Christ s Abiding Presence

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1 Session 8 Scriptures John 21:1-19 Revelation 5:11-14 Christ s Abiding Presence session essentials The living Christ lives with and within us. Jesus, in another post-resurrection appearance, provides an abundant catch of fish for his disciples. Young teens value community, loyalty and friendship; knowing and experiencing God s closeness helps them endure the rigors of adolescence. Today s session invites us to consider the meaning of Jesus presence with us. Core Session (p. 54) Getting Started (dictionaries) Scripture Search (digital camera and photo printer) Scripture Rewrite Praying Together Enrichment (p. 55) Art: Qi s The Risen Lord Art Response: Pastel Drawings (pastel crayons, art paper, spray fixative) Info: Learning Styles Art: Seven-Seven s Golden Fishes in a Dark Sea What You ll Find Online Helps for Leaders (p. 57) More About Today s Scriptures Reflection Using Visual Arts, Part 1 The World of the Bible: Sanhedrin and Sadducees 53

2 core session Getting Started (5 minutes) Ask volunteers to look up the word lord in the dictionaries. Discuss: What different meanings do we find for the word lord? (Summarize on the board or newsprint.) What is the difference between the definitions of lord with a lowercase l and those of Lord with an uppercase l? In today s gospel, someone identifies Jesus as Lord. Let s find out who. Scripture Search (25 minutes) Read aloud John 21:1-19 as other group members follow along. Discuss: What does Jesus tell the disciples to do? What is the reaction of the disciple whom Jesus loved (v. 7)? of Peter? of the other disciples? What does the reaction of the disciples suggest about what they believe about Jesus? Direct group members attention to the list of definitions of the word lord written on the board or newsprint. Discuss: John identified Jesus as the Lord. In what ways does Jesus fit (or not fit) each of the definitions on our list? (Circle those portions of definitions that fit; draw a line through those that do not fit.) Imagine that a stranger comes to your school the day of a big test. He sees you struggling and says, Here, use this pencil instead of your pen; you will know every answer. You begin writing with the stranger s pencil and discover that the man is right you know every answer! You look up and realize: The stranger is Jesus! How do you feel about Jesus? What would you say to Jesus? Divide into groups of 5-6 members each. Ask each group to pose itself to create still-life scenes of today s gospel story, for example: Peter calling the disciples to go fishing pulling in the nets with discouraged looks excitedly pulling in the nets with 153 fish Jesus and the disciples eating fish around the fire Note: If your group is small, create these same scenes together as one group, one scene at a time. enhance your core session Take digital photos of each scene to share with group members, taping or tacking them in order to a wall of your meeting space. Add captions if you wish. Discuss: How did your understanding of the story change as you posed in these scenes? What new insights did you have? feelings? doubts? hopes? Scripture Rewrite (15 minutes) Read aloud Revelation 5:11-14 as group members follow along in their Bibles. Discuss: Who is the Lamb on the throne in these verses? According to verse 12, what is the Lamb (the Lord) worthy to receive? Ask a volunteer to read aloud the alternative version of Revelation 5:11-12 printed in the activity Scripture Our Way, printed on the front of On the Edge (#8). Activity Soundtrack: From the Session Companion Audio CD, play Händel s Gloria Patri (track 1). Divide into pairs. Ask each pair to write its own version of Revelation 5:13-14, following the directions in the activity. Encourage creativity and originality, with the twist: What might it be like if nonliving things praised Jesus, the Lamb, like other parts of creation? or today s technology? or fictional characters? When pairs have finished, stop the music and share the rewritten versions of Revelation 5: Ask: What new ways of praising Jesus, our Lord, have we discovered through this activity? Note: Integrate one or more of the Enrichment activities on pages at this point in the session. Praying Together (5 minutes) Activity Soundtrack: From the Session Companion Audio CD, play Haydn s Allegro (track 5). Invite members to write prayers that focus on Jesus as Lord. Directions and space for writing are found in the activity Prayer, printed in On the Edge (#8). (Note: You ll find extra forms for the prayer in the handout titled Prayer, found in the Weekly Resources section of the Living the Good News Online Support Site.) Ask volunteers to read their completed prayers for today s closing prayer. 54

