milk & honey mamas

Story contributed by Kristen

Click here for the theological background of Matthew 5, Luke 6
(Sermon on the Mount Part 1)

Remember, repetition helps children internalize and make connections. It might be a good idea to read the same story every day for a week. You can add different activities every day.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew 5:3-6 NIV Translation

Imagine that you are sitting by the Sea of Galilee. You are watching the blue and green waves roll and crash on the beach with white sea spray shooting over the rocks, and you are feeling the grass of the hill on your feet. Wildflowers dot the grass around you, and you can smell fish from the fishing boats on the beach.

Suddenly, you hear a crowd gathering, and a strong voice leading out. You look around and see a man sitting on a hill close to you. A crowd of people is sitting close to him, right at his feet. He looks at them like he loves them, and you can see that he is talking to them. You start to move closer, wondering what he is saying.

Soon, you are close enough to hear him. You look into the man’s face and see that he is looking at you. He smiles, a big, wide smile and winks at you. It is like he already knows you. You sit down on the grass and start to listen.

Blessed are you, he says. God sees you when you are sad. God is with you through the sadness.

Blessed are you, he says again. God sees you when you are grieving, because God grieves too.

He keeps talking, and you keep listening.

Blessed are you. When you are kind, kindness comes back to find you.

Blessed are you. When you try to make peace, peace follows you.

Blessed are you. When people make fun of you for being honest, you are like the Prophets who came before you. You are not alone.

Then the man pauses, and looks at the people surrounding him. You are surprised to see that there are tears in his eyes.

You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.

He holds out his hands, like he wants to hug everyone close. You are precious, you are good, and you are deeply loved. 

Am I salt? You wonder. Am I a light? What does this man mean?

Let your light so shine before everyone, he says, because you have more good and kindness inside of you than you know.

Is that true? You wonder. Do I have a light that could shine out to people?

The teacher keeps talking, and even though you have lots of questions you keep listening.

Some of you might think that you’re not very good, and that you can’t do very many good things. You can only do medium good things. But I say you are blessed. You are good down to your toes. So don’t settle for medium good things. Be as kind and as full of light and as delicious and delightful as you can possibly imagine being.

Something inside your heart is feeling warm, like you’re sitting by a fire. What the teacher is saying feels true to you, so very true. 

Don’t just worry about how your life looks from the outside in. Take care of your life, and your heart, from the inside out. When you’re angry, listen to what your anger has to say. Don’t just try to stop it from growing. Live so honestly that when you give your word, no one has to question it. If someone tries to trick you, be kind anyway. Before you judge someone, remember that they are beloved too. Don’t ever forget that everyone around you is full of light. 

He pauses again, and your mind is swirling and swimming with questions. What does it mean to take care of your heart from the inside out? How can you be kind when other people are frustrating? 

Be whole, my friends, says the man, and he looks at the crowd of people, and right at you, with so much love that your heart feels like it might burst.

Live into yourselves, He says, Be who you are created to be. You can be more than your reactions to things. You can be at peace inside your heart.

Ideas for Play

Contributed by Kristen

A note about the scriptures:

This week’s story is part one of the sermon on the mount (we will finish the sermon next week). One thing to consider is how you want to engage the actual text. The words of Jesus are powerful. I have rephrased his words to capture what I feel is especially important for children, but children are fully capable of hearing and understanding complex theological ideas and literary language. Remember, though, that Jesus would have taught in Aramaic (and probably understood Hebrew). The words we read in the scriptures are translations of his original words, which were recorded many years after he died by his disciples. Translations are not perfect, they are influenced by the translators’ own biases. All of this is to say that it might be worth looking around for a translation you really like and find a lot of resonance with. I find this is especially true for passages of scripture I want to commit to memory, or teach my little one to learn. I am very fond of the NIV translation, but there’s lots of good stuff out there. Check out Bible Study Tools for different translations.

For me, it’s helpful to think of two different goals: making scriptures accessible and familiar to my little one, and making theology inviting and meaningful. Listening to or watching Jesus’ words could accomplish goal #1, and translating those words as I understand them (and and my little one does) could accomplish goal #2.

Ideas for engaging Jesus’ words:

• Listen to them! Play the passage (using whatever translation you like) and try to really hear the words
  
• Listen to them in song – (see resources below!)
  
• Watch a video (The Chosen is great)
  
• Read a verse/few verses at a time (depending on which ones are particularly important to you, pick 2 or 3 a day) and read the words aloud and then spend time doing your own translation with your kids. What do these words mean? What was Jesus saying?
  
  
  

More Ideas for Play

• Weather permitting, go to a hill to read the story (or build one in your house. A fort would work too!)
  
  
• Talk to your children about blessings they may have received in their lives (blessing at birth, blessing during sickness, blessing of love, blessing of counsel, etc.) do they remember how they felt? What does it mean to be blessed?
  

Salt of the Earth

• Try foods salted and unsalted. What difference does the salt make? (Good foods to try: cooked potato, cucumber, boiled egg, any vegetable) Ask your kids: what if salt wasn’t salty? Would it still be salt? What does Jesus mean that we are the salt of the earth? How are you like salt?

• A tiny amount of salt can make a big difference. Bake cookies (with a recipe that calls for salt, like chocolate chip cookies) Can you taste the salt? Does it matter that we put the salt in?
  
