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Reply to "Different Ways to Teach each Beatitude -by Ann Liechty and Phyllis Wezeman"

The Beatitudes:          link back to summary

 

The Fourth Beatitude: 

Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

 

Article six of eleven part series

 

Phyllis Wezeman & Ann Liechty

 

Summary:

Twelve methods, with two suggestions for each, offer a variety of useful and practical ideas for exploring and developing activities and for tailoring experiences related to the lesson’s focus.

 

This article continues an eleven-part series on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-11), including an overview of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), an overview of the eight statements, an in-depth look at each Beatitude, and a concluding summary. Christian Educators, as well as pastors, will find helpful materials for teaching children, youth, and adult classes.

 



Architecture

Look in books or on Internet sites for pictures of famous palaces like Versailles in France or the Taj Mahal in India. Discuss the grandeur of the design, decoration, and space each palace represents. Ask what the humans who built these opulent palaces might have been “hungering and thirsting” for in their lives. Consider what Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:6 suggest about whether such palaces would satisfy human hunger and thirst for happiness. Then discuss what our lives suggest we are hungering and thirsting for.

Visit a home building materials center to look for ideas and resources that might go into a “dream home.” Encourage the participants to envision the type of home that they think would make them happy, perhaps even have them draw, design, or cut pictures from magazines to depict their plans. Discuss whether they would want to choose poor quality materials in the building of their dream home. Connect the importance of choosing quality materials to Jesus’ words about how to find true happiness in life by longing for God’s righteousness as the building material for our daily lives.


Art


Create sand art by pouring varied layers of colored sand into clear baby food jars. Point out the beauty of the different colors and patterns the sand produces. Make the point that sand reminds us of dry, thirsty climates. However, even in places