3 with your enrichment activities Art (10 minutes) Qi s The Risen Lord View He Qi s The Risen Lord, found on the back page of On the Edge (#8) and introduced in Session 6. Review the information on He Qi and The Risen Lord from the Art activity on page 43. Discuss: Our celebration of Easter continues. Who remembers when Easter starts? (Easter Sunday) when Easter ends? (Pentecost) Where in Qi s painting The Risen Lord do we see today s gospel (John 21:1-19) pictured? (lower left) What part of the story do you think Qi is picturing? What at this point might the disciples be thinking? feeling? wanting? Imagine yourself as one of the disciples there on the shore with Jesus. You thought he was dead and gone, but now he appears, alive. What one question would you most like to ask him? Invite volunteers to suggest possible answers to these final questions, but be aware that our most significant questions defy easy answers and may, in fact, have multiple answers. Avoid labeling answers as right or wrong. Acknowledge and respect a variety of responses, and affirm the questions themselves as an important part of the journey of faith. Note: To learn more about Qi and view additional paintings visit Art Response (15 minutes) Pastel Drawings Invite group members to create their own versions of The Risen Lord. Offer these directions: Using pastel crayons, draw a large figure of the risen Christ in the center of your paper. Let your central image of Jesus divide your paper into four smaller sections, as you see in Qi s artwork. Now consider: What events from your life with God can you place in the remaining four sections of your paper? What four events do you think are the most significant? These could refer to key moments in your journey with God, for example, your baptism or the first time you realized God loved you. Or pick four experiences that helped you to know yourself in new ways. Don t worry about your artistic expertise; the important thing is to capture, for yourself, what these four important events or experiences are. Give group members time to complete their pastel drawings, then invite volunteers to share their artwork with the group. Info Learning Styles Favorite ways to be taught are called learning styles, and they hold important clues for leaders. Our learning style is our personal window on the world. This style determines how we think, make judgments, and experience people and events. There are three typical styles of learning: learning by hearing and speaking (auditory style) learning by seeing (visual style) learning by moving and touching (kinesthetic/ tactile style) Each of us uses all three styles but favors one. Living the Good News suggests a range of activities designed to meet the needs of learners with varying styles. To learn more about learning styles, as well as specific ways to honor differences among group members, see How to Lead Young Teen Groups from Living the Good News. Ask your Christian Education Director for a copy or call, toll-free, enrichment 55

4 enrichment Art (15 minutes) Seven-Seven s Golden Fishes in a Dark Sea Together view the poster of Prince Twins Seven-Seven s Golden Fishes in a Dark Sea, found in the Session Companion Visuals for Intermediate/Young Teen. Invite group members immediate responses. If necessary, select questions found in the article First Impressions (found in the Seasonal Resources section of the Living the Good News Online Support Site) to help group members get started. Explain: Care to guess how Twins Seven-Seven got his name? He is a twin, and he and his twin were the 7th set of twins born to his mother! Seven-Seven is a Nigerian artist, born in His work is known worldwide, and in 2005 he was named by UNESCO as the 2005 Artist for Peace. He now lives in Philadelphia, PA. Where is your eye drawn in Seven-Seven s painting? How does your gaze move around the painting? Pick a fish in the painting. Now use your imagination to give that fish a voice. What is that fish saying? Now imagine that your fish along with all the other fish in the painting have been caught up in the net cast by Jesus disciples in John 21:1-19. You ve not only been caught in a net, you ve been caught up in a miracle. Now what are you saying? As a fish, you observe the scene that plays out on the beach. What do you observe about Jesus? about the disciples? Ah, you re one of the lucky ones. You get thrown back into the lake, not eaten. Whew. What do you tell your fish friends? your fish family? What You ll Find Online at Click on Weekly Resources, then April 18 to find: Printable Scripture Backgrounds for today s readings. Information on this week s Model of the Faith, Anselm, remembered on April 21. Additional Prayer templates, available to use in today s Prayer Together. An ongoing activity linking young teens and senior adults titled Share Fair #2. Click on Seasonal Resources to find: An article for leaders and/or group members titled The Book of Revelation. An article for leaders and/or group members titled The Gospel of John. An article for leaders and/or group members titled Keeping Easter. A helpful guide to viewing and responding to art titled First Impression. Viewable, high-resolution images of both of today s works of art, Qi s The Risen Lord and Twins Seven-Seven s Golden Fishes in a Dark Sea. To access the images, you ll need this password: 21art12. Note: Learn more about Twins Seven-Seven and view more of his paintings at africanart_twin77.html. 56

