Story contributed by Kristen
Click here for the theological background of Matthew 8; Mark 2-4; and Luke 7.
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.
A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Matthew 8:2-3 NIV
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
Have you heard of faith before? What does that word mean?
There are lots of answers. Faith can be lots of things. Here’s another idea: faith is reaching out for connection. Sometimes the world makes us think we’re all on our own and that no one could love us. Faith says no to that voice. Faith says “I am loved. I am part of something bigger than just me.”
Jesus came to earth to invite everyone to God’s big feast. He came to say that everyone is invited to God’s love, and no one needs to be hungry. But the problem is, lots of people in our world get left out all of the time! They get left out because they’re different; their skin is a different color, or they walk or talk or think differently, or they come from a different place. But Jesus said, “enough of that. Everyone is invited to God’s love.” And anytime he saw people who were left out, and who were hurting, what do you think he did? That’s right. He invited them to come live in God’s love. He invited them into faith.
Do you want to hear some stories about people who were left out that Jesus helped?
Healing a Leper
When Jesus lived on the earth, people were very scared of a disease called leprosy. Leprosy covers skin with ouchy sores, and it makes people very very sick. In Jesus’ day, if someone got leprosy they were banished from their home. They had to leave their families and everything they loved and live with other lepers. No one wanted to touch lepers or be close to them because they were so afraid of their disease. How do you think it would feel to be a leper?
One day, Jesus was walking, looking at the trees around him and smelling the dirt his sandals were kicking up when all of a sudden someone was in front of him. This someone was covered in sores and blisters. They had bandages on their body, and they looked sick. This someone had leprosy. What do you think Jesus did? Do you think he wanted to run away, or say “ewww! Gross!”? How do you think he felt when he saw this person with leprosy?
The person with leprosy looked at Jesus, right into his eyes with confidence. And he said “I believe that you come from God. I believe you can make me well again.”
Jesus looked right back at him. And he saw that this man was already well inside his heart. And he saw how left out this man was because of his disease. And Jesus knew that wasn’t right. So he said, “let what is within you be outside of you. Be well.” And right away, the man’s leprosy was healed.
Widow’s Son
After Jesus met the brave man with leprosy, he kept walking. Maybe he was thinking about all the other people in the city who had leprosy, and all the people around him who had other struggles and pains. Suddenly, he heard someone crying. This wasn’t just a little bit of crying. This was sad, heartbroken crying like the person would never be happy again.
Right away, Jesus followed the sound of the crying. It led him to a woman, a mother. And she was crying because her son, her only child, had died. This was the day they were going to bury him, and she felt like her heart was going to break into a thousand pieces. Jesus reached a hand out to her and rested it on her shoulder.
His eyes were full of tears. “I am so sorry,” he said gently. The woman looked up, and Jesus saw that her eyes were full of sadness. Quietly, Jesus walked over to the body of the woman’s son. He put his hand on top of the boy’s hand, and he smiled at the boy’s lifeless face. The crowd whispered to each other, their faces confused. Then, the boy’s eyes opened. He sat up. He looked at Jesus and smiled. Then, he looked around. “Mama?”
Jesus walked away quietly as the mother ran to her son. Someone close to him would have seen tears falling down his face. Maybe he was thinking of other mothers who did not have happy reunions. Maybe he was thinking of the lepers again, the ones who were left out because of their disease. Maybe he was thinking about how being alive is not easy. About how hard it is sometimes. Maybe he said a prayer then, a prayer for all of us who are alive. Maybe he prayed that he would have faith to continue sharing God’s message: that even in the hardest parts of being alive, we are not alone. When we have faith we reach out from our place of pain and ask Jesus to bring us closer to God’s love.
Calming a storm
And after this day filled with sadness and helping, Jesus was tired. He met his friends, the fishermen who were also his disciples, as they were about to leave for a night of fishing. He got on their boat with them and settled down for a nap. The wind was calm, the water was still and peaceful, and the boat rocked gently on the waves. Jesus quickly fell asleep.
Before you know it, a storm came rumbling over the ocean. The wind rushed over the waters, waoooooo waooooo waoooo. And lightning flashed in the sky, kabam kabam kabam, and the rain came crashing down, whooosh whooosh whooosh, and the boat went crashing and tumbling over the waves. Jesus’ disciples were very scared. The storm was so fierce!
