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Public execution! Child Sacrifice! Rising from the dead!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Just the kinds of stories you want to tell your kid(s), right? Yeah\u2026me either.<\/span><\/p>\n As a Children\u2019s Pastor in a Progressive Christian church, Easter is\u2026well\u2026it\u2019s rough. For me, anyway. I am responsible for children birth-5th Grade and teaching this central Christian story to kids is one of my biggest challenges. No matter what I do with the Easter story, someone is likely\u00a0to be upset. If I tell it flat-out, I not only go against my ethos in regard to nurturing children\u2019s spirituality but I\u2019d also be confusing boatloads of kids and the message of my ministry as a whole. If I don\u2019t tell it at all, I\u2019ll certainly have folks (more outside the church than within) wondering what sort of heretical witchcraft I\u2019m having the kids do instead (because abandoning a central narrative of our faith would obviously mean I\u2019ve turned my children\u2019s ministry into Hogwarts. Though, now that I think about it\u2026that could be fun.) If I kind of<\/em> tell the story, you\u00a0know, reframe it, leave the icky stuff out, \u201csimplify it\u201d for the kids \u2013 the story becomes hollow (because it\u2019s not meant to be a moral-of-the-story kind of narrative) and I would argue this jeopardizes the integrity of the text. <\/span><\/p>\n That said, there are things I know I DON\u2019T want to teach:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cJesus died for you\/your sins.\u201d<\/strong> <\/span>While I realize that statement won\u2019t psychologically damage every kid, if it damages ONE, it\u2019s not worth using. Period. To that end,\u00a0I can list hundreds of people for whom this sentiment was harmful. We have to find better words and be VERY intentional with our language.\u00a0<\/span><\/em>And the reality is, Jesus didn\u2019t die specifically for your kid. I know that\u2019s a bit blunt but technically \u2013 Jesus died publicly and grotesquely because he was a political and religious threat to those in power. Philosophically\/Theologically \u2013 I believe Jesus\u00a0submitted to the judicial system of the day because he felt it was the right thing to do and perhaps the most powerful way to communicate the notion that\u00a0God\u2019s presence follows us \u2013 even unto death.\u00a0 All that to say, using language of \u201cJesus died for you\u201d is misleading, at best.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n That God killed Jesus\/wanted Jesus to die\/intended for Jesus to die as the primary\u00a0purpose of his life.<\/strong> <\/span>To attempt to teach the concept of a loving God while also delivering this narrative (along with many other Biblical narratives) is confusing and jarring. This also makes the concept of \u201cfollowing Jesus\u201d much more ominous and threatening than it should be.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Jesus died to save them from God\u2019s judgement\/hell. <\/span><\/strong>This suggests that these\u00a0children exist in a way that is displeasing or unsatisfactory to God, which further suggests that God is a being sitting on some shiny throne literally evaluating every individual life from afar, casting judgement and glaring in disdain. There is nothing inherent to these children\u2019s humanity from which they need to be saved. Therefore, an atonement theology of inborn corruption in need of redemption has no place in a conversation with kids about Easter. (<\/span>Of course, when you don\u2019t believe in a literal, eternally-flaming hell, this point is easier to deal with.)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Coming back from the dead is something you can expect to happen. <\/span><\/strong>While there is much beauty to be mined from the resurrection\u00a0narrative (I\u2019ll touch on this later), I don\u2019t think it\u2019s helpful or healthy to suggest that resurrection is a present-day reality that our children\u00a0can hope\/wish for in their own lives. This idea, I believe, hinders the grief process and doesn\u2019t help them to effectively process death. It\u2019s important for our children to learn to face loss gracefully, accepting the reality of that loss while being held as they grieve.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n SO WHAT ON EARTH DO WE DO WITH EASTER?!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n One thing to bear in mind is this: t<\/span>he point of the Easter story isn\u2019t whether or not Jesus LITERALLY rose\u00a0from the dead. We\u2019re missing the point if we\u2019re fighting over the historical accuracy of a bodily resurrection. There\u2019s SO MUCH MORE depth to the story than that and we would do well to dig in for ourselves \u2013 we\u2019ll likely find lots more way to discuss it with our children when we do.<\/p>\n Below are some further thoughts on what I take away from this story and perhaps some ways you can talk about this narrative with your own children: <\/span><\/p>\n The way of Jesus is one of honesty, bravery, love, and kindness.