Hosted by the Faith To Go team in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, David Tremaine and Charlette Preslar, and joined the each week by a special guest, the Faith To Go Podcast highlights themes from the Sunday Gospel reading for you to take into your faith discussions and reflections throughout the week.
Activity Time: Prayer Walk
Supplies: sidewalk chalk
As a family come up with a list of people you want to pray for; pick some members of your family, but also pick people from other places (church, school, the world). Take turns drawing large circles on the ground down the driveway or sidewalk. Write one name in each circle.
For smaller children, you may want to put a picture of the person in the circle. After the last circle, draw a big rainbow. Under the rainbow write, “Amen.” Take turns walking, jumping, or hopping from circle to circle. When you land in each circle say, “I pray for (and the name of the person).”
Older children can be encouraged to add specific prayers for each person. “I pray that grandma stays healthy and strong.” When everyone has had a turn, stand together under the rainbow and loudly say together, “Amen!”
Story Time: The Road to Emmaus
Watch this video together and then use the discussion questions below to reflect as a family.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why do you think the disciples couldn’t recognize Jesus? 2. In the Bible story, Jesus breaks the bread and that is when they recognize him. Does that remind you of another story? 3. Why do you think Jesus disappeared when they finally recognized him? 4. It was pretty silly in this video that they were eating spaghetti. If Jesus was at our house what meal would you want us to have? 5. What do you think it would be like to have dinner with Jesus?
Dinner Time: Seeing Jesus
Below is a prayer with which to start your meal and then discussion questions to explore this week’s topic with your family while you eat. Prayer -
Dear God, Thank you for this meal, the people who prepared it, and the people who are gathered together to eat it. Help us to remember all of the people who can’t be with us tonight, and all of the people who don’t have enough food or shelter. Remind us that we are called to make room for everyone at the table and to share what we have. Amen. Questions: 1. Can you think of a time that you shared something with someone? 2. Was it easy or hard? 3. Why do you think it is good to share? 4. We can share things that aren’t food or toys. What other things can we share? (hugs,
love, smiles…)
5. How does it make you feel when someone shares with you?
6. How do you think God feels when he sees us sharing with other people?
Bedtime: Reflections for Children at the End of the Day
During your bedtime routine, invite your children into a time of reflection about their day, maybe by saying, "Did you know that God really wants to know what happened in your day today, and that God is always listening whenever you need to tell God something?" Then continue with these questions:
1) What are some things that happened today that you want to tell God about?
2) What is one happy thing that happened today? What is one sad thing that happened today?
3) Did you see God or feel God with you when those things were happening? Where did you see or feel God when those things happened today?
4) Read to your children this week’s scripture selection, then ask the questions that follows.
Luke 24:13-35 (God’s Word, My Voice)
On Easter night, two disciples were walking the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They couldn’t stop talking about what had happened to Jesus. As they were talking, Jesus himself walked up to them and joined them, but they didn’t recognize him (because they thought he was dead!). Jesus asked them what they were talking about. They stopped and looked at him and said, “Are you kidding? You must be the only person in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what happened this weekend.” Jesus said, “What? What happened?” They told him, “Well, Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet from God, got handed over to the Roman authorities, who put him to death. We thought he was the one to save Israel from the Romans! And that’s not all. This morning, some women in our group shocked us. They had gone to his grave early this morning but didn’t find his body there. Instead there were angels who told them Jesus was alive. Sure enough, others checked it out and it was just like the women said.” Jesus said, “But didn’t the prophets say these things would happen?” And he started to explain that the scriptures about the Messiah were all about him. As they got close to Emmaus, Jesus kept on walking. But they begged him to stay with them. “Please,” they said. “The sun is setting. Stay here for the night.” So he stayed with them. At the dinner table he took the bread in front of them and blessed it, broke it into pieces, and offered it to them. All of a sudden, it was like their eyes were opened. And they recognized that it was Jesus right in front of them, breaking bread with them! Then he disappeared. They said to each other, “When he was talking to us about the scripture, wasn’t it like our hearts were on fire?” Immediately they got on the road back to Jerusalem, to find the other disciples to tell them they’d seen Jesus. “Jesus is alive, and Simon saw him too!” the disciples said. They told the disciples the story of what happened on the road and how they finally knew it was Jesus with them in the breaking of the bread.
Did the story remind you of anything that happened in your day today?
5) What are some things that you want to tell God that you are grateful for today?
Share some of your conversations in the comments below: