Reading: Luke 16.19-31
‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.24He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” 25But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” 27He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” 29Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” 30He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” 31He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” ’
Things to think about with the child at the centre:
Activities
- Oil and Water jars – (can be pre-made to play with) a small sealable jar, ⅓ filled with water (and added glitter) and ⅓ with oil. Shake to mix and then watch them separate back out and settle into layers
- Storyboard / Cartoon cut into the different pictures – can you put the story into the right order?
Response
This is a challenging parable for anyone, let alone children, it is worth considering a child-friendly version like the Good News or Easy to Read Bibles, or The Message.
Using an oil and water jar, demonstrate how things can be mixed up with a good shake of the jar, but ultimately, things will settle down into the right order. The oil will always end up on the top, and the water on the bottom, no matter how hard we shake it.
Because people are selfish and greedy, we’ve mixed up the order that God made when God made the world. This story shows how mixed up things are – one person with everything and one person with nothing. But that isn’t right – the world should be fair and no-one should suffer like Lazarus in the story. There is a BIG warning from Jesus – if you mix things up now, then don’t be surprised if God doesn’t like it in the long term.
Jesus finishes by saying “even someone coming back from the dead wouldn’t convince some people!” and that is a spoiler because Jesus Himself comes back from the dead, and even then some people are still selfish and greedy.
Prayer
Using the oil and water jar (and others shared amongst the congregation if appropriate) – shake the jar to represent a part of the world/life that has been mixed up or disrupted. As the contents settle, pray that God’s peace, calm and restoration will come into that situations.
Examples:
Places of war and conflict
People in pain or suffering
Those who have died and those who are grieving
Political tension and conflict
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Local issues
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