milk & honey mamas

Story contributed by Kristen

Click here for the theological background of Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21

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.

“I have seen the Lord!”

John 20:18

The days were long after Jesus died. On Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb where Jesus was laid so they could anoint his body with spices. They walked up the hill, talking softly to each other.

The morning was clear and crisp, the sun bright in the sky. Birds sang, and flowers bloomed in the garden around them. Mary picked a lily, remembering the day Jesus had said “consider the lilies of the field.” She smiled, and held it gently in her hand.

But when they came to the tomb, they all stopped in their tracks. The stone was rolled away. They came closer. The tomb was empty. Then, they saw something. A figure all in white came toward them. They stepped back in fear, but the figure held out a hand. “Don’t be afraid,” she said. It was an angel. “He is not here, for he is risen.” 

Risen? What did that mean? The women looked at each other, and at the angel, who was walking back to the empty tomb. “We must tell the others,” they said. Mary the mother of James and Salome turned around and began to run.

Mary Magdalene stayed back. She knelt by the entrance of the tomb and quietly prayed. “Great God, help me to understand.” Then she heard a voice behind her.

“Mary,” said the voice. Mary had heard this voice before. She had heard this voice a thousand times. She had heard this voice raising the dead, and healing the sick, and feeding the hungry. Was it really him, was it really Jesus? She turned, the sun streaming into her face, and saw him. Jesus. Alive. Jesus.

Mary lifted her hands to heaven, and felt the lily still in her hand. She held it out to Jesus. “Master,” she said. 

God had answered Jesus’ prayer. Jesus came back to his friends and he will always come back for you. He comes back to help us when we are sad and afraid. He comes back to look at us with kind eyes and to heal us with his gentle hands and to comfort us with his loving voice. So, precious one, when you are sad and afraid, remember Jesus’ prayer. Remember that Jesus comes back.

Ideas for Play

Contributed by Kristen

• Act it out!

• Watch our Easter Sunday video

• Read Easter stories

• Make a resurrection garden

• Pick your favorite image of the risen Jesus and print a copy to hang in your home for the week, or create your own!

• Talk about the beautiful things in life that Jesus came back to. What makes life beautiful to you? What do you love about being alive? Write them down, draw pictures, and hang them up to remind you!

• Listen to Easter music and dance! Focus on the joy of life.

Poetry 

Compiled by Caroline

This lovely poem by Mary Oliver encompasses so much of what resurrection is to me; Being embodied, being present to life, giving “shouts of joy.” It also reminds me, as Wendell Berry says, that we must “practice resurrection.” It can be a daily and hourly practice—to practice the work of what it means to truly live again and again and again. 

Messenger by Mary Oliver 

My work is loving the world.

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—

equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?

Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me

keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be

astonished.

The phoebe, the delphinium.

The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.

Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over, how it is

that we live forever.

Art

Compiled by Caroline

This week, we have four paintings of the women at the tomb. I would like to look at all four and ponder on these questions:

How are the women depicted differently in each painting? Which painting entrances you the most and why? Can you point out the main color scheme in each painting? How do the colors change the feeling of each painting? Notice the perspective of each painting (the women are far from the tomb, they are peering in, the cross is close by, etc) and notice how these different perspectives help us see the empty tomb differently. What do these paintings teach you about this story? 

Music

Compile by Caroline

This week, we have songs of rejoicing! Dance with your child and sing some praise that Jesus lives! 

Hallelujah (Psalm 148), by Rain for Roots

Christ the Lord is Risen Today, by Keith and Kristyn Getty

Joyful Noise, by Ellie Holcomb