Teaching high school Sunday School last school year and now teaching junior high school this school year has been a challenge. In order to keep some interest in the younger tweens, I am in the process of telling them some of the “funnier” stories in the Old Testament. Well, that is, I am telling them stories that a tween-aged boy will find funny and a tween-aged girl will pretend not to find funny, but will continue to listen with interest. One of the stories is found in the verses below.
Once as some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a group of Moabites coming. The Israelites threw the dead man into Elisha’s grave. When the man touched Elisha’s bones, the man came back to life and stood on his feet. – 2 Kings 13:20-21.
Among adults, this is an excellent verse to use to show that the idea of relics is actually Scriptural and can be dated all the way back to the Old Testament. And, it is not the only verse. One can read about the Ark of the Covenant and the ill effects of touching it. One can also read about the Urim and the Thummim. All were either bones or objects that had been imbued by God with his power and holiness. The Orthodox claim is that God continues to work in that manner with New Testament and post-Apostolic relics. Note that neither the Orthodox nor the Roman Catholics claim that all relics automatically work miracles. But, the claim most certainly is that there is a continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament that confirms that God works with physical objects, to include the remains of the saints.
But, my point in this posting is not a theological point. It is to comment on working with tweens. And, what they find interesting, and even funny, is the story of Elisha’s bones. After all, it sounds almost like one of those weird stories that intrigues them. Think about it. Elisha dies and is placed in a tomb. Notice that I did not say a grave in the ground. That was not the way that people were put to rest in Israel, unless they were incredibly poor. The translation here can mislead. So, a man is being prepared to be placed in a tomb. We do not know whether the tomb was not ready, or what happened. What we do know is that the burial site was not yet prepared when those present spotted an incoming raiding party. In fear for their life they opened Elisha’s tomb and threw the body in. I am sure that they were prepared to close the door to the tomb and begin running away.
And, here is the part that the tweens like. The dead man came back to life and stood up. At this point, ghoulish thoughts rise in their mind, perhaps slightly encouraged by the priest. But, if handled correctly, this can pique enough interest to get across the point that God works with relics. Tweens do not necessarily respond to a good solid logical argument. Frankly, many times neither do adults. There is a reason the oldest cultures developed imaginative storytelling. Imaginative storytelling is what I am trying with the tweens. Will it work? Well, we will see. I am concerned that I do not overstep and overdo the “imaginative” part. But, I do want to story tell alongside properly teaching. I will keep you updated on how it works.
But, I would suggest that Sunday Schools might benefit from a little more used of imaginative storytelling.
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