading from this Sunday’s liturgy to move your stu-dents into a discussion of sexuality and the importance of human relationships. As students deal with their sexual awakenings, it can be helpful to see that the Bible shows us God’s plan for people to have companionship. Consider using the documentary DVD Teen Relationships and Sexual Pressure (VisionVideo.com), to explore the biblical perspective on sex. Besides

hearing real-life stories, students will be led to understand why chastity is beneficial and will re-ceive tools to live this conviction.

2. Tell students to interview their parents or other couples in loving relationships to find out what these people value the most about hav-ing close, meaningful, committed relationships. Afterward, discuss the aspects of good relationships that allow them to withstand tension and conflict. What do people value most in their human interactions?

14 oCToBER

28th Sunday in Ordinary TimeREADINGS: Wisdom 7:7-11; Hebrews 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30

“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17b)

It takes courage to ask Jesus this question and accept the answer.

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Primary1. Tell the children to think of questions they would like to ask God. Write their questions on the board. Take the questions one at a time and ask students to imagine what God’s answer would be. Let students express their ideas.

2. Read Mark 10:17-22. Explain that the man who came to Jesus was a very good man who kept all of God’s laws, but he thought maybe he could still do more. What did Jesus tell him to do, and why did he go away sad? What would the children say to this man if they saw him after he left Jesus? Does God ever ask us to do anything hard? Pray together for courage to say yes when God calls us to do a difficult but right thing.

Intermediate1. Tell the children to imag-ine that Jesus will visit their classroom. He will want to know what they are willing to do to live the good lives God wants for them. Instruct them to write a few questions to ask Jesus about how they should live their lives. Questions can be about making friends, helping others, respecting family members, and so on.

2. Read Mark 10:17-22. Talk about how this man was living a good life but felt he should do more. Why did Jesus’ answer make him sad? Let the students imagine how Jesus might answer their questions. Tell them to write answers that might challenge them to do something

difficult, such as making friends with someone they wouldn’t have thought about or giving their al-lowance to a person in need. Invite volunteers to share their questions and Jesus’ answers.

Secondary1. Invite a student to read Sunday’s Gospel. Discuss what this man was looking for, why Jesus’ answer made him sad, and how he could possibly work to remove the obsta-

cle that kept him from fol-lowing Jesus. Explain that

“Eye of the Needle” was the name of a mountain pass outside Jerusalem. It was

so narrow that beasts of burden had to be unloaded to get through.

How does knowing this help the students to under-stand Jesus’ teaching about entering God’s kingdom?

2. Give students time to reflect on what they need to “unload” so they can more readily follow Jesus. What challenges might Jesus be offering to them, and how much courage will it take to respond?

Spend quiet time with these ques-tions (in the classroom or church), and tell the students to record their thoughts and prayers in their journals.

21 oCToBER

29th Sunday in Ordinary TimeREADINGS: Isaiah 53:10-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45

“Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many.” (Isaiah 53:11b)

Jesus is a model for those who suffer for others.

Primary1. Show a crucifix to the children and talk about how Jesus gave his life for us and also taught his followers to serve others, even to the point of dying for them if necessary. Show the film Saint Maximilian Kolbe (CatholicVideo.com). Discuss how this saint fol-lowed Jesus’ teaching in a particu-larly courageous way.

2. Invite students to think about other people they have heard of who sacrificed their lives to help others. Prompt their memories of teachers in recent school shoot-ings. Tell the story of heroic 9/11 firefighters in New York. Tell them to imagine loving others so much that someone would be willing to die in order to save them. Then show the crucifix again and pray together for the courage to love that much.

Intermediate1. Let students choose partners for a research-and-discussion activity. Tell each pair to find out and talk about what these people had in common: firefighters who rushed into the Twin Towers in New York on 9/11; teachers who protected their students at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and Parkland High School in Florida; and Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador who scolded his country’s government for persecuting the poor.