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Jesus set an example that we can follow. Not by mimicking his actions (aka you don\u2019t have to be publicly executed to follow Jesus), but by walking the same path he walked, loving God, self and others always.<\/span><\/p>\n You could say, \u201cJesus was courageous and honest and we can follow in the way of Jesus by being courageous and honest, too. He also\u00a0reminded everyone that they are loved and that they can help others know they\u2019re loved, too. How can you follow in the way of Jesus \u2013 a way of honest, courage, love, and kindness?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n New life often pops up unexpectedly.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0It brings with it hope and comfort knowing that our world\u00a0sustains us and that what has gone away is never truly gone. This is what we experience when we smell something familiar and are reminded of a departed loved one. Things come back around, though not always in the way we expect them to. <\/span><\/p>\n Say: \u201cWhen Jesus died, his friends were so sad and so confused \u2013 everyone\u00a0thought he was going to be with them forever and would eventually become a great ruler. But that didn\u2019t happen. Our story tells us that a few days after Jesus died, his friends saw him again. Then they were even MORE scared and confused! I would be, too! And they heard Jesus tell them, \u2018I can\u2019t be with you forever. But you\u2019re going to be okay and in fact, you\u2019re going to do AMAZING things in this world! Keep going and keep loving.\u2019 It\u2019s not what they expected, but they felt encouraged and loved.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Our stories often reflect what happens in our world.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong>This year, I\u2019m focusing on \u201cSpring\u201d with my 3 yr olds through 1st graders. Children\u2019s bodies and behaviors often naturally reflect what the earth is doing. They are in tune with the seasons and are beginning to see \u201cnew life\u201d pop up all around them as leaves reappear on trees, flowers bloom, and grass gets greener and begins to grow. The idea of new life is certainly a theme plucked from the Easter story. but we can choose to\u00a0communicate it without using a confusing plot of betrayal, public execution, a vengeful God, and the walking dead.<\/span><\/p>\n Ask:\u00a0\u201cHow can we observe our world and find God\u00a0in what we see around us?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Our actions are our own. Even when our friends don\u2019t understand, we do what\u2019s right.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Say:\u00a0\u201cJesus\u2019s friends didn\u2019t understand why he didn\u2019t fight back. But Jesus did was he felt was right, even when his friends didn\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Even in the most difficult times, we can know that we\u2019re loved. We all bear God\u2019s image so God is never far from us.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Ask> \u201cWhen have you felt sad or afraid? What can you do to remember that God is with you always?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Stories don\u2019t have to be factual to speak truth. <\/span><\/strong>And it\u2019s okay to question a literal resurrection \u2013 questions are how we learn. And there is always truth to be found in curiosity, even if the answers don\u2019t turn out to be what you thought they\u2019d be.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Ask: \u201cDo you\u00a0know of a story like a myth or fable that teaches a great lesson but isn\u2019t filled with facts? How might the\u00a0Easter story work the same way and what do you think we can learn from it?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Enjoy this season of rebirth and new life with your kids. I\u2019m experiencing that sentiment more deeply this year than ever in my life. There truly is something divine about the turning of the seasons and the life that comes during this time of year and it\u2019s certainly no coincidence that we celebrate this holiday during the springtime. To everything there is a season \u2013 and this is the season of life. Breathe it in. Explore. Create. Play. All we have is this life \u2013 let\u2019s live it well, even unto death.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Public execution! Child Sacrifice! Rising from the dead!\u00a0 Just the kinds of stories you want to tell your kid(s), right? Yeah\u2026me either. As a Children\u2019s Pastor in a Progressive Christian church, Easter is\u2026well\u2026it\u2019s rough. For me, anyway. I am responsible for children birth-5th Grade and teaching this central Christian story to kids is one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2887,"featured_media":1117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[115,401,407,23,175,194,25,409,408],"class_list":["post-1116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-children","tag-cross","tag-easter","tag-hell","tag-jesus","tag-judgment","tag-love","tag-resurrection","tag-sunday-school"],"yoast_head":"\n