JERUSALEM: RISKING REPUTATION

Planning the Session

Session Goals

As a result of conversations and activities connected with this session, group members should begin to

• explore how our expectations determine what we see,

• understand the Old Testament contexts for Jesus' triumphal entry and the political context in which it took place,

• consider the risk Jesus took in entering Jerusalem and how our desire for a hero can lead us to avoid risk, and

• reflect on what we will do for justice in the light of Christ's work.

Scriptural Foundation

The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

"Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

Matthew 21:9

Special Preparation

• Prepare the room with seating arranged in a circle so that everyone will be able to see one another.

• Create a small worship space in the center of the circle with visual reminders of God's presence. For this session that could include a candle, an open Bible, a cross, and a small statue or picture of a donkey.

• If this is a new group or you have new members for this study, have name tags available as well as pens and markers.

• Have available paper, pens, pencils, and other drawing materials.

• Also have available Bibles for those who may not have brought one. Encourage participants to bring a Bible for future sessions. Let them know that they can bring whatever version they have (NRSV, NIV, KJV, and so on); sometimes it is helpful to share different translations.

• Post in a visible spot in the room a large piece of paper titled "Events of Holy Week."

• If you have access to a stool and reading stand, have these available for the Reader's Theater exercise.

Getting Started

Opening Activity

As participants arrive, greet them and invite them into a circle of chairs. Especially if it is a newly formed group, have each person write his or her name on a name tag and put it on. Begin the session with brief introductions.

After introductions, say the following to the group: In this study, we are going to be entering into the stories of the final week of Jesus' earthly life. Each of the four Gospels tells us about this week and it is perhaps the most important story Christians have to tell about who God is. The story of that last week is often called the Passion narrative, with "passion" coming from an old Latin word meaning "to suffer" and "to endure." Jesus' suffering and death reveal to us how God's love works in the world. The Passion narrative is not only about Jesus; it is about his followers as well, and so it is also about us.

Ask the group members to share, without looking in the study book or a Bible, the events of Jesus' last week as they can remember them. As participants share, write their responses on the large piece of paper titled "Events of Holy Week" that you posted in a visible spot in the room before the session began.

After allowing some time for this exercise, say: Today we will be focusing on Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, which begins the Passion story. We want to begin by praying that we will see something new that helps us to see the story in a new way, and to see our world differently in light of the story.

Opening Prayer

Pray together, using the following prayer or one of your own choosing:

God who enters into the suffering of this world, we trust that you see and know the pains of the world and our lives. We share your desire for a world that better reflects your reign, and we ask for new eyes to see your intentions. As we follow Jesus into Jerusalem, upset our expectations and surprise us with new hope for justice and new life. Amen.

Learning Together

Video Study and Discussion

Say to the group: We will continue our time together with a video featuring Amy-Jill Levine, whom we are going to call "A.-J.," because that's what she prefers. A.-J. will talk about the primary themes of our session today: Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the risks taken by Jesus and his followers. Notice how A.-J. captures the drama and tension of the scene in her presentation. Make connections to what we have read together in her book. Then, we will discuss both the video and book together.

Play the first track on the DVD, Entering the Passion of Jesus, Session 1: Jerusalem: Risking Reputation (running time is approximately 8–10 minutes).

Say to the group: Let's keep in mind what A.-J. has said as we take a look at the book and examine these themes in light of our Lenten study.

Book and Bible Study and Discussion

Discuss the Role of Expectations and the Importance of Details

Invite group members to recall a parade. It could be a famous parade like the ones broadcast on television on Thanksgiving Day or a community parade that happens in your town. Ask the group to finish the following incomplete sentence based on their memories of this parade: "It wouldn't be a parade if it didn't have ..." (Some possible answers include marching bands, floats, clowns, and so on.) Allow some time for persons to share responses.

Now say to the group: A.-J. compares Jesus' entry into Jerusalem to a parade. However, the particular parade the people of Jesus' day had in mind was probably a triumphal entry, which the book describes as a victory parade. The technical term for such a parade is the Greek term parousia. You may have heard this term in relation to the return of Jesus at the time of the final judgment.

Invite the group to read the section of chapter 1 that describes the parades with which the people in Jerusalem, and among those first-century readers of the Gospels, would have been familiar. These include both contemporary parades of generals and kings, and ancient processions such as Solomon's coronation parade. Ask:

• What elements did these parades have that Jesus' entry also has? What is different?

• How did the expectations of the people determine what they saw?

Conduct a Split View Reader's Theater

Make sure that all the participants have access to a Bible for this exercise. Say to the group: A.-J. emphasizes that we can't fully understand Jesus' entry into Jerusalem unless we know the context from the Old Testament. We're going to conduct a little reader's theater that will help us see the story of Jesus' entry as the Gospel of Matthew describes it alongside stories from the Old Testament that relate to it.

Divide into four small groups. (If your group is small, this may mean working in pairs. To avoid having one person in a group, you can assign two of the following passages to a group.) Give each group one of the following passages or sets of passages:

1. Zechariah 9:9-10

2. 1 Kings 1:33-40; 2 Kings 9:12-13

3. Psalm 118:19-29

4. Deuteronomy 18:18

Ask each group to read its assigned passage(s) and then read Matthew 21:1-11 to see how the assigned passage sheds light on some element of Matthew's version of Jesus' entry. Encourage the group to use the study book to find additional information about how their assigned verses relate to Matthew's passage. Tell them to prepare to comment on the story as it is read by a narrator.

After the groups have had time to work, ask an individual with a good reading voice to serve as the narrator for a reading of Matthew 21:1-11. Arrange the space so that the narrator is set apart. If you have a stool and reading stand available, place the narrator there.

Ask the small groups to imagine that they are broadcast commentators providing analysis of the story to listeners or viewers. When the narrator pauses, the group members can offer additional information to help interpret what's going on and who the people — the disciples, the crowds — think Jesus is. For instance, after the disciples bring Jesus the donkey and colt, the first group might begin by saying, "Wow! This reminds me of a prophecy in Zechariah. There it says ..."

Have the narrator read Matthew's story in the following blocks, pausing after each one for the appropriate group to comment:

1. Matthew 21:1-7

2. Matthew 21:8

3. Matthew 21:9

4. Matthew 21:10-11

Following the reading, thank the participants. Then ask:

• What surprised you about reading the passage this way?

• What do the Old Testament passages tell us about the expectations of who Jesus is?

Envision Joining the Parade

Read aloud Matthew 21:9-11:

The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

"Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

Ask participants:

• What two titles are given to Jesus in these verses? [Son of David, prophet]

• What do they know about his background? [from Nazareth, in Galilee]

Say to the group: Both of these titles suggest how the people saw Jesus. According to A.-J., "Son of David" recalls a time when David ruled a nation marked by security and justice, compassion and hope. In calling Jesus a prophet, the crowds were remembering figures like Moses who spoke for God. A.-J. wonders what it would mean for us not only to welcome Jesus but also to join the parade and work for the will of God in the world.

We can also reflect on what "Nazareth" and "Galilee" suggest:

• the Christmas story (to remind us that the death of Jesus cannot be separated from his birth and the rest of his life)

• Galilee, and so not a resident of Jerusalem, which is in Judea. Galilee, the place where the mission began and the major miracles occurred.

Divide into small groups of three or four people. Ask the groups to read through the section of chapter 1 related to taking up the cross. Ask them to consider the following questions:

• What did "taking up the cross" mean for the people of Jesus' time? What does it mean for us?

• Why is it important not to separate the Triumphal Entry from the cross?

• Why is it important not to separate the Passion narrative from the rest of the life of Jesus?

• What areas of pain in the world call for risk in the name of justice?

After allowing time for discussion, bring the whole group back together. Share some of the reflections from the small group discussion. Then ask the group members to close their eyes and imagine that they are part of a parade that leads them into the pain of the world and the places where justice and compassion are hard to find. Ask them to respond silently to the following questions, pausing after each one:

• Where are we headed?

• To what or whom are we moving toward?

• Who is moving with us?

• What forces are threatening our progress?

• What might we be called to risk in order to give witness to Christ's cause?

• What gives us courage to keep moving?

Invite group members to draw their vision of the parade using the drawing materials you have provided. Allow time following the exercise for volunteers to share their drawings and visions.

