“The world is as screwed up now as it was in Bible times!” This was the conclusion reached by one student nearing the end of Confirmation. It is true that when we read the biblical story deeply, it is full of violence, hatred, misunderstanding and discrimination by humans. Yet, it is God who is at the center of the story. God’s love for humanity is never-ending.
Working with the Confirmation students is one of the really fun things that I get to do. We dig into the Bible and the Catechism exploring what faith means and how it applies to our lives. But we also have fun doing it. Studying the Lord’s Prayer and emphasizing “give us today our daily bread,” we sorted potatoes at Second Harvest. A highlight of the experience was the funny potato contest.
We went on retreats (pre-pandemic) where we played Bible Story Pictionary and other games, did skits, baked communion bread, roasted marshmallows.
We listened to Bible Stories read aloud – as they were originally done – and drew pictures of the key parts of the story and then shared our drawings with others. When we moved out of doors for Confirmation during the pandemic, we did these drawings with chalk on the pavement.
At the end of each session, we brought it back to our lives by asking, “What does this say to you? What does this say to us?”
When you hear a biblical text like the story of Jacob’s dream and angels going up and down a ladder between heaven and earth, how would you answer the question of “What does this say to you? What does this say to us?”
Let us pray. Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise him, all creatures here below; praise him above, ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. (ELW 884-885)