Lectionary Links (NL): February 23, 2020
Year 2: February 23, 2020
When You Are Brave by Pat Zietlow Miller
(Written for ages 5-7)
Comment: At the heart of this week’s passage is Jesus’ bravery. He is fully aware that his actions are upsetting those in power, and that they will likely put him to death. Even when Peter tries to dissuade him, Jesus knows the truth: “those who want to save their life will lose it.” Jesus knows he needs to be brave enough to risk his life to spread the Good News of God’s love. He needs to speak out, even if people will kill him for it. In Miller’s book, she highlights situations that can seem intimidating for a child: learning to swim, the first day of school, performing in front of a crowd. She also talks about how to find inner courage, like a light that glows from within. The light may be small at first, but we can help it to grow into a flame that radiates out, warming and encouraging us. This is a great visualization technique for older children who may be facing a difficult task. Jesus needed to be brave because the work he needed to do was difficult. God helps us to find inner courage when we are called to do difficult things.
Thanks to Joshua Andrzejewski, Union Presbyterian Seminary alumnus and chaplain for the pediatric and women’s health units in the VCU Medical Center, for writing the Year 2 Narrative Lectionary Links.
Lectionary Links (NL): February 23, 2020 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.