AGE: Infants and Juniors |
THEME: Making a stand |
RESOURCES: |
| An OHP showing a picture of a young man standing in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square. |
DEVELOPMENT: |
| The scene is China, the centre of Beijing, in a place called Tiananmen Square that is crowded with thousands of protesters. Tanks start to arrive. As the line of tanks rolls towards the centre of the square one young man walks into the road and stands in front of the first tank. The tank driver doesn't know what to do. He tries moving to the right. The young man moves to the right. The tank moves to the left - so does the young man. In the end the tanks get past and the people are driven out of the square. This event really happened. Ten years ago, in June 1989, many people in China took part in protests against their government because they wanted to be given the right to vote. The government did not approve of the protests and so they sent in the tanks. The lone young man was filmed, but to this day no one knows his name, despite the fact that he was so brave he was prepared to risk his life by literally 'standing up' for what he believed in. We may not have a life-threatening dilemma to face. Even if we did, we might not find it easy to take a stand. There's a story in the Bible about one of Jesus's friends, Peter, who was with Jesus when his enemies were closing in on him, during the last week of his life. Jesus had just been arrested and his disciples, who had promised to be faithful to him, had all run away in fear. Peter knew that he should stand by his friend and so he followed the soldiers who had arrested Jesus. He must have felt very nervous as he stood among the crowds that had gathered outside the headquarters of Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor. Peter didn't run away, however. He was brave enough to stand fast. Until, that is, someone thought they recognized him and asked him if he was a friend of Jesus. His courage collapsed and he said 'No'. This happened three times, and each time Peter denied that he was a friend of Jesus. Why does the Bible include this story? Does it tell us about Peter in order to condemn him, to show how wrong he was? Perhaps not. Peter's name means 'rock', suggesting that he was solid and reliable - and in fact he went on to become one of the founders of the Church. Jesus had predicted this when he said 'On this rock I will build my church' (Matthew 16.18). Maybe the story is really about forgiveness, about recognizing that there are some whose courage is not always great enough, and that we all have weaknesses. When we face a dilemma we may not always make the right choice first time. But that is not always the end of the story. Perhaps, after all, there is hope for us even when things seem hopeless. |
BIBLE READING: |
| Peter denies Jesus: Luke 22.54-62 |
MUSIC: |
| John Bunyan's hymn 'Who would true valour see' The traditional spiritual 'I shall not be moved', sung by Pop Staples (veteran gospel singer/civil rights activist) on Peace to the World (CD; 1992) |
REFLECTION: |
| Let us think about people we know about who have been brave. They might be famous people we've read about in books or newspapers. Or they might be 'ordinary' people - friends or neighbours. Let's think about the example they set us... And let us think about the times that we haven't done what we wanted to do, or what we should do, and let us pray for greater courage at times when we face difficult decisions... Now let's say thank you for all the times when we have been able to do the right thing and for all the people who have stood up for us. |
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES: |
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NOTES: |
| See also the Collective Worship material about Saint Paul on this site for further information relevant to this theme. |
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