This past week Bruce Jones reflected with the children on the fruits of the spirit and the parable of the Forgiving Father.

We looked at the fruits of the spirit, “love, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” We asked the children what each of these meant. We then spent some time discussing each of the fruits of the spirit. We asked the children about what each one meant, and talked about experiences in their life where they were bearing good fruit, and times in their life when they weren’t. Everyone seemed to have a story about a brother, sister, or friend who was not patient, or kind, or generous!

We often refer to parables using a different name it than has come to be popularly known by. In the parable of the Forgiving Father (also known as the Prodigal Son) we find ourselves in a situation where it is appropriate to rename the parable so as to draw our attention to a different aspect of the story. In this story we choose to focus on the father’s joy at his son’s return, and his willingness to engage in that moment rather than the son’s decision to turn away from his father, or the decision to return once he becomes destitute.

With the children Bruce explored the parable of the “Forgiving Father.” They then discussed the definitions of the words “squander”, “dissolute” (in the context of ‘dissolute living’), “sin”, and “compassion”. If there are other words in the reading that you think your child might not know, please discuss their definitions. We then spent some time wondering how the father felt both when the son returned. We discussed how the son returned home hoping to simply be a servant or slave for his father because even the servants were better off than he was in the foreign land. We also discussed how the father’s immediate response of giving his sons sandals was a significant one because it indicated that he did not consider him a slave. Slaves did not wear sandals. We wondered about why the father forgave him. We also wondered about how powerful simply saying ‘I’m sorry’ is.

Your homework:

Read the passages they have been studying. I encourage you to read at least two of the readings that we have worked on. Help them to remember the details of the stories, and wonder about the meaning with them. Please emphasize that it is not important to read quickly, but rather to take enough time to read that you can pay attention to the details. You might read one of these each night before bed. Encourage them to teach you about the passages.

• From the third session, Read Luke: 11-32 (the forgiving father). You can also watch clips from the 2007 Lenten Formation program here where our speaker talks about this parable specifically.
• From the first and second session, Read John 15:1-11 (the true vine).
• From the second and third session, Read Galatians 5:22-23 (the fruits of the spirit). You can discuss with your child any of the fruits of the spirit that they do not understand.
• Consider having your child’s God Parents involved in this process. If they are close enough you can invite them to read some of the biblical passages with your child. If they live far away then can be encouraged to call and support your child from afar during this time of reflection.
• Remember, you can help set a reflective tone by lighting a small candle whenever you read with your child from the bible (when a candle is lit in the atrium we often say something like “We light a candle when we read from the bible because it reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world.”

If you have any questions or concerns let me know. I can be reached at any time on my cell phone at 773.519.0159.

The children then thought about when we use water during our Sunday services. They initially discussed the water used in baptism, but eventually came to also discuss the water that is poured into the wine during the preparation for Eucharist. They reflected on how there is such a little bit of water poured into all the wine, and how the wine and water once mixed can not be separated. They also discussed how the wine might symbolized Jesus and the water symbolized the people.

We also discussed how plants sometimes begin to die. The children remarked that they can tell a part of the vine is dying by its color, it turns brown. We then discussed how a knot, or other kind of impediment, might block the sap from flowing effectively through the vine. We then wondered what in our might block us from being healthy in our own lives. We wondered what things we do that might separate us from God, in the same way an unhealthy part of the vine is separated by a blockage. The children discussed how when they get mad, or angry, or violent, or are unkind they feel bad, and removed from God. We then wondered what we do to reconcile with God, and our neighbors. We talked about how when we apologize to someone it makes us feel better. We wondered about the amazing power of the words “I’m sorry.” We then wondered how we can apologize for things we have done that separated us from God’s love.

Last Sunday we began the Solemn Communion classes. Your children are at an age when it is appropriate to provide them with a time and place to explore their relationship with Jesus and the Eucharist. During our first meeting together we reminded the children that we walk slowly and talk quietly in the atria and during our time in Solemn Communion because it makes us better at hearing God’s still small voice in our lives. The children were also told that during our time together we would be looking at some special passages in the bible that we normally do not look at in the atrium. They were asked, “What do you do to get to know your friends better?” To which they responded: “You spend time with them.” To get to know Jesus better, we also have to spend time with him. We do that by reading the bible, praying and talking about him.

Each week we reflect on a different piece of scripture, and use that lens to try to come to know Jesus better. For the first two weeks the children look at the parable of the True Vine found in John 15:1-11. This week we talked a lot about the word ‘abide’. After allowing the children to consider what they thought it meant Betsy explained that the word ‘abide’ means to stay with, or to remain, or to rest. We wondered why an author might choose to use a word over and over. The children also counted the number of times the word ‘abide’ is in the passage and discovered that it appears 11 times. After which we had a chance to look at a vine, and we talked about how a vine is different from a tree. With a tree it is easier to identify the difference between the trunk and the branches, while with a vine the difference between the vine and the branches is much more difficult to distinguish. In the end they aren’t really separable, you can’t know where one begins and one ends. We then invited the children to consider what Jesus could mean by calling himself the vine and us the branches.

Your homework!

• Read this scripture passage with your children. Please emphasize that it is not important to read quickly, but rather to take enough time to read that you can pay attention to the details.
• One thing that we do in the atriums, which can easily be done at home, is light a small candle whenever we read from the bible this help set a reflective tone and reminds the children that this is a special reading.
• You can look at her (or his) nameplate on the inside of the bible and notice the quote, and look it up. Or you can ask to read the passage they looked at this week with them (they should have a blue ribbon marking the page.

Feel free to wonder with your children about things you find interesting, or that stick out to you, but resist the desire to explain except what the definition of a word is, or what a phrase literally means. It is okay to be left with real questions about what Jesus could have meant, and in the end the parables are designed to leave us wondering, to challenge us to reflect more deeply on our own lives and relationships with one another, the world, and God. One of the beautiful things about the parables is that they are not objective facts which can be explained away. Each time we come to one we are given an opportunity to can find a new spiritual insight. An appropriate response to most of your children’s subjective questions is simply ‘I wonder?”

If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to call. I can be reached at any time on my cell phone at 773.519.0159. It is truly a blessing to walk with your children as they come to know Christ more fully.

E-mail Kevin Caruso (kevin_cos@sbcglobal.net) if you are not able to attend.

-Kevin