A Visitor To The Class

The Apostles were still sad because Jesus had died, when Jesus came into the room with them! "Why are you sad?" He asked. "I'm not a ghost; it's really me." He ate some food to show He was alive, then helped them understand why He died and came back to life. "I told you that this would happen to me," He said; "now remember it."

When an unexpected visitor comes into your class at school, everyone starts to whisper to each other. A really special visitor might make kids yell or jump out of their seats in excitement!

If you get that upset or excited at a visitor to your class, imagine how the Apostles reacted to seeing Jesus in this week's Gospel (Luke 24:35-48). They thought He was dead, and then there He was: He had found their hiding place, come in through a locked door and sat down to eat and chat like it was no big deal to come back to life!

That must have been one roomful of disbelieving, yelling people. 

The first thing a teacher does when your class reacts to a visitor is to try and calm everyone down. Jesus did that, too: He told them He wasn't a ghost, but really alive again; and He explained what had happened and reminded them to believe in Him.

Of course, trying to calm kids down when a special person just walked into the room is nearly impossible. Usually, the only thing that works is when the visitor starts to talk; then the class shuts up because you want to hear what's being said.

The Apostles must have been squirming with excitement like kids when Jesus was talking. You can guess they only stopped yelling and hugging Him because they could tell He had important things to say. Seeing a special visitor is exciting, but hearing one can be even better!

(04/23/09)