Journey to Pascha

Opening Prayer

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Troparion (Tone 1)
By raising Lazarus from the dead before Thy passion, 
Thou didst confirm the universal resurrection, O Christ God.
Like the children, with the palms of victory,
We cry out to Thee, O Vanquisher of Death,
Hosanna in the Highest!
Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord.

Go over the meanings of these words; you may want to review them in the coming weeks as you say or sing the troparion again:

passion: this refers to Jesus' suffering and crucifixion.

universal resurrection: this means that by raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus showed us that He will raise all of us--the whole universe.

vanquisher: conqueror or one who wins a victory and does away with something (in this case, Jesus won the victory over death.)

Bible Story

Choose one of the following Resources to read to or with the students, based on the students’ comprehension level:

• Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45)
• Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead

Role Play

Look at the icon of the Raising of Lazarus together. Identify Jesus, Mary, Martha and Lazarus.

Locate an open space and a closet or other space separated by a door to be used as the tomb of Lazarus .

 Assign parts and have students recount the events that happened when Jesus came to the tomb of Lazarus and the raising of Lazarus. For larger groups, split group in half and have students give 2 play presentations.

Wrap Up and Resource Project

Have students draw and color, on half sheets of 812 by 11 paper, figures or events from the lesson. These should be placed on or around the first panel of the mural described in the Resources section. This will be the same method as for mural panels in the lessons that follow this one.

When they finish, as they are cleaning up and preparing for closing prayer, ask the following:

Closing Prayer

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Troparion (Tone 1)
By raising Lazarus from the dead before Thy passion, 
Thou didst confirm the universal resurrection, O Christ God.
Like the children, with the palms of victory,
We cry out to Thee, O Vanquisher of Death,
Hosanna in the Highest!
Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord.

Opening Prayer

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Troparion (Tone 1)
By raising Lazarus from the dead before Thy passion, 
Thou didst confirm the universal resurrection, O Christ God.
Like the children, with the palms of victory,
We cry out to Thee, O Vanquisher of Death,
Hosanna in the Highest!
Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord.

Discussion Starter

Begin by asking the following, allowing students to answer and discuss the possibilities:

• What is a king?
• How does he live, and what does he do?

Palm Sunday

Present icon of Palm Sunday/ Entry into Jerusalem
Have students point out which things in the icon do not match the life of the king that
they described above. Encourage students to see Christ’s humility--He rides a humble donkey, He is close to the people rather than being enclosed in a coach or above them on a proud horse, He carries no weapons or insignias of power.

Section A: Children's Bible Stories

Ask students:

Do you know of any kings in the Old Testament? Tell what you know about them.
(e.g, King David, King Solomon)

What are the responsibilities of a king to the people in his kingdom? (Let students give their own answers)

Read or Tell:
Section A: Children's Bible Stories
Children's Bible Stories & Paraphrased Texts

Palm Sunday
The story of Palm Sunday, the Entrance into Jerusalem, written for young children

The story of the Entrance into Jerusalem of Jesus, the King of All using the icon of
Palm Sunday.
Ask:

Why are the people holding palm branches? (They think he is the new king for their nation) Why are they happily welcoming Jesus? (He raised Lazarus)

Let students give their own answers to the following:
What would you do if the President of the United States came to your neighborhood?
How would you prepare your home for a visit from the President of the United States?
How would you prepare yourself to meet a great king or president?
How should we prepare ourselves to meet Christ? Is this different from the way we would
prepare for the President?

What is a King?

Have students illustrate 2 pictures separated by a line down the middle. One half is to be of an earthly king (as discussed) and the other half is to be of Jesus as King (like in the icon).

Resource Project: Mural of Events

Extra Activity: Role Play

Divide the class into groups of four. In each group, have one student be a roving reporter and interview the other three as people in the crowd, to find out why they are there and who they think Jesus is. The groups can present their skits to the rest of the class. (Adjust the activity according to the number of students you have.)

Wrap Up

As students are cleaning up and preparing for closing prayer, ask the following:

• What did the crowd exclaim as Jesus rode in? ("Hosanna", "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord")
  
• Was Jesus meant to be an earthly king? (No, He wanted to show humility even as He came to do God's work--work that only He, the divine Son of God, could do)
  
• Why didn’t Jesus ride in a beautiful chariot instead of on a donkey? (Students can give their own answers to this--it has to do with Jesus' intention to show Himself as a different kind of king)
  

Closing Prayer

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Troparion (Tone 1)
By raising Lazarus from the dead before Thy passion, 
Thou didst confirm the universal resurrection, O Christ God.
Like the children, with the palms of victory,
We cry out to Thee, O Vanquisher of Death,
Hosanna in the Highest!
Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord.

Opening Prayer

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Heavenly King, the comforter, the Spirit of truth,
Who art everywhere and fillest all things,
Treasury of blessings and giver of life,
Come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every purity,
And save our souls, O Good One.

Review

Sing or say together the Troparion for Palm Sunday, the Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem:

By raising Lazarus from the dead before Thy Passion,

Thou didst confirm the universal Resurrection, O Christ God,

Like the children with the palms of victory,

We cry out to You, O Vanquisher of death,

"Hosanna in the Highest! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!"

Make sure students understand the following words and phrases:

1. passion: this means the suffering and death of Jesus Christ when He died on the cross
2. universal resurrection: this is God's promise that we will all rise to live with Him forever
3. vanquisher: conqueror, someone who wins a battle

Continue the review by dividing the class into groups of 3 or 4. Give each group pencils,
paper,  a set of five numbered envelopes containing letters, and a desk or table space to work on.

Have the groups work on spelling out the names and words in each envelope, arranging the squares in order on the workspace. Walk around among the groups and give help
(especially with spelling) as needed. As students work out the words and names, they should be able to write sentences using each name or word, and the sentences should describe(in order) the events we remember on Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday. Let students work from memory, only reviewing the story from the Bible if they need to. You may want to make the activity a contest to see which group can be first to spell out the words in the bags and write correct sentences. (The sentences should contain the following basic facts and chronology, though students may write them differently, and may compose more or fewer sentences):

Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, had died.

Jesus raised His friend Lazarus from the dead.

After raising Lazarus, Jesus entered Jerusalem humbly, riding a donkey.

The people welcomed Jesus by waving palms and cheering.

Review the answers with the whole class when everyone has finished.

Scripture & Discussion

Jesus told this story to His followers:

There were ten maidens (that means girls) who were waiting for a bridegroom to come to a wedding. Their job was to walk with him and light the way with oil lamps. They needed to have plenty of oil for their lamps, so they would be ready. Five of them did have plenty of oil, but the other five had not bothered to make sure they had lots of oil.

It got so late that all the maidens fell asleep. At midnight, the bridegroom came and everyone called, "He is here! Come to meet him!" The maidens all woke up and started to get their lamps ready. The foolish ones said to the wise ones, "Give us some of your oil."

But there was not enough time for the wise maidens to share their oil. The foolish girls rushed out to buy some. But while they were gone, the bridegroom came. He and the wise maidens went to the wedding party. The door was closed.

The foolish maidens returned, and knocked on the door. They said, "Let us in!" But it was too late. The bridegroom said, "I do not know you."

After He finished telling this story, Jesus said, "Keep watch and be ready, for you do not know the day or the hour when the Son of Man is coming."

Discussion Questions

When we come to church on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week, we will sing about the "bridegroom." (Ask students: "Who do you think is the bridegroom?"
Let them come up with the answer that it is Jesus Christ.)

