First Thoughts: Today's scripture is a disturbing shift from the serene nativity scene as we discover the Christ Child in mortal danger and fleeing for his life. Since we're working with children, it is inappropriate to go into detail about the slaughter of the innocents. Instead we will focus on the fact that the young family must leave everything they know to trust God to protect them in a foreign place. Actually this moment in the life of the baby Jesus foreshadows a moment which happens in his adulthood. The celebration of his birth is cut short as he and his family face their first great test of faith. And the celebration of Jesus' baptism is cut short too, as he is driven into the wilderness to face temptation and isolation. It seems to be a universal truth: Whenever we make any great step forward in our walk of faith, we often find the very next step is one of testing, of trying our faith. When we really look at it, though, it's also a time of deepening and strengthening our faith. It might seem a bit unfair that the moment we have to celebrate a new beginning, we barely have time to breathe before the heavy work begins, but that's the way it is. If we accept a calling from God, we must also be made ready for that calling. Jesus' parents had a calling to raise their son in righteousness and faith and were made ready for that task by spending his early years depending solely on God for their survival. Take a moment to reflect on your own experience of calling. How were you made ready for the task God assigned to you? Do you sense God calling you to something new again, as we begin a new liturgical season?
Teaching On Your Own: (rifles through maps) Hey everybody. See what I have? Maps. Lots and lots of maps. My family is going on a ski trip during the Christmas break. But I've never been there before, and I'm a little nervous. I'm trying to study these maps so I don't get lost. Have you ever been in a new place and felt a little lost? It's not fun, huh? Hey, I bet that's how Mary and Joseph felt too.
See, after Jesus was born, Joseph had a dream in which God told him that he needed to take Mary and the baby Jesus and go to a foreign land. There was a leader named Herod who heard about Jesus being born and wanted to get rid of him. So they had to run away to keep Jesus safe. They had to go all the way to Egypt where they had no home and no family. They didn't even have a map. Really, they only had their faith that God would take care of them. And they knew that even if they were going to a place they had never been, they could never go to a place where God had never been. I guess God is the ultimate map, huh? That's true for us too. Even if we're in a new place, and we feel a little lost and scared, we can remember that God can never be lost. God knows right where we are and knows just what we need. You know what? I think that makes God better than a map. God's more like a GPS, as in God Perfectly Sees. Get it? GPS -- God Perfectly Sees! It's true! Wherever we are, God perfectly sees us.
Teaching As A Team:
(Leader 2 has maps opened up, rifles through them)
Leader 1: Hey (name), what do you have there?
Leader 2: Maps. Lots and lots of maps.
Leader 1: Oh, are you planning a trip?
Leader 2: Yes, my family is going on a ski trip during the Christmas break. But I've never been there before, and I'm a little nervous. I'm trying to study these maps so I don't get lost.
Leader 1: That's a good idea. It can be a bit confusing if you're in a new place. I'm sure that's how Mary and Joseph felt too.
Leader 2: What do you mean?
Leader 1: After Jesus was born, Joseph had a dream in which God told him that he needed to take Mary and the baby Jesus and go to a foreign land.
Leader 2: Why did they need to do that?
Leader 1: There was a leader named Herod who heard about Jesus being born and wanted to get rid of him. So they had to run away to keep Jesus safe. They had to go all the way to Egypt where they had no home and no family. Really, they only had their faith that God would take care of them.
Leader 2: Wow. I bet they didn't even have a map.
Leader 1: No, I guess not. But they had a promise that God would go with them. And they knew that even if they were going to a place they had never been, they could never go to a place where God had never been.
Leader 2: I guess God is the ultimate map, huh?
Leader 1: That's a good way of putting it. That's true for us too. Even if we're in a new place, and we feel a little lost and scared, we can remember that God can never be lost. God knows right where we are and knows just what we need.
Leader 2: That makes God better than a map. God's more like a GPS, as in God Perfectly Sees. Get it? GPS -- God Perfectly Sees!
Leader 1: I get it all right. And it's true -- wherever we are, God perfectly sees us.
Closing Prayer: Thank you, God, for this story about Mary and Joseph and Jesus, how they trusted you to keep them safe in a foreign land. Remind us too that wherever we go you have already been and we can never be lost from your sight. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this message in a home or classroom environment, spend some time reflecting on what it would have been like for Mary and Joseph to have traveled to another country. Back then there were no computers or phones, so they couldn't check things out in advance. There were no cars or planes, so they had to travel either by walking or riding an animal. They had probably spent their whole lives in one place, raised in a small town with family and friends; now they were traveling all the way to Egypt to be on their own. And all of this while they knew that King Herod was looking for them, so he could kill baby Jesus. Ask the children how they imagine they would feel in this situation. What are some things they would worry about? Finding a place to live, not being able to speak the language, not being able to find a job, not being able to make any friends? This was certainly a stressful experience for the young family, but it is in stressful experiences like this one that we learn how much we can rely on God. Because they trusted the warning God sent in Joseph's dream, and because they were willing to trust that God would lead them in this strange place, their faith grew strong, and they were able to be even better parents to Jesus.
For a craft idea, help your children make a faith map. You can either provide them materials to create their own simple map or use the template provided. Give the children some type of stickers, like stars, to show all the places on the map where they think God would be. (They should obviously put stickers all over the map.) If they want to be more detailed, invite them to write beside each sticker an idea of how God is with them. For example, "In a thunderstorm," "When I'm lonely," "When I feel lost." Close with a prayer of thanksgiving for God's ongoing presence in our lives.
