Updated 17 January, 2003

First Sunday after Christmas - 31/12/00

BIBLE READING

Luke 2.41-52

PREPARATION

‘This reading may seem an odd choice for the Sunday after Christmas: the passing of twelve years is marked in less than a week. But it challenges the temptation to sentimentality which is the danger of the nativity story: the weakness and vulnerability of the child in the manger is contrasted with the boy who can challenge even the most knowledgeable teachers in the foremost seat of learning of his nation.’ (from “Worship through the Christian Year, Year C”. National Society/Church House Publishing 1997)

• Have ready two or three things which can be hidden somewhere in the hall. Christmas decorations might forge a link between this story and Christmas.
• Decide whether to use the whole school, a class or a particular group of children to encourage the seeker in the game described in the text below.
• If can find a picture of Jesus in the Temple, it would be good to use one to illustrate the story.
• Tell the story either from a good children's bible (e.g. the Dorling Kindersley Illustrated Children's Bible) or in your own words. It is only a short story, so the latter may well be a possibility.

INTRODUCTION

Tell everyone that today's theme is about losing and finding. Show the pupils the two (or three) things that are going to be hidden.

Ask an adult to leave the room and then hide the first object. It needs to be hidden in a place where it is not immediately obvious but where it can reasonably be found. Ask the adult to return and look for the hidden object. The children (or a group of children) clap to signify the seeker's proximity to the hiding place (loud, rapid clapping means you are very close; more quiet slower clapping means you are a long way from it.) If there is time when the object has been found, you could repeat the exercise with another object and another adult.

MESSAGE

Tell the story of Jesus in the Temple. You could talk a bit about the story afterwards, using a picture to show how large the temple was and how it would have been quite easy for Joseph and Mary to miss Jesus. Nevertheless, it is significant that they really did not know where to look, and Jesus answer when they found him ('Did you not know that I would be in my Father's house') must have been something of a puzzle to them. They knew from what happened when Jesus was born that he wasn't an ordinary baby, but maybe this is the next indication they had that he was a truly extraordinary person, and this is possibly the reason that Luke included this story in his Gospel. We know almost nothing about Jesus' childhood, but this is the story we do know - and it is chosen to show that he was a very special person indeed.

PRAYER

Heavenly Lord,
whose Son Jesus Christ lived on earth before us,
and knew how hard life can be:
Help us to learn from his example,
help us to love the people who care for us,
and make us wise and understanding as we grow;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.