In this issue…
// Reader’s Theater: Sheep Without a Shepherd
// Acting Out the Gospel of Matthew
// Help OneStory Present at the Children’s Spirituality Summit
Dear fellow story-dwellers,
As I wrote the subject line for this week’s letter I couldn’t help but think, wow, that’s dark. Especially since our story-of-the-week (Sheep Without a Shepherd) is full of so much hope and light.
At the end of this story, we read that Jesus is moved with compassion for the crowds who are following him. He sees something that no one else seems to see: even though they are in a group, they are “harassed and scattered.” Or maybe “distressed and dejected” is a better translation. Regardless, Jesus painted a memorable word picture: this is what sheep look like when they don’t have someone to care for them. They become isolated from one another and worn out to the point of fainting.
As parents, we get to shepherd our kids. We get to tend to their needs. We get to help them stay connected amid a culture that’s facing an epidemic of isolation.
And then we get to help them follow Jesus in seeing the distress and dejection of the people around them.
My hope is that this week’s reader’s theater Bible study, Sheep Without a Shepherd, will fuel our families’ ongoing conversations on compassion…as well as what it looks like to continue to come to Jesus with our own needs.
In grace and peace,
Amber
Reader’s Theater: Sheep Without a Shepherd
We’re following along with BibleProject’s Sermon on the Mount series this year. This past month we’ve been exploring the stories on either side of the Sermon through reader’s theater Bible studies. Part of the beauty of reenacting these stories is how it attunes us to continue to live into this grand narrative in our own contexts.
After Jesus astounded the crowds with his mountaintop teachings, they began following him even more intently than before. And Jesus began giving these people tangible tastes of the Kingdom of God.
Matthew has grouped these stories into groups of three. First, Matthew shows us Jesus’ encounters with a leper, a centurion’s servant, and a sick mother. Next, he invites us to tag along as Jesus encounters stormy seas, demonized men, and a paralyzed man. Both of these groups of stories are capped off by Jesus inviting someone to follow him.
However, this next group of stories ends with an observation: when Jesus saw the multitudes, he was “moved with compassion for them”. Why? Because they were “harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.” It sets the stage for Jesus to send his disciples out to join him in reversing this plight. He invites us to join him, too.
Here’s how this set of stories starts:
Narrator 1: As he sat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples,
Pharisee: Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?
Narrator 2: When Jesus heard it, he said to them,
Jesus: Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. But you go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Narrator 1: Then John’s disciples came to him, saying,
Disciple of John: Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?
Narrator 2: Jesus said to them,
Jesus: Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made. Neither do people put new wine into old wine skins, or else the skins would burst, and the wine be spilled, and the skins ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wine skins, and both are preserved.
There’s more story where that came from! Until our new website is ready, you can download the full story here.
Acting Out the Gospel of Matthew
Since our website is currently undergoing a huge overhaul, here are links to all of the reader’s theater Bible studies from the Gospel of Matthew we’ve released so far:
Announcing the Kingdom: Matthew 1-4 (4 studies)
Down From the Mountain: Matthew 8:1-22
When Jesus Got Into a Boat: Matthew 8:23-9:9
Sheep Without a Shepherd: Matthew 9:10-38
Also, our website will be down for a week sometime in the next month. We aren’t sure if these links will be available during the update, so if you haven’t already downloaded them, now would be a good time.
Read more about our website overhaul here:
Help OneStory Present at the Children’s Spirituality Summit
A huge thank you to everyone who has already partnered with us in helping to make this hope a reality! We are getting close to being able to say “yes” to a very cool opportunity.
As we shared two weeks ago, Nicole and I were invited to present at the Children’s Spirituality Summit taking place near Chicago this May. Our topic is The Bible as Adventure: Cultivating an imaginative approach to the real story of the Bible.
However, in order to accept the invitation, we need sponsors to partner with us in covering our costs. Our hope is to raise $1000 by the end of today. If you have been blessed by OneStory’s resources in the past few years, would you prayerfully consider clicking the donate button below to help get us to the Summit?
This is an amazing opportunity to collaborate with Christ-centered “scholars and thoughtful practitioners dedicated to promoting informed practice regarding children's spirituality.”
If we either surpass or fall short of the $1000 needed to cover travel, meals, and registration costs, received funds will go toward designing family guides to accompany all of the videos in BibleProject's Read Scripture book overviews. You can read more about that project here.
We appreciate your consideration!