Lost and Found
AGE: Primary |
THEME: St Luke: Lost and Found |
BACKGROUND: |
| Monday 18th October is a holy day for Christians, dedicated to Luke the Evangelist. Luke's Gospel recalls some events from Jesus' early life pointing to the fact that Jesus is no ordinary person. One of these events is a classic 'lost and found' story: Jesus' parents discover they have lost him and after an agonising search are astonished to find him in the Temple at Jerusalem. You can read about this event in Luke 2:41-52. Earlier in the term another of the Gospel writers, St Matthew, featured in an act of worship. This introduction follows the same pattern. |
PREPARATION: |
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INTRODUCTION: |
| Begin by showing the biographies you have brought with you. Talk about what a biography is. (If you followed the act of worship on St Matthew earlier in the term, you could make links with this.) Choose someone the pupils all know - it could be a celebrity or it could be someone from your school. What kinds of things would the children put into a biography of this person? Ask what the children would put into their own biography - how would they like to be remembered? Shift the focus to the copy of the Bible open at St Luke's Gospel. The Gospels are like biographies of Jesus. There are four Gospels in the New Testament and the one that appears third is Luke's Gospel. October 18th is a special day when Christians remember St Luke. Little is known about Luke except that he was a doctor and he wanted to tell the story of Jesus' life to the whole world, not just to the Jewish people. His Gospel begins by recording the birth of Jesus. It is the only Gospel that tells this story about Jesus as a boy... |
DEVELOPMENT: |
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This story is often called The Boy Jesus at the Temple. It takes place in Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve years old. He had travelled there with his parents Mary and Joseph, and many other people from their village of Nazareth, to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. After the celebrations, everyone began the long journey home. Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn't know this. They were travelling in a big group of people and they just presumed he was somewhere, perhaps playing with his friends or relatives. After a day, Mary and Joseph realised that Jesus wasn't with them. They searched amongst the group but they couldn't find him anywhere. In desperation, they walked all the way back to Jerusalem to look for him there. Pause in the story and ask the children to imagine how Mary and Joseph must have felt in this situation: worried? angry? frustrated? When Mary and Joseph got to Jerusalem they searched for Jesus for three days. Finally, they looked in the Temple. There they found Jesus sitting with a group of rabbis. They were talking and listening to each other. Pause in the story and ask the children to imagine how Mary and Joseph must have felt when they found Jesus: relieved? angry? upset? Mary and Joseph asked Jesus all the questions that parents ask their children - the question that's always difficult to answer: 'Why did you do this?' And Jesus' answer was very puzzling. He said, 'Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?' Mary and Joseph wondered what he was saying to them. Their house was in Nazareth. Jesus left the teachers in the Temple and went with his parents on the long journey back to Nazareth. St Luke tells us that although his parents didn't understand what had happened, they never forgot the time the boy Jesus was lost in Jerusalem and found in the Temple. |
REFLECTION: |
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Use a wondering question to reflect on the story: 'I wonder how we learn from each other?' (e.g. children, parents, teachers, friends) or 'I wonder who listens to children?' or 'I wonder where you feel most at home?' |
PRAYER: |
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Light a candle on the focus table. Almighty God, Lord of all time, Thank you for each new day. Help us to love you now And to trust you with our future. Amen. |
SONGS: |
| 'One more step', No.47 in Come and Praise Beginning, BBC Educational Publishing. |
FOLLOW-UP IDEAS: |
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