Very Good Friday

I took the kids from my church on a walk on Good Friday. We visited the place where the shepherds were visited by the angels the night Jesus was born, we went up to Bethany to see Jerusalem in the distance on Palm Sunday. We ate a (very tiny) meal in the upper room. We went to the garden where Jesus prayed, and saw the cross where Jesus died. And we saw the tomb, empty of bodies

It was quite the walk, really. Obviously it relies heavily on an ability to imagine things. And to be drawn in to a story. But since it is a rather excellent story, that bit is easy. I told these kids a story they had all heard before. And I received a lot from the kids that day.

We carried stones with us on our walk. Stones that were smooth, but had rough bits. Stones that weren't heavy, but perhaps if there were many of them, they would be. Stones that weren't heavy, but they were annoying to keep carrying. Stones that were quite black. We finished the walk with a prayer, while holding stones, which were then put in a bucket in the tomb. I wasn't as direct about it as I could have been...

Father God, thank you for everything Jesus has done for us throughout his life:
A life that started in Bethlehem as a baby, visited by shepherds;
And ended with his journey to Jerusalem and his death on the cross
Thank you Father that he took the punishment for all our sins
And thank you that he beat death by rising again.
And we remember our part in the story
We remember that we are people who sometimes do things that hurt you, and hurt others. And we are sorry.
We bring those things here, and we leave them here with you. Amen.

An older girl was looking after a younger girl. They both love to talk, and have lots of very good thoughts to share. They're quite similar in some ways. They were talking (just for a change, though I expect it was on topic) when I was wrapping up the story at the tomb, but the older girl worked out what they'd missed, and invited the younger girl to 'put her sin in the stone'. The older girl told me about this later, and said that (her younger friend) had taken some time about this: nearly there, almost, yes, that's all of it.

I love that kids listen and learn even when we don't think they are.
I love that kids are ministering to one another: and I loved the directness of her language.
And I love that we all took something home from the tomb that is not the same as what we left there.

I wonder what I brought home that needed to be left. And what I left that I needed to bring.