Mar 30
We Appreciate Light and Growth
by Maryann Ziemer
Jesus’ parables and stories, told in his intimate
and familiar style, are grounded in the senses.
He speaks of sight, hearing, touch; of people’s
need for food, water, shelter. He speaks of love. Jesus helps us feel the heat of the day and the
laborers’ fatigue; we see the farmer’s ripening
fields. Time and again, the Son of God shows
his own humanity through a deep and profound
understanding of human affliction and deprivation.
In elegant simplicity and with words and actions meaningful to the people, Jesus reveals his absolute comprehension of human need.
In his use of
light and wheat imagery, Jesus speaks of things familiar to his
listeners. The farmer knows from experience that the single grain of
wheat must enter the soil and die or it cannot become many grains of
wheat. He knows that the sun’s light must also play a part. The sun
must fall on the fields for the wheat to grow from seed to harvest.
Students can see how the ”death” of one grain of wheat produces abundant fruit with a Growing Wheat activity. This activity gives them a concrete example of Jesus’ parable about the grain of wheat falling to the ground and dying to produce much fruit.
Talk
about: In his descriptions of the death, germination, and growth of a
grain of wheat, and of himself as the light, Jesus uses the familiar to
describe the new. He introduces the people to the concept of salvation
and of his own ultimate sacrificial role in it. You
can help your students share the joy and meaning of the season with
their families. Make copies of these weekly reflections, spanning
seven weeks of the Easter Season, and have students take them home to
share.Maryann Ziemer is a published author with teaching experience in pre-K, kindergarten, and seventh-grade religious education. She writes about subjects related to health, science, and education.
Source: CATECHIST Magazine, April/May 2010
Copyright 2010, Peter Li, Inc. This article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any form without permission, except for use with your classes or families.
