Jesus Says Goodbye to his Friends

READ: As Jesus was saying goodbye to his friends, he understood that there hadn’t been enough time to tell them everything he wanted them to know. And there were things that he had told them which they had a hard time understanding. The disciples were worried and fearful. Jesus reassured his friends by saying that after he went back to God he would send them a friend, God’s Holy Spirit. The Spirit would stay with them and teach them some of those many things they didn’t know. (John 16:12-15)

WONDER:
I wonder how the disciples felt when they heard Jesus would be leaving them?
I wonder what questions the disciples wanted to ask Jesus?
I wonder what it’s like to listen to the Holy Spirit?
I wonder how the Spirit teaches us today?

SAY: All of us have questions, things we don’t understand, mysteries which perplex us. In our story today we learn that Jesus’s closest friends had questions, too. Jesus reassured them that it was ok to have questions, and that God’s Spirit would be with them as they asked tough questions and learned more about how to follow in God’s ways of peace.

PRAY: Let’s pray. Dear God, thank you for all the questions we have, for the mysteries we don’t fully understand. And thank you for giving us your Spirit to help us with our questions. Help us to listen and to learn how to love others as Jesus loves us. Amen.

EXTEND

• I wonder if you can think of anyone who might need to hear that they have a friend? Use your favorite art materials to create a card to give or send to them. How does your card show friendship? What other ways can we let someone know we care?
  Read The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom by Bettye Stroud and illustrated by Erin Susanne Bennett. Hannah’s mother had made a special patchwork quilt for her, with hidden codes and messages. Her mom teaches her how to read the messages in the quilt. After her mother dies, Hannah uses the quilt to help guide her dad and Hannah on their long difficult journey from slavery to freedom following the Underground Railroad. Discuss the role of the quilt in the story.