2. After time for research, call for a general discussion regarding the similarities the students found in these heroic people. Talk about the reasons Jesus suffered and died and how he taught his followers

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to serve others even by giving up their lives if necessary. Invite the children to reflect on the courage that takes.

Secondary1. Oscar Romero’s path to saint-hood involved a bold embrace of others’ suffering and a courageous stand that led to martyrdom. Assign students to research his background to learn what finally moved this archbishop to defend the work of his priests among the poor, to read quotes from his sermons that angered government authorities, and to see how and why he died. Instruct the students to write a two-page paper, record-ing in their own words the results of this research.

2. Assign students to groups of four, giving each group a copy of Isaiah 53:10-11 and Mark 10:42-45 from Sunday’s liturgy. Invite them to share with each other what they learned about Oscar Romero. Then read the Scripture passages and discuss how these words apply to the way Romero sacrificed his life in imitation of Christ.

28 oCToBER

30th Sunday in Ordinary TimeREADINGS: Jeremiah 31:7-9; Hebrews 5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52

“Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.” (Mark 10:52b)

To follow Jesus, it helps to be able to see clearly.

Primary1. Put the children together in pairs and tell them one person will pretend to be blind and the other will carefully lead the “blind” person around the room. Leaders

can give verbal guidance and should hold the hand of whomev-er they are leading. After a short time, partners switch roles and repeat the exercise. When finished, discuss what members of the class experienced in each role.

2. Read Mark 10:46-52 and ask the children what they think the blind man was feeling. What was Jesus feeling? Why did the man follow Jesus, along with the other disciples? Tell them to recall their experience of being blind. Would they have appreciated someone who gave them sight at that time? Provide pictures to color of Jesus healing a blind person.

Intermediate1. Brainstorm with the class to create a list on the board of all the ways a person can be “blind.” Include many examples of things people can’t see, refuse to see, or see mistakenly. Assign items from the list to half the students. Assign the other half as partners to the

“blind” people and tell them to do or say whatever they can to heal the blindness in the other person.

2. Share the results of how it felt to be blind, how challenging it was to heal and to be healed, and what new “sight” felt like. Let a few volunteer pairs act out how they

handled their assignment. Tell (or read) the story in Sunday’s Gospel. Give the students a few moments of silence to think about some ways they are blind. Pray together for healing so they can follow Jesus better.

Secondary1. Direct a student to read Mark 10:46–52 to the class. Discuss the disposition of this blind man be-fore and after his healing. How ag-gressively did he pursue his goal? Speculate on why he stayed with Jesus as a follower after Jesus said,

“Go your way.” Talk about other kinds of blindness people experi-ence besides physical impairment.

2. Put students into groups of four and give poster board and markers to each group. Tell them to reflect on various kinds of blindness, including what the class discussed and any other examples their group can think of. Especially include the kinds of blindness any group members can admit to. List these examples on the poster. Plan a presentation where each mem-ber, after dividing up the examples, suggests ways those types of blind-ness could be healed. Let groups present what they prepared. Lead a class prayer for healing whatever blindness students have discovered in themselves.

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4 NoVEMBER

31st Sunday in Ordinary TimeREADINGS: Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28-34

“Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.” (Deuteronomy 6:6)

love for the law, not just knowledge of it, will better guarantee keeping it.

Primary1. Invite a police officer to visit your class, explaining ahead of time that you are teaching the children to love the law of God, not just to know the law. Ask the officer to reinforce the idea that if we respect and see value in the laws, we will be more likely to follow them. Ask the officer to prepare examples of how laws are very helpful and law enforcers are our friends.

2. Prepare the children for the officer’s visit by talking about Moses giving God’s law to his people and telling them to take the laws into their hearts. Give the children drawing paper and have them make large hearts. Inside each heart they can write or draw a law or rule that helps people to be good and makes the world a happier place (examples: love your neighbor; don’t steal).