The "Son of Man" is also Jesus Christ.He wants us to be ready for Him whenever He comes. We won't go out to meet Him with oil lamps. But we will think about the things we have done, and the way we live. We can be ready to meet Him by trying to do good things. We can be ready by being sorry for the bad things we have done, the things that make us feel bad inside, and that we know are not what He wants us to do. We can be ready by trying to keep doing the good things, and making up for the bad things as much as we can. Then when we meet Him we can be joyful, and not ashamed of things we have done.

Give students one or two minutes of silence to think about what these words mean to them, and to ask questions if they wish to. It's important to assure them that Jesus Christ wants us to be with Him - He will never leave us out if we really want to be with Him.

Resource Project: Mural of Events

Troparion & Icon Reflection

Look at the icon of the Wise and Foolish Maidens together. Say part of the Troparion together:

Behold, the bridegroom comes at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching, and again, unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Tell students that "heedless" means not paying attention and not caring about what God wants us to do.

Closing Prayer

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Opening Prayer

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Heavenly King, the comforter, the Spirit of truth,
Who art everywhere and fillest all things,
Treasury of blessings and giver of life,
Come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every purity,
And save our souls, O Good One.

Discussion Starter

Ask students, “Do you like to have a meal with people you love?” (Let them give answers and say a little about their experience of sharing meals.)

Continue by saying, “Jesus Christ liked it, too. One of the last things He did while He was on earth was to share a special meal with His disciples. Here is an icon of that meal. (Show the icon.) Do you see how close everyone is sitting? They loved Jesus and He loved them. Jesus showed His love in a way that really might surprise you. We will read about it, but first I want to ask you something.”

Pointing out the pitcher or glass of water, ask students, “What can you do with this?” (Let students give answers such as: take a drink, clean something, wash your face, etc.) Then have students stand. Tell them to sit down if they hear something they would NOT want to do. They can stay standing as long as the things you say are things they would be willing to do. Read these items slowly, one by one:

--take a drink

--give someone else a drink

--make ice cubes

--help a grownup clean things

--wash someone else’s dirty, sweaty feet. Chances are the students will remain standing till you say the last item, and then most will sit down. Say, “Let’s find out what Our Lord did that was a surprise.”

Scripture Story

Read together Jesus’ Last Supper with His Disciples from Section A: Children’s Bible Stories. Make special note of the reason Jesus did this surprising thing of washing His disciples’ feet. He did it to give them an example of real service. He wanted them to serve others. And He wants us to serve others, too.

Also point out that when we receive Holy Communion at church, we are doing what Jesus asked us to do at the Last Supper. What we receive in Holy Communion is bread and wine. But He is with us as we receive it, in a special way that only God can be.

Resource Project: Mural of Events

Have students construct the fourth panel of the mural. See Mural: Days/Events from Lazarus Saturday-Pascha.

Note: Since the anointing of Jesus’ feet is not included in the version of the Last Supper story used here, do not include it in the mural.

Note: While students are working on the mural, write the words of the Kathisma Hymn (slightly adapted) from Tone 1 and Tone 2 of the Vespers of Great and Holy Wednesday on the chalkboard. The words of the hymn are below, in the Closing Prayer section (6).

Wrap Up

Look at the words of the Kathisma Hymn on the chalkboard together. Remind students that you talked about several things that we can do with water. Here the hymn shows us that Our Lord created all water. Then, when He came to be with us on earth, He used water in a very humble way: by washing His disciples’ feet.

Ask students to think about a way they can serve someone else in a humble way during the coming week. (Make sure they understand the meaning of “humble.” It means not showing off, not looking for praise, not trying to stand out or impress.) Let those who wish to volunteer suggestions do so.

Closing Prayer

Use the Kathisma Hymn as your closing prayer:

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Lord, who loves mankind, who created the lakes, the rivers, and the seas,
Gave us a special commandment of love when He wrapped a towel around His waist and washed the feet of His disciples; He humbled Himself in the greatness of His goodness, raising us from the depths of evil. We pray: Grant us great mercy.

