Pentecost
My four-year-old came home from school last month to tell me that Good Friday is when God died. She goes to a secular international school so I was mildly confused as to where she had learned this. I explained that Good Friday is when Jesus died.
“SO JESUS IS NOT GOD?” SHE ASKED.
I tried to come up with an answer…
“HE IS FULLY GOD AND FULLY MAN.”
“So God did die?” she asked. The conversation quickly fell apart after that. And we hadn’t even gotten to the Holy Spirit. How do you explain the Trinity to children or people in general? I am grateful StoryMakers has put together a video to explain Pentecost to our kids, especially since my children found me woefully lacking in the theology department.
Pentecost this year is Sunday, May 23, 2021.
Pentecost is not originally a Christian holiday; it was a Jewish celebration of God giving Moses the law. But, it is also the day that we remember the Holy Spirit being poured out on a group of disciples, and when they could each hear the Gospel in his or her own language. Our liturgy on this day is all about the Holy Spirit. The third member of the Trinity is hard to explain but we wanted to give you some ideas about how to talk to children about the Spirit.
FIRST, the Holy Spirit is there to help us. The Spirit reminds us of God’s truth, especially in tough times. "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you,” Jesus said in John 14:26. He reminds us that we are loved when we can’t see God and brings to mind the stories and words of God when we feel lost and alone.
SECOND, the Spirit also helps show us when things aren’t right, even when we can’t really explain why. John 16:13 tells us,
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”
Anytime we recognize that things are broken, sad or not as they should be, that’s the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. While we cannot see the Holy Spirit, we can see how it is moving in our lives. And we can trust that though we cannot see the Spirit, it is at work in the lives of others as well, including our children.
Here at StoryMakers, we have decided to use Sparks to focus on Stories, like the Story of St. George from last month and Celebrations, important days in the church calendar. The church calendar has helped me to understand and better parent my children through the rhythms of life. Advent precedes Christmas. Lent precedes Easter. Ordinary Time is well, ordinary. Just as our lives go through periods of waiting, of anticipation, of celebration, and ordinariness, so our life as the Body of Christ goes. Our hope is that by marking these celebrations, you and your children will see the rhythm of life reflected in them.