Intermediate1. Teach the Ten Commandments. Then ask the students if they love these laws. If that seems to be something they hadn’t thought about before, discuss the com-mandments from a positive view-point. How is life better for people when these laws are observed?

2. Brainstorm a list on the board of the rules or “laws” children

are given in their homes and classroom. Do they love these laws? How are the rules good and helpful? Read Deuteronomy 6:2-6. Explain that the Israelites were en-couraged to love their laws as signs that God loved the people. Pray Psalm 19:8-11 and let the students pick out all the synonyms for

“law” used in the psalm.

Secondary1. Read today’s first reading and explain that the Law is very dear to the hearts of the Jewish peo-ple because it rep-resents their covenant with God. The first five books of their scriptures (corresponding to the first five in our Bible) are called the “Torah,” meaning the “Law.” These books, printed on scrolls and beautifully decorated, are handled with great reverence in the syna-gogue. Keeping the law in our hearts means that we see value and goodness in it, not just restrictions. It means we see the law-giver as someone who loves us, not someone who wants to control us.

2. Give the students some quiet time to think about the rules given them by parents, teachers, church, and government. Have them list specific rules in their journals and then reflect on some rules from each of those four “law-giver” cat-egories. As they write, they should include insights into what there is to love about each rule/law, how it expresses another’s concern for them, and how keeping it makes them better or safer.

11 NoVEMBER

32nd Sunday in Ordinary TimeREADINGS: 1 Kings 17:10–16; Hebrews 9:24–28; Mark 12:38–44

“She … has contributed all she had.” (Mark 12:44b)

Generosity is from our heart, not our surplus.

Primary1. Using stories is a helpful

way to teach the lesson of today’s Gospel, just

as Jesus used exam-ples from the life around him to teach

his disciples. Ask the children how they have experienced others’

generosity to them or how they showed generosity to others.

2. Explain that Jesus sometimes made up stories,

called parables, to teach lessons. Share some short parables about

giving and then invite the children to make up

similar stories.

Intermediate1. To help the students under-stand the poverty children suffer in other parts of the world, have them research areas of the world where suffering, drought, starva-tion, terrorism, and oppression are part of the daily news. Have them bring pictures of suffering children found in magazines, newspapers, or online. Caption each picture, naming the place and situation.

2. Let students put these pictures on a large classroom poster. Place it in the prayer corner and discuss what the class can do to help these

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Giving from the heart will sometimes take from

us all we have or more than we thought we had.

children. Read today’s Gospel. Consider placing a collection cup by the poster where students can make donations to Catholic Relief Services. Provide a basket where students can place prayers they write for the children in the pictures.

Secondary1. Choose a service project for the class. Plan the kind of com-mitment each student could make to this service. Then read today’s Gospel. Write these sentences on the board:

■ Giving from the heart will some-times take from us all we have or more than we thought we had.

■ Giving often involves more than material items.

■ Giving loses its power to help if the one who receives is not seen as an equal.

Divide the class into three groups and assign one sentence to each group. Tell them to discuss it in relation to their service project and make a list of things they can do or attitudes they can develop to honor the wisdom of this sentence. Let groups share their results with the whole class.

2. Have the class choose an item from each group’s list. Record and post this plan for their service. Allow quiet moments for students to personally make their pledge to the service project.

18 NoVEMBER

33rd Sunday in Ordinary TimeREADINGS: Daniel 12:1-3; Hebrews 10:11-14, 18; Mark 13:24-32

“And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ …” (Mark 13:26)

Christians believe in the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time.

Primary1. Tell the children to think about three important things we believe as Christians: Jesus died for us (hold up a picture of Jesus on the cross); Jesus rose from the dead (a picture of a resurrection scene); and Jesus will come again at the end of the world (a piece of paper with a big question mark). Talk about how hard it is to know something about future events because they haven’t happened yet. We don’t know when or how Jesus will come, but he told us to be prepared. Christians will be ready for Jesus if they spend their lives loving others.