Opening Prayer

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

We magnify You, O Jesus, our King.
We worship Your passion and Your burial,
For by them, You have saved us from death.

Scripture Reflection

Read the stories Jesus is Betrayed, The Trial of Jesus, Jesus is Put to Death on a Cross, and The Burial and Resurrection of Christ in Section A: Children’s Bible Stories. Be sure students understand the meaning of the word “betray”: to act like a friend, but really be an enemy. Don’t bring up the subject of the reasons for Judas’ betrayal of Jesus Christ. But if they ask, say that Judas wanted money. Also, perhaps he did not believe that a real King would let Himself be treated badly, as Jesus did. Judas did not understand that Jesus did all this for us.

Discussion Questions

• Do you think Jesus hated the people who hurt Him?
  No, He is God and loves everyone forever, unconditionally.
• What were some strange things that happened as Jesus was dying on the cross?
  It became very dark, rocks split open, and the curtain in the Temple in Jerusalem was torn in two pieces.
• How did Jesus show His love for His Mother as He was dying on the cross?
  He told His disciple John to take care of her, and John did so.

Look at the icon together. Notice that there are far fewer people than there were in the crowd on Palm Sunday. Some people turned away from Jesus Christ when they no longer thought He was a powerful king.

Role Play

Have students role play the scene of Peter waiting outside as Jesus is being questioned. Students can take the roles of bystanders, Peter, and the servant girl who confronts him. Have students take turns, if your group is large.

When they have finished, ask, “Why do you think Peter pretended he did not know Christ?” (He was afraid of getting in trouble)

Ask, “Do you think Jesus forgave Peter for pretending he was not Jesus’ friend?” (Yes. Later, after Jesus rose from the dead, Peter told many people that Jesus Christ is God, and helped them become Christians)

Resource Project: Mural of Events

Have students construct the fifth panel of the mural, individually drawing events they choose from what you studied in this lesson. Their pictures should each be on half of an 81/2 by 11 sheet, and then the sheets can be gathered and put on the mural panel, or around it.  While students are working on the mural, put the verses for the closing prayer on the chalkboard.

Closing Prayer

Spend 2 minutes having students memorize these verses, and use them as a closing prayer.

Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord. God is the Lord, and has revealed Himself to us.

Opening Prayer

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is Risen from the dead,
Trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

Note: Make sure students know that "bestowing" means giving.

Icon of the Feast

Look together at the Resurrection icon. Let students find the way Jesus is "bestowing life" on those in the tombs.  He pulls Adam out from the power of death. Eve and others who have died will be pulled out, too.

The power of death is shown in the gates or doors, with locks and keys, that Christ is trampling on.  If students are not sure what "trampling" means, the icon shows it - Christ is stepping firmly on and destroying the gates or doors of death and hell.

Ask students: How are the things we talked about in the icon related to the Troparion of the Feast? The hymn mentions Christ trampling down death and bestowing life.

Scripture Story

As a review of the last session, read The Burial and Resurrection of Christ, and then go on to Christ is Risen.

Discussion Questions

• After Jesus was buried, some women went to the tomb. What did they talk about on the way there?
  They were worried that they would not be able to roll away the big, heavy stone covering the tomb.
• What did they find at the tomb?
  A bright, shining angel was there. The tomb was open, with the stone rolled away. The soldiers guarding the tomb were so frightened by the brightness of the angel that they had fallen on the ground.
• A little later, Mary Magdalen saw Jesus. She knew that He had risen from the dead. What did Jesus tell her to do?
  He said, "Go and tell the disciples that I am going to My Father."

Memorization Review

Resource Project: Mural of Events

Have students finish the final panel of the mural.

Put any necessary finishing touches on it, and review all the panels and the events they depict.Decide together on a place where you might display the mural so people can readily see it.

Closing Prayer

Christ is Risen from the dead,
Trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

Note: If possible, sing or say the troparion in one or more languages in addition to English.