MEETING AIM
To experience - and understand the origins of - the Communion meal, and to explore how it fits into the story of Jesus’ journey to the cross.
BACKGROUND PREPARATION
You’ll need bread and grape juice for communion. For the other activities you’ll need celery, small round Brussels sprouts, drinking straws, string, John 13 printed out and chopped up into lots of reading parts, and if possible a large table.
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FOODLYMPICS
Kick off the session with a fun, three part food-based ice-breaker. Health and safety best practice suggests that chubby bunnies is no longer a recommended youth ministry activity, so instead, pull volunteers out of the group to compete against one another in the following events:
• Celery javelin: recreate the thrills of London 2012 by seeing who can throw a stick of celery the furthest. Make sure your competitors use the traditional javelin technique, and include foul line to stop any cheating.
• Sprout-blowing dash: on a table, use string to create two ‘lanes’, then get two volunteers to compete to blow a Brussels sprout to the finish line the fastest. If they blow their sprout out of their lane, they have to go back to the start.
• Vegete-boule: play a quick game of bowls using a small round vegetable (eg a sprout) as the ‘jack’, and two sets of larger round vegetables (eg turnips vs swedes) as the bowls; closest vegetable wins. Award small chocolate prizes for the victors in each competition, and offer the vegetables to the losers!
OPTIONAL - SERIES LINK
If you’re running the four-part series, show a clip from your chosen movie. The clip should be the moment where the action is set up. Eg The Lion King – Scar and the hyenas plot and sing the ‘Be prepared’ song; Star Wars – Luke and Obi Wan meet Han Solo at Mos Eisley; Toy Story – Woody and Buzz argue in the Pizza Planet claw machine. Ask: why is this scene so important to the movie? After this scene, life is never going to be the same for the characters, why? The answer is that – as in all films – this setup moment forces the drama forwards. It is often a moment of calm before the storm, but the storm has to happen. This session looks at the ‘setup’ of the Easter movie – Jesus’ last night with his disciples.
LAST NIGHT
Break into small groups. Invite everyone to discuss what they would do with their last night on earth? Give the groups a moment to discuss this. Now ask, by show of hands, how many people focused on a) their own pleasure, b) spending time with loved ones, c) something else? Ask the groups to discuss a second, related question: if you knew you had a little longer to live – perhaps a few weeks or even months – what kind of impression might you want to leave behind on the world? How would you want others to remember you, and what would you do to make sure they did? After taking feedback, explain that we might refer to this ‘impression’ we leave behind after our death as our ‘legacy’ – and as we look at Jesus’ last night with his disciples, we find someone who is very focused on that legacy.
Key Point #1
Jesus spent three years training up and investing in his small team of disciples. The Church – which grew out of these 12 disciples – would become Jesus’ legacy.
ROUND THE TABLE PART ONE
Seat everyone around a large table. Hand everyone who is comfortable with reading out loud a section of the Bible readings from John 13. Explain that you’re going to read two of the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. Instead of a straight reading, you’re going to have a chance to ask questions at every turn. Begin the reading at verse 1, then stop after the following verses: 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, 20. At each stopping point, invite the group members to ask questions, reflecting on what they think is going on. Encourage them to consider this bigger question throughout: what would it feel like to be sitting there, as one of the disciples, hearing this from Jesus?
BREAD AND WINE
Remain at the table. Explain that the different Gospel accounts tell us different parts of the story. If we turn back to Matthew’s Gospel, verses 26-28 give us Jesus’ famous words about bread and wine. If we went into pretty much any church, in any place throughout history, we’d know those people were Christians because they still share this meal in his memory. As you read these verses, pause to allow the young people to share in the Communion meal, either in line with the traditions of your church or using simple words like – ‘this represents Jesus’ body.’
Key Point #2
This meal – which we call Communion – is the ritual which connects every place and time of the Church together; the bread and wine are like cement between the billions of bricks that make up the Church.
ROUND THE TABLE PART TWO
Remain at the table, and finish your reading from John 13. Skip verses 21-30, restarting from verse 31, and again pause for comments and questions after verses 32, 33, 34, 35 and 38. Focus particularly on those first five verses, and ask the group: why does Jesus say this now, in his final briefing to his disciples? Why is their behaviour from now on so important to him?
Key Point #3
The disciples were Jesus’ legacy, and became his Church; today we are their descendants, carrying that on. So the way we behave and the difference – positive or otherwise – that we make on earth is Jesus’ legacy among humanity. Are we ready to take that responsibility seriously?
BODY CARE End the session by telling the group a little about the places in the world where the Church – of which we are part – is persecuted for its faith (information available from www.opendoorsyouth.org). Spend a few minutes in two’s and three’s praying for Christians in those places, that their faith would remain strong, their hope would not be extinguished, and their numbers would grow.
