First Thoughts: Like so many of Jesus' teachings, the Beatitudes carry in them the problem of familiarity. They are so "regular" to us that it is easy for us to forget they are also radical. Jesus is telling the people that everything they hold as curse -- poverty, grief, hunger, meekness -- is transformed into blessing in God's hands. Once again Jesus takes our expectation and turns it upside down, breaking through the illusions we hold about how the world really works. God's power is not found in the ability to control, coerce, or be filled; but in a willingness to be loving, vulnerable, and to risk emptiness. Therefore, those of us who are also vulnerable, weakened, and emptied have the greatest opportunity to understand and experience God's true nature. Understanding this teaching and living it out requires more than one reading; it takes a lifetime of diligent return to the passage and a renewal of prayer around it. Aren't we privileged that many of us have the opportunity to be the first ones to present it to our children? Let us surround this beautiful opportunity in prayer and love.
Teaching On Your Own: (looks at the book or piece of paper, puzzles over it; finally looks up) Oh, hey everybody! Sorry I didn't see you at first. It's just these new math problems are so HARD! I used to be good in math, but that's over now that I'm in Algebra. This math is completely different. It's not just numbers anymore. Now there are letters too. Listen to this: "A" plus 3 equals "B" plus 5 equals 10. Solve for "A" and "B." I mean, what? I told my parents about it, and you know what they said? They said I'd just have to go through a learning curve. Do you know what that is? They told me it's like climbing up a mountain. You have to work hard at first as you try to get up the steep part. But then you reach the top of the mountain and it makes sense to you. All that's left then is to come down the mountain and that's a lot easier. I guess this means that although the math is hard for me now, I'll get to a point when it makes sense. What do you think?
You know, sometimes we need the learning curve as Christians too, because sometimes the things Jesus taught were pretty hard to understand -- just like Algebra. In our lesson today Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in Spirit," "Blessed are those who mourn," and "Blessed are those who are mistreated for their beliefs..." Now those sound like pretty bad things to happen to people, don't they? We might think that if a person is poor or suffering, it's because God is punishing them for doing something wrong. But Jesus said that wasn't true, because actually those people are especially blessed. This must mean that when we're going through a hard time, that is a chance for us to be even more blessed. That's still pretty hard to believe, isn't it? That's because of the learning curve. It's not always easy to believe God's teachings at first. Actually the learning curve for being Christian takes a lifetime! Thankfully we have the church where we can work on it together every week, year in and year out. Just like I can go back to my Algebra class on Monday, and we can come back here whenever we need to. And I bet God is more patient with me than my teacher!
Teaching As A Team:
(Leader 2 has the book or piece of paper; puzzles over it)
Leader 1: Hey (name). What are you looking at there?
Leader 2: It's a math problem, and it is HARD.
Leader 1: I thought you were good in math.
Leader 2: Not anymore. Now I'm in Algebra, and this math is completely different. It's not just numbers anymore -- now there are letters too. Listen to this: "A" plus 3 equals "B" plus 5 equals 10. Solve for "A" and "B." I mean, what?
Leader 1: That is very different from the math problems you know. You'll have to go through a learning curve.
Leader 2: A learning curve?
Leader 1: Sure. It's like climbing up a mountain. You have to work hard at first as you try to get up the steep part. But then you reach the top of the mountain and it makes sense to you. All that's left then is to come down the mountain and that's a lot easier.
Leader 2: So you're saying that although it's hard for me to understand right now, I'll get to a point when the math will make sense?
Leader 1: Sure, that's how the learning curve works. You know, Jesus taught people things that were hard for them to understand too.
Leader 2: I bet they weren't as hard as Algebra.
Leader 1: I don't know, they were pretty hard. Like in our lesson today Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in Spirit," "Blessed are those who mourn," and "Blessed are those who are mistreated for their beliefs..."
Leader 2: Wait, all those things sound like bad things to happen to people, but Jesus is saying that they're blessed.
Leader 1: Exactly. Sometimes people think that if a person is poor or suffering, it's because God is punishing them for doing something wrong. But Jesus said that wasn't true. He said that when people are having a hard time, God isn't turning God's back on them but is with them in a very special way. God is especially loving and kind to us when we need help.
Leader 2: So when we're going through a hard time, that's a chance for us to be even more blessed. That is still pretty hard to believe.
Leader 1: That's because of the learning curve. It's not always easy to believe God's teachings at first. Actually the learning curve for being Christian takes a lifetime! Thankfully we have the church where we can work on it together every week, year in and year out.
Leader 2: Like Algebra class. I can always go back on Monday and try again until I finally understand.
Leader 1: That's right. And God is even more patient than your Algebra teacher. So that's something to be grateful for!
Closing Prayer: Loving God, thank you for giving us the lessons of Jesus, which help us understand how much you care for us. Help us to be patient with ourselves as we learn these new ways of living in the world, as patient as you are with us. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this message in a home or classroom environment, read through the list of Beatitudes, stopping after each one to ask the children to talk about each circumstance. (For the sake of simplicity, I would recommend you limit the lesson to the first seven.) You might ask: "What does it mean to be poor of spirit, to be in mourning, to be meek..." and so on. See if they can identify times in their lives when they've had this experience, or if they can identify anyone in the world who matches this description. Also take some time with the "non-suffering" Beatitudes, "the merciful," "the peacemakers," "the pure in heart." Even though these don't specifically imply an experience of suffering, these are all challenging lifestyles. Ask the children to reflect on how difficult it might be to live this way in the world. Then invite them to think about the blessings that are offered, "the kingdom of heaven," "comfort," "inherit the earth," and so forth. Ask them to reflect on what those blessings mean as well. Do they think that the blessings listed here are worth the suffering that has to be endured? Maybe they don't and that's okay. Let them know that even adults struggle with these teachings. All we can really do is to reflect on them, bring them to God in prayer, and ask God to help us with the learning curve.
As a craft idea, provide the children with the materials to create a mobile: wire hanger, yarn, glue sticks, tape, markers or crayons. You can also print out the template and make a copy for each child. You can either cut the template out in advance or allow the children to do it themselves. Encourage them to match up the identifiers with the blessing. (Feel free to eliminate any verse that seems too hard for your children to understand.) They can draw a picture if they want or use words to capture the meaning. Then they will glue the circles back to back with a piece of yarn running through the middle. They will complete this with each one and then attach the free yarn end to the mobile. Help them create a banner to attach to the top of hanger with the words "Blessed Are." Encourage them to hang their mobile in a place where they can remember the words of Jesus and can pray for God to help them grow to understand these blessings. Close in prayer.