Wrapping Up

Closing Activity

Invite group members to consider the meaning of the word Hosanna!, which might be translated as "Save, please!" Read aloud the section of chapter 1 that discusses "Hosanna!" Ask the following question for group discussion:

• From what did the people who welcomed Jesus need to be saved?

Now invite group members to reflect silently on a word that describes a situation they would ask Jesus to enter for salvation. Ask them to write that word on a piece of paper.

Closing Prayer

If the group is using a common biblical translation, invite them to read aloud Psalm 118. Alternatively, ask a good reader to read it aloud. Remind the group of the author's reminder that the psalm describes a promise of God that is available every day.

As an act of prayer, invite volunteers to say aloud the word they have written down in the previous exercise followed by the group saying the word Hosanna! One model of the prayer is:

Lord, who risks the difficult path of sacrifice,

we welcome you with our cries to save, as the people met you in Jerusalem.

Hear our cries of "Hosanna!"

[Individuals offer their word, followed by the group saying "Hosanna!" After all have had an opportunity to share, continue ...]

Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Amen!

THE TEMPLE: RISKING RIGHTEOUS ANGER

Planning the Session

Session Goals

As a result of conversations and activities connected with this session, group members should begin to

• understand the different emphases that the Gospels attach to the Temple incident;

• appreciate the role of the Temple in Jewish and Christian thought;

• consider how Jesus' actions in the Temple can be used to challenge notions of hospitality, grace, the role of money in contemporary churches, and the problems that happen when churches are places where sinners feel relaxed rather than repentant; and

• develop strategies for turning feelings of anger at injustice into action.

Scriptural Foundation

Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, "Is it not written,

'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'?

But you have made it a den of robbers."

Mark 11:15-17

Special Preparation

• Prepare the room with seating arranged in a circle so that everyone will be able to see one another.

• Create a small worship space in the center of the circle with visual reminders of God's presence. For this session, that could include a whip and some scattered coins (preferably coins from other nations, such as euros, sen, yen, and pesewas).

• Have available paper, pens, pencils, and other drawing materials.

• Also have available Bibles for those who may not have brought one.

• Prepare two pieces of paper or card stock. On one write the words: A House of Prayer for All Nations. On the other write: A Den of Robbers. Post the signs in a visible place in your meeting area.

• If you have access to Bible dictionaries, have them available for participants to use.

• Prepare a chart on a large, blank sheet of paper. The chart should have three columns and five rows. The heading for the second column should say "Mark" and the heading for the third column should say "John." In the first column, beginning with the second row write the following, each in its own cell:

* Where in Gospel

* What Jesus does

* What Jesus says

* Result

• Post a large, blank sheet of paper in a visible, accessible spot in your meeting space.

Getting Started

Opening Activity

Remember

Read aloud Isaiah 56:6-8:

And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
and hold fast my covenant —
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.

Then direct the group's attention to the sign you posted earlier that says "A House of Prayer for All Nations." Ask:

• What does this way of describing the Temple imply for how we should act toward people who are not members of our church? to people who are not Christians? to people who are of different ethnicities?

• What parts of our church life help us live into being "A House of Prayer for All Nations"?

Now invite the group to reflect silently on these additional questions:

• With whom do we, as individuals and as this church, need to be reconciled?

• How is God's embrace of those have a different way of worshiping than we do good news for us?

Opening Prayer

Read the following prayer, or one of your own, aloud:

God of the Passover,
who brought to freedom those who passed through the waters of the Red Sea,
and raised again to life Jesus from the dead,
We look for your reconciling love that makes us one,
and we long for the courage to risk living out of that love.
Bless us now as we gather around your Living Word. Amen.

Learning Together

Video Study and Discussion

Say to the group: We will continue our time together with a video featuring A.-J. Levine. A.-J. will talk about the primary themes of our session today: Jesus' disruption in the Temple (also known as the "cleansing of the Temple") and the risks taken by Jesus as he expresses his anger. Notice how A.J. describes the Temple setting in detail. Make connections to what we have read together in her book. Then, we will discuss both the video and book together.

Play the second track on the DVD, Entering the Passion of Jesus, Session 2: The Temple: Risking Righteous Anger (running time is approximately 8–10 minutes).

Say to the group: Let's keep in mind what A.-J. has said as we take a look at the book and examine these themes in light of our Lenten study.