“Jesus” they cried out, “Jesus!” How could he be sleeping through this?” They ran over to his bed and shook him awake. “Don’t you care that we’re going to die?” they yelled.
Jesus woke up. He looked into his friend’s faces and saw how scared they were. He stood up and he looked right into the eye of the storm. He smiled, like he was looking at a friend. Then, very softly, he said “Peace. Be still.”
And the wind went waooooo waooooo oooooooo. And the lightning gave one last kaboom. And the rain went wooosh wooooo ooooooo. And the waves slowed, and slowed, and stopped their crashing. And everything was calm, and quiet, and still.
Jesus looked at his friends. “My dear ones,” he said, “I am here with you. You can trust me.”
Ideas for play
Contributed by Kristen
A note about acting out stories: Try not to stress about getting the story “right.” You’re just letting your kids explore with the characters and ideas and concepts. See what they remember, what connections they make, and what they’re interested in. This is a Montesourri-inspired method (a form of this is called Godly play, info about which is linked in our resources tab) that embraces kids where they are developmentally and allows them to explore without rigidity.
Healing a Leper
- Act it out! See resources for ideas.
- Watch this video and discuss.
- Learn about leprosy – show kids what it might have looked like and what life would have been like for someone who had the disease
Raising Widow’s Son from Death
- Act it out! 🙂
- Watch this video and discuss.
- Talk about what life might have been like for the widow of Nain (this article is helpful)
Calming a Storm
- Act it out! If you have cardboard boxes around, make your own boat. Grab a blanket for water.
- Read “The Captain of the Storm” from the Jesus Storybook Bible and “The Storm and the Hush” from Moments with Jesus.
- Construct the scene with paper/materials. I really like this one.
- Let your kids tell the story with felt or paper. Cut out the various elements of the story (Jesus, disciples, water, boat, wind, waves, lightning, rain) and let them tell and retell the story. Use musical instruments to simulate sounds of the storm. Spotify sounds will also work, as will your own mouths and imaginations!
Art
Compiled by Caroline
This painting depicts the scene before Jesus has calmed the storm. The waves are still crashing, the storm is still raging, and Jesus has just been woken up. The terror is still there, but we can see the light coming.
Here are some questions to explore with your child while looking at this painting:
How would you feel if you were on this boat? Look at the faces of some of the people on the boat—how did they feel? Where is Jesus? How did Jesus feel on the boat? What part of the painting is dark? What part is light? How do you think the water felt? How do you think the wind felt?
This painting depicts Jesus in the act of healing. Here are some questions to discuss with your child:
Where is Jesus? What is He doing? How is the man touching Jesus? How is Jesus touching the man? How do you think the hands of Jesus felt? Do you see any other people that are sick in this painting? Do you see any children in this painting? Why do you think Jesus had to touch the man to heal him? Has someone ever given you a hug to help you when you were hurt? Did it help you?
Poetry/Prayer
Compiled by Caroline
“Almighty God, who calms both wind and water,
We thank you for being with us when we’re tossed and turned;
Help us to trust in your power to bring peace to our day and give us the courage to be like Jesus who stood among his friends to calm the sea; through your many names we pray. Amen.”
—From Common Prayer for Children and Families
This is a prayer that can help your child find words when they are in their own storm and can also encourage them to bring peace to those around them.
You could also ask them: Do you ever feel like there’s a storm going on inside you? What are ways you can ask Jesus for peace?
*Note on reading prayers: In our tradition, reading prayers is fairly uncommon and may feel uncomfortable. The idea of “vain repetitions” has sometimes been interpreted as not repeating a prayer, but “vain repetitions” can also mean anything that is hollow in meaning. I think one thing we are taught about the prayers in scripture is that God loves honest prayers (read the psalms or Joseph Smith’s prayers if you need examples). Sometimes, reading other prayers helps me to voice honest feelings inside of me that I didn’t know how to put into words. I think searching for words to speak to God can be a great practice for approaching prayer in a new way and can be especially helpful for children who are new to prayer.
Music
Compiled by Caroline
Through this week’s readings, we are reminded of where to go for healing and peace. Each of these songs reflects on Jesus as our deepest source of help and healing.
milk & honey mamas 
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