That’s not fair! This is a refrain heard many times by parents of young children. Our youngest disciples tend to like clear-cut expectations and rules. And they expect those around them, especially adults, to adhere to these tenets no matter what. It can be difficult for children to see there is much more grey area in the world than there is black and white. Opportunities to talk about prioritizing God and people over rules and expectations are important to our children’s ongoing faith formation. In this lesson, your children will explore our call to love God and people over rules and traditions.
Begin the time with your children by talking about rules. Ask them to share some rules that are part of your household, their school or other places where they spend time. Discuss why they think these rules exist. Then, ask them whether they think these rules are helpful or harmful. Discuss when a rule might cause more harm than good.
Prepare to read Mark 7:1-8. (Note that the Gospel lectionary selection also includes verses 14-15 and 21-23. This lesson focuses only on the first seven verses of the passage.) Create a context for the reading. Tell your children that today’s passage takes place once Jesus and his disciples have been traveling and teaching for some time. People have been listening to Jesus and what he teaches them differs in some ways from what their other religious leaders have told them. Some of these religious leaders grow concerned that Jesus will encourage people to stop following some of the practices that they think are important to God. They also worry that the people will not think that the religious leaders know everything about how to be close to and worship God. In this reading, members of one of these groups of religious leaders, the Pharisees, question why Jesus and his disciples do not follow one of the religious practices they believe is important. Encourage your children to notice what practice causes concern and how Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ criticism.
Read aloud Mark 7:1-8. Ask your children to identify the cause of the Pharisees’ criticism of Jesus and his disciples. Why were they upset with Jesus and his followers? The reason for their pointed questioning was that this group was eating with “defiled hands.” Explain that this means they were eating food without washing their hands. While this may seem like a good reason to speak out against Jesus and his followers – especially in the midst of a pandemic – the Pharisees were not concerned about germs. It was tradition that people wash their hands and their food before eating it for religious reasons. For many years, religious leaders studied the writings of Moses to figure out how God wanted God’s people to live. Some determined that God wanted everything that went into people’s bodies to be “pure.” This meant that people needed to wash food and their hands before eating because this is what God expected. To not wash your hands or your food meant you were going against God. In other words, the Pharisees are telling Jesus and his followers that they do not love God because they are not following this rule.
Next, ask your children to recount Jesus’ response to the Pharisees. What does Jesus say when they claim Jesus and his followers are going against God by not following this religious practice? You may want to read one or more of the statements that Jesus makes and ask your children to wonder about what they mean. Share that Jesus points out that washing hands and food is a tradition human beings came up with. God does not require people to do this. When people are focused on following these traditions or rules, they forget “the commandment of God.” Later in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus will share the greatest commandment: to love God and to love your neighbor (Mark 12:29-31). In other words, Jesus says that strictly following traditions like hand-washing can make us forget that we are called to love God and one another above all else.
Help your children connect the Scripture reading to their own lives through one or more of these activities:
- Younger children love games and often are quite concerned about game rules. Choose a game that your children enjoy playing. Before playing the game together, talk about the game rules. Why does the game have these rules? How do these rules help make the game fun for everyone? What rules could be added that would make the game less fun? What rules could be added to make the game more fun? As you play the game, look for opportunities to “break” the rules so that one or more of the players has a better experience. Point these out to your children. Note that the rules are less important than the people playing. The joy we feel when we play games comes from sharing this experience with one another. It is more important than the rules or winning.
- There are many moments in history where people realized that traditions or laws were harming groups of people. Faith can play a role in both the creation of these hurtful traditions as well as their undoing. Slavery and the Abolitionist movement in the United States both have strong ties to Christianity. While the institution of slavery was held up by misinterpretations of the Bible, those who fought to dismantle it were often guided by their faith. The Presbyterian abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe’s faith greatly informed her activism. Explore her life and abolitionist work with your older children. This video is a good starting point. Encourage your children to notice where she is educated and to wonder about how her schooling and faith might have influenced her desire to end slavery.
JOELLE BRUMMIT-YALE is the director of children’s and youth ministries at Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. When not at the church, she can usually be found at home with her son and husband caring for their many animals and developing their family homestead.
