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

What happened after Jesus came back? Do you think he went right back to his old life? 

No, things were different now. Jesus had died. His time on earth was over. But his friends, his dear friends who had followed him and listened to him and loved him, didn’t know how to keep going without him. This week, we are telling some of their stories.

The Road to Emmaus 

When Jesus very first came back, do you remember who saw him? That’s right, it was Mary Magdalene! Right away, she told the other disciples. But some of them did not believe her. Maybe it had just been too hard to see their friend die. Maybe their hearts were broken and Mary’s story sounded too good to be true. Whatever the reason, they did not believe what Mary told them.

A group of them came to the tomb and looked for themselves. Just as Mary had said, it was empty. The clothes Jesus’ body had been wrapped in were laid out carefully on the smooth stone, but there was no Jesus. Confused, troubled, and sad, this group of friends walked together toward the nearby town of Emmaus. As they walked, a stranger joined them.

“Why do you look so sad?” the stranger asked. 

“You must be new around here,” Peter answered, “if you do not know what has happened recently.”

Then the disciples told the stranger what had happened to Jesus, and how they were his friends, and what it had been like for them to watch him die. The stranger listened carefully. He asked questions, and the friends talked openly.

“We thought he was going to save Israel,” said Cleopus, sadly. “We hoped he was the Messiah promised of old. Now we don’t know what to do.” 

The stranger nodded kindly. He asked them what the Hebrew scriptures said about a Messiah, and they talked together about the scriptures. Before any of them knew it, they had arrived at Emmaus in time for lunch. There they stood, in a dusty road, their feet and clothes covered with dirt, their bellies empty and their throats aching for water. And yet, they found that they wanted to stay with the stranger a little longer. He listened so well. And when they were with him, their hearts felt a little lighter. 

“Sir, stay with us. Eat lunch with us,” they said.

The stranger smiled, and nodded, and they all walked together to a place by the road offering food. They sat down and began to eat. And that’s when something amazing happened. Maybe they remembered all of the times they had eaten with Jesus, and how much Jesus loved to feed hungry people. Maybe their hearts were softer because the stranger had taken the time to listen. I don’t know exactly what happened, but suddenly the disciples looked at the stranger eating bread and fish and dates and he wasn’t a stranger at all. He was Jesus, their very own Jesus. The disciples dropped their dishes with a crash.

“Jesus, is it really you?” 

Jesus opened his arms up wide, and the disciples could see the scars of the nails in his hands and his wrists, and he smiled at them just as you always used to, and then he held out a chunk of his bread, inviting them to share, and they knew. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus had come back. 

Thomas

Thomas was one of Jesus’ disciples. He loved Jesus very much. When Jesus died, Thomas’ heart was broken into a million pieces, like when a glass cup hits the ground and shatters. He was so sad, nothing could comfort him. He tried to keep his hopes up. He tried to keep going on, but he was so discouraged. Why had Jesus died? What about the promises he had made? Thomas had believed Jesus with all of his heart, and now Jesus was gone. His heart ached. He couldn’t sleep, he could barely eat, and his body hurt all over. The whole world felt dark, and lonely, and hopeless.

Thomas was there when Mary came to tell the disciples what she had seen. He had listened to her tell the story of seeing Jesus come back. But Thomas did not believe her. Dead people don’t just get back up! He had seen Jesus die with his very own eyes. He was not going to be fooled into believing that Jesus was suddenly back.

But then one night, everything changed. Thomas and the other disciples were eating dinner together. Their talk that night was quiet and slow. No one had much to say. The food didn’t even taste very good anymore. All they could do was keep trying. They put bread in their mouths and chewed slowly, painfully. They swallowed some grape juice. They remembered eating with Jesus, and the memory was so clear it was like watching a movie.

And then suddenly, the room started to light up. It got brighter and brighter until it was like staring into the sun. And in the center of the light, beaming with joy, was the very person they had been thinking of. Jesus! There he was, alive again, right there in the room with them. The disciples could hardly believe their eyes. They gathered around him. 

“Jesus, is it you? Are you really here?”

Thomas stayed back. He looked away. Angrily, he brushed his hand across his eyes, thinking they were playing tricks on him. It couldn’t be Jesus, Jesus was dead! And then he heard a voice, a voice he would recognize anywhere.

“Thomas.”

It was Jesus.

“Thomas, come and see.” In Jesus’ voice, Thomas heard everything. He heard how Jesus understood, and how Jesus knew exactly what he was feeling, and how Jesus longed to help him. Thomas walked over, and Jesus held out his hands, and took Thomas’ hands in his. 

“These are the wounds from the nails,” he said. Thomas felt them. They felt like real wounds in real skin. 

“And here is the wound on my side,” said Jesus, and Thomas felt the deep cut from the spear wound in Jesus’ side.