2. Teach Carey Landry’s song, “God’s Shining Stars” (OCP.org). We are God’s shining stars when we follow Jesus’ way of service, kindness, and compassion.

Intermediate1. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. “Has died”

refers to a historical event; “is risen” refers to the current presence of the Spirit of Jesus in our lives; “will come again” refers to a future event. Speculate together about this future event, discussing how, where, and when. Will Jesus come everywhere at once or in a partic-ular place? Will he be seen in his historical human body or felt in his resurrected glory? When might this happen? Read Mark 13:24–32 to find out what Jesus told his followers about this event.

2. Group the children in threes and give them art materials to create three scenes: the death, resurrection, and future coming of Jesus. They are familiar with the crucifixion and resurrection, but how do they imagine Jesus’ coming in the future?

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Secondary1. Read Daniel 12:1–3 and Mark 13:24–32, telling the class to listen carefully and make comparisons. Discuss the similarities. Christians believe that Jesus will come back at the end of time. Give students a list of Scripture readings and tell them to note evolving ideas of what that Second Coming would be like:

■ John 14:11–21. Compare the tone of this “coming” in verse 18 and following to the Sunday Gospel reading of Mark 13:24–27.

■Acts 1:1–11. What message of hope was given to Jesus’ disciples after they witnessed his ascension?

■1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 and 2 Thessalonians 2:1–2. Put into one sentence what Paul was teaching about Jesus’ return.

2. Get feedback from the as-signment and tell the students that early Christians were sure Jesus was coming back right away. Some of them quit their jobs and sat around waiting. Paul scolded them for that (see 2 Thessalonians 3:6–12). We are still waiting and being encouraged to prepare by loving one another.

25 NoVEMBER

Christ the KingREADINGS: Daniel 7:13–14; Revelation 1:5–8; John 18:33b–37

“‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God” (Revelation 1:8a).

Jesus is a witness that God is the beginning and the end of all things.

Primary1. Explain that God is the begin-ning and end of all things. Let the children think about how things

begin. Give examples tracing life back to its origin: plant to seed to God the creator. Then talk about the end of life and how people return to God when they die. Print the Greek words “Alpha” and “Omega” on the board and identify their meaning.

2. Fold sheets of paper in half to give each student a four-sided pamphlet. Tell them to use cray-ons, printing Alpha on the front

and Omega on the back. Use drawings to show some kind of life beginning on the Alpha page and something ending on the back page. On the inside pages, draw God creating and protect-ing the world and those who live in it. Children can take their pamphlets home and explain the Greek words to their families.

Intermediate1. Ask the children where Jesus was before he was born. Did God have a beginning? Will God have an end? Read Revelation 1:8 and explain the meaning of Alpha and Omega as the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. What does it mean to call God the beginning and end of everything?

2. Describe the feast of Christ the King as a celebration of a conquering hero. Jesus conquered death by showing us there is life after death. The kingdom of God is real. Give drawing paper and colored pencils to the students. Tell them to create a scene they imagine as the kingdom of God where Jesus rules with love and kindness. Post the drawings around the classroom.

Secondary1. Refer students to Sunday’s second reading and give them several questions to think about:

a. This week, the Church cel-ebrates the feast of Christ the King. How is Jesus a king?

b. Recall last week’s lesson on Jesus’ second coming. Where, in this reading, is there another reference to that idea?

c. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. What does it mean to refer to God in these terms?

2. Assign students to small groups to discuss their thoughts. Then tell them to individually choose question A or C and write a paragraph using their own and their group’s thoughts about that question. Invite students from various groups to read their re-sponses.

SR. KAREN BERRY is a Joliet Franciscan, a former high-school religion teacher

and director of family programs of Religious Education, and currently a

teacher of adult religion classes in several parishes in Tucson, Arizona.

24 FAll 2018 ■ VoluME 52, NuMBER 1

Season of Sundays