5 More about Today s Scriptures Today s readings invite us to consider the meaning of Jesus presence with us. In the story from Acts, the apostles, empowered by the Spirit of Jesus, preach the gospel despite persecution. John, in his Revelation, describes how being in the presence of Jesus, the enthroned Lamb of God, moves all of creation to bless and praise. In today s gospel story, Jesus, in another postresurrection appearance, provides an abundant catch of fish for his disciples. Acts 9:1-6 (7-20) The fact that the story of Paul s conversion is repeated twice more with minor variations in 22:4-16 and 26:9-18 indicates Every Christian community must know that not only do the weak need the strong, but also that the strong cannot exist without the weak. The elimination of the weak is the death of the community. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Luke s sense of the importance of this event for the history of the early Church. The account not only serves to authenticate Paul s apostleship, but also shows that the mission to the Gentiles was divinely ordained. Luke uses a number of terms to describe Christians: here they are called disciples, those who belonged to the Way (an Old Testament way to describe the moral demands of the covenant), saints, and those who invoke your name. Paul s persecution of the community is persecution of Jesus himself. Blinded by the light, Paul is led helpless to Damascus and revealed to the community as God s chosen instrument or vessel. Revelation 5:11-14 Today s reading comes from the beginning of the major section of Revelation, that of the scroll with seven seals (4:1 19:10). The scene continues John s vision of God enthroned in the heavenly court. To God as the Creator, the four creatures and the elders sing praise. God is holding a scroll with seven seals, which contains the whole of God s redemptive plan, not only revealed but made effective by the Lamb. The Lamb, as the divine/human agent, is the only one who can open it. helps All creation joins in the hymn of praise, for the whole universe is already reconciled to God. The royal and priestly task of the Church is to make known that fact. Its success is already anticipated in the final Amen. John 21:1-19 Today s reading is from chapter 21, which is regarded by most scholars as an epilogue to the gospel, added either by the evangelist himself or by an editor-disciple. The helplessness of the disciples on their own is transformed by the power of the risen Lord and their obedience to him. They are scarcely able to haul in the net (the same word is used for drawing persons to Jesus in 6:44 and 12:32) because of the size of the catch. (The precise symbolic meaning of the number 153 is unclear; it probably indicates in some way the breadth or universality of the Christian mission.) The meal is described in terms harking back to the multiplication of loaves (6:11). The standard early pictorial symbol for the Eucharist was bread and fish, rather than bread and wine. Nourished by the Eucharist, Christians are to become missionary fishers of people. Reflection for they knew it was the Lord. One theme that flows through today s gospel is recognition. When the catch of fish is larger than the disciples can pull in, John tells Peter, It is the Lord. After the meal, no one asks who the stranger on the shore is; all know it is Jesus. How often do we recognize Jesus in our midst? Or do we bumble more often, who are you? Most of us are more inclined to know Jesus in the accustomed places: the sacraments, the harmonious family meals, the beautiful sunsets. Yet the challenge to the disciples is also ours: to know him in an unexpected place (a lake) under disappointing circumstances (no fish). Yet he has not changed from the person he was before his crucifixion. He speaks with the same tenderness when he invites his friends, come and eat your meal. He looks out for them with the same care when he fills their nets. He overturns nature s laws at sea with the same intensity as he called Lazarus from the tomb. This leads us to think that maybe the difficulty with recognition isn t Jesus problem: it could be ours. for leaders 57

6 for leaders helps Using Visual Arts, Part 1 by Sue Awsumb-Conn Art is a wonderful means of expression, a unique way of communicating to the world what is within each of us. Our society does not give enough opportunities to create art, as it is handed to us daily by TV, billboards, magazines, computers, etc. Yet God gives us the imagination to create splendid things if we take the opportunity to do so. We must take the time, then, to expand our minds, see what other artists have done, talk about art and try it ourselves. Teaching art to children is easy yes, chaotic and messy sometimes but easy. Children see the world in a special way, without hesitancy or fear of judgment by others. When teaching children to make art, we must invite them to enjoy the process and to think of themselves as artists, expressing their feelings about a subject. Keeping the comfort zone for making creative things should be a lifelong process. Several important ways to keep the comfort zone of visual arts intact are by sketching, learning from other artists and knowing that every piece is a learning experience. Sketching Sketching is a fine way to learn how to see the world, as well as to practice copying lines, shapes and colors. All artists use sketching in some way to record and plan future art. They also use this technique to try to understand the world How important are the visual arts in our society? I feel strongly that the visual arts are of vast and incalculable importance. Of course I could be prejudiced. I am a visual art. Kermit the Frog muppet around them. Begin the sketching process by creating a book with blank pages and designing a cover. The easiest way to bind a book is to provide pages of copy paper, per person, punching holes with a 3-hole punch and using yarn or ribbon to bind together. Countless bookbinding texts are available at your local bookstore for more creative and exciting sketchbooks. Viewing Art Learning from other artists is an excellent way to see the world with a different eye, to see what others have imagined before. Participants can observe the wonder of landscapes, stories and images that are considered masterpieces. From these, they can see that a painting or sculpture isn t magic, but a well-thought out plan of line, shape, texture, color, value, space and form the elements of design (for more on these elements, see p. 40). Paintings are often composed of warm vs. cool colors (red, orange, yellow vs. blue, green, violet) as well as carefully placed brushstrokes to make the fantastic textures of the objects in the painting. (cont. on p. 64) The World of the Bible Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (from the Greek word for a council) was the official group of Jewish leaders in Jerusalem that functioned both as a court to decide cases and to determine disputed points of the Law. Because religious and political concerns were not separate in the biblical world, the council dealt with both political and religious matters. Although its exact make-up is hard to determine, at the time of Jesus its members included representatives of all the various Jewish parties the Sadducees, Pharisees, priests, scribes and elders of the chief families and worked closely with the High Priest as is evident both in Jesus trial and in the trials of the apostles (Acts 4 and 5). Sadducees The Sadducees were a small religious group or party within Judaism. Drawn from the priestly and higher social classes, they were conservative in both politics and religion. Accepting as scripture only the written Law, they rejected the Pharisees adoption of unwritten traditions as authoritative. They urged peaceful collaboration with the Romans because of their concern for the temple as the religious and financial center for Judaism and so were often accused of undesirable compromises in order to retain their power. The Sadducees disappeared as a group in AD 70 when Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans and the temple destroyed. 58

Christ s Abiding Presence

Session 8 Scriptures John 21:1-14 Revelation 5:6-14 Christ s Abiding Presence session essentials The living Christ lives with and within us. Jesus, in another post-resurrection appearance, provides an