“I have not forgotten what death feels like,” Jesus said. “And I have not forgotten life. This world is worth living in. You are worth living for. Feel the world, my friend, and know that I am with you.”

Sea of Tiberius

The disciples were fishing. They did not know what else to do except what they had always done: fish. They were fishing, and thinking of Jesus, and wondering how they could ever go on. The fish were not biting today. The sun was hot, and their backs ached, and they knew they would catch nothing. And then they heard a stranger calling to them.

“Throw your net on the other side,” the stranger called.

The disciples looked at each other and shrugged. “Can’t hurt,” they said. They threw the net to the other side. Suddenly, the boat had nearly flipped over. Fish were diving into the net, pulling it down with their weight. And then Peter remembered a day, years before, just like this. When he had first met Jesus. Peter dropped his net, and looked at the stranger laughing on the shore, and knew. 

“It is Jesus!” 

Without another thought, he jumped into the water, swimming with all his might to his friend, his beloved Master, Jesus.

Soon, the disciples were all gathered around, scarcely able to believe what they were seeing. It really was Jesus, just like he had always been. They talked, and they laughed, and they felt that anything was possible, now that Jesus was back.

But then, Jesus’ voice became very serious.

“My friends,” he said, “I cannot stay. I will need to return to Mother and Father in heaven. I have come back to ask you to please continue working toward God’s dream. I have come back to ask you to please keep feeding hungry people and helping the hurting.”

The disciples looked at Jesus, and at each other, and their eyes were full of fear.

“Without you?” they said, doubtfully.

Jesus looked at them with kindness and compassion in his eyes. 

“I have come back,” he said gently, “to tell you that I trust you. God trusts you. And each new day, as you see the sun rise and the birds singing and the waves crashing, you will know that this world is worth working for. That life is worth living. And that I am with you.”

Ideas for Play

Contributed by Kristen

• Act out the stories! Spend some time really empathizing with the characters. What might they have been feeling? What would this have been like? 

• Watch this fun video about the road to Emmaus

• Read some of the scriptures 

• Make a “road to Emmaus” using a sheet, rocks, etc. Think of questions you would like to ask Jesus and travel the road together.

• Read some of the words of Jesus to his disciples in this chunk of scriptures. Pick your favorite one and write it down. What does Jesus invite his followers to do?

Poetry

Compiled by Caroline

This week’s stories reminded me of how deeply the disciples felt Jesus’ absence and how much they wanted Him to stay with them. I hope I can be that kind of disciple—always asking Jesus to stay, always wanting His company. The following prayer asks Jesus to come and I invite you to meditate on it every day this week. What do you notice? Which part of the prayer do you need the most for that particular day? 

Veni Creator,

from Celtic Daily Prayer Book One

Come Lord, come down,

Come in, come among us. 

Come as the wind to move us;

Come as the light to prove us;

Come as the night to rest us;

Come as the storm to test us;

Come as the sun to warm us;

Come as the stillness to calm us;

Come Lord, come down, 

Come in, come among us. 

To God the Father, who created the world;

to God the Son, who redeemed the world;

to God the Holy Spirit, who sustains the world;

be all praise and glory, now and for ever. Amen. 

Art

Compiled by Caroline

What does this artwork teach you about the story? What does it teach you about Jesus? What do you like about this artwork/not like?

What does this artwork teach you about the story? What does it teach you about Jesus? What do you think Jesus is feeling? What do you think Thomas is feeling?

What does this artwork teach you about the story? What does it teach you about Jesus? What do you think Jesus is feeling? What do you think Peter is feeling? 

Music

Compiled by Caroline

Peace I Leave with You, The Soil and The Seed Project

Peace I Leave with You, The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, by Amy Beach

Stay With Me, Lord, Tenebrae, by Will Todd

Stay with me, Lord, for you are my life, my strength and my faith, my passion and light.

Lord, stay lest I forget you, abandon you, fall in the dark.

O Lord, my soul is poor, but let it be a home for you.

Stay with me, Lord, that I may see your will.

Stay with me, O my Lord, that I may hear your voice.

Stay with me, that I may love you.

Stay with me, Lord, that I may be true.

Stay, Jesus, stay, for the day is late, and night comes quickly.

Judgement and death, eternity come; Lord, strengthen me.

I fear the dark, the Cross, the sorrows, Lord, temptation.

O Jesus, I need you to hold me in this night of exile.

I ask no comfort but your staying, your love, your will, your light, your spirit.

I ask no other consolation. I ask no other gift but love.

Let me perceive you as your disciples in the breaking of bread.

May your Eucharist be the breaking of the day, the joy of my heart.

Lord, end this night of exile, and at my death stay with me, if not in bread, in grace and love.