3rd Sunday of Easter

Year B:  April 19, 2015

First Reading:  Acts 3:12-19

Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment: According to Mitzi J. Smith, God authored a new story when Jesus was raised from the dead. “Consequently, our stories can be rewritten, revised, and told from a new point of view, because of the power of God who resurrects. Through the name of Jesus whom God raised up, Peter and Paul raised up the lame man giving him a new ‘Once upon a time.’” (http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1249) Applegate retells the true story of Ivan, a gorilla captured by poachers and sold to a shopping mall. After 27 years in a lonely cell, Ivan’s life changes drastically. Like the lame man, Ivan the gorilla is given a new once upon a time. Through this text and Ivan’s story, consider inviting your congregation to share their own experiences of a new once upon a time.

Second Reading:  1 John 3:1-7

Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment: “Beloved, we are God’s children now… when he is revealed, we will be like him.” Even though what we will be is not fully revealed, our identity is shaped by our sense of belonging. Gaston’s identity is also shaped by his sense of belonging.  Although he’s a bulldog, belonging to a family of poodles helps Gaston to live as a poodle. Gaston walks with grace, looks pretty in pink, nibbles his kibble, and rides in style.  Like Gaston, our identity is shaped by our sense of belonging. Use this text and story to explore with the children of your church how belonging to God shapes their lives.

Gospel Reading:  Luke 24:36b-48

Tweak, Tweak by Eve Bunting

(Written for ages 4-8)

Comment:  “[Jesus] opened their minds to understand the scriptures… ” In this resurrection text, Jesus teaches the disciples and calls them to be witnesses to what they’ve learned and seen. In the story  Tweak, Tweak, Little Elephant is learning about herself and her home from Mama Elephant. As the story ends, we know Little Elephant has paid attention to all she has witnessed because she is able to lead Mama Elephant home. As we reflect upon this text and story, we are invited to consider how we are called to be a witness to Jesus’ teaching while also exploring what our faith walk with Jesus teaches us about ourselves and the world in which we live.

We are happy to welcome Noell Rathbun-Cook as our Lectionary Links writer for the next four weeks. Noell wrote the Links for Storypath for four years and we are delighted to have her back! Noell serves as Minister of Children and Youth Discipleship at Grace Baptist Church in Richmond, VA.

Lectionary Links: Sunday, April 19, 2015 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.