  

You are the Light of the World

• Why is light important? Talk about different kinds of light (I really like this wordless video depicting different kinds of natural and artificial light)
  • Lighthouses
  • Fires
  • The sun
  • The moon 
  • Stars
  • Lightbulbs, lanterns, lamps, flashlights 
  • Fireflies 
  • Northern lights 
    
    What do these lights do? What would life be like without them?
    

• Bring a light (candle, flashlight) into a dark room. What difference does the light make? Bring the light around the room and notice how it illuminates different things. Does a chair look different in the light? A window? The floor?
  
  
• Light illuminates the things it touches. Watch the sun rise or set (if you can, or watch a video) and notice how different things look with and without the light.
  
  
• We can also illuminate the things we touch. What does illuminate mean? How can we be like a lighthouse, or stars, or a firefly, or lightning, or a candle? What happens if you cover a light up?
  
  
  

• How can I be a shining light? Choose your child’s favorite light source and make a craft around it. For example, say they love the sun. Make a sun out of paper, and then write on the rays ways that you can be a light (comfort someone who is sad, help with dinner, give a hug, be kind to myself, etc.)

Inside–> Out Life Care

• How do we see other people? Read some stories about empathy (some of my favorites: The Rabbit Listened, Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch, What is Given From the Heart, Thank you Omu, Last Stop on Market Street)
  
  Sometimes we feel really angry at people or feel like they are asking us to do too much! What happens when we really listen to them? When we wonder what they might be feeling? What does that make you want to do?

• Sometimes we worry about what other people think of us. Jesus asks us to worry about what we think of ourselves. Jesus says we should be proud of ourselves inside, and that will shine out. What makes you proud of yourself? What makes you wish you had done something different?
  
  

• Have a discussion about Zootopia:
  • Gideon Gray is really mean to Judy. How does she respond?
  • Does Judy act the same way Gideon does, or does she choose to be kind?
  • Gidon Gray repents and apologizes to Judy. What does Judy do?
  • Judy didn’t know that Gideon was feeling bad inside when he was mean to her. But she didn’t let his actions determine how she felt about all foxes. She chose to be kind anyway. And Gideon chose to work through his hurt inside. Judy believed that even though he had been mean before, he could be kind.

Art

Compiled by Caroline

Here are two modern paintings that explore The Sermon on the Mount. Remember that when asking questions about art, you don’t need to feel a sense of pressure that your child has the “correct” answer. Art is very forgiving on what is “correct.” So feel free to go with your child’s answer (unless they say Jesus looks like a dinosaur…or maybe that’s just my kid? :)). You can just enjoy exploring ideas with them! 

Here are some sample questions you could ask your child for the Laura James painting:

Where is Jesus? Why do you think this is Jesus? Why is Jesus so big? What colors do you see? Are the colors bright or dark? How does this painting make you feel? Which person in the crowd would you like to be? What are all the people looking at? Does it look like a warm day or a cold day? What’s your favorite part of the painting? 

Here are some sample questions for the Santangelo painting:

Where is Jesus? Why do you think this is Jesus? How are these paintings similar? How are they different? What shapes do you see? What colors do you see? Are the colors in this painting the same as the other painting? How does this painting make you feel? Which person in the crowd would you like to be? Do you think this is in the morning, afternoon, or evening? What’s your favorite part of this painting?  

Poetry

Compiled by Caroline

Background for Parents:

This beautiful poem by Malcolm Guite meditates on blessing the One who has blessed us, on recognizing His light, and on lifting the veil of our current experiences to glimpse His goodness. Read the poem a few times to yourself until you can absorb its words clearly. It can also be helpful to read it aloud a few times because, in my opinion, the sound of the poem is as essential as the words.

Listening to someone else reading a poem can also help us catch different meanings than we would ourselves. If you are interested in that experience, here is a link to Malcolm Guite’s website where he reflects on the poem and reads it aloud: https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/tag/the-sermon-on-the-mount/

As you read the poem to your child, you could ask them to listen for repeated words. How many times do they hear the word “veil” or “ kingdom”? How many references are there to light? You could also ask them about times in their life when sadness has helped them appreciate joy, or when waiting has helped them appreciate a reward. Or you don’t even have to discuss it very much, you could just read it and enjoy the sounds of the words! Any exposure to beautiful poetry is a win in my book!

Beatitudes

by Malcolm Guite

Matthew 5: 1-16

We bless you, who have spelt your blessings out,

And set this lovely lantern on a hill

Lightening darkness and dispelling doubt

By lifting for a little while the veil.

For longing is the veil of satisfaction

And grief the veil of future happiness

We glimpse beneath the veil of persecution

The coming kingdom’s overflowing bliss

Oh make us pure of heart and help us see

Amongst the shadows and amidst the mourning

The promised Comforter, alive and free,

The kingdom coming and the Son returning,

That even in this pre-dawn dark we might

At once reveal and revel in your light.

Music

Compiled by Caroline

Music helps me feel so much better about my ability to convey gospel topics. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by “teaching” my child something, but the joy of music is pretty basic. It communicates in a really organic and fun way. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the amount of content that’s available for teaching your children, I recommend just playing music for one night of your scripture study. A song can set the tone of enjoyment (instead of scary pressure) when engaging with scripture. 

This song is a fun retelling of the beatitudes by Brook Hills Worship. Hope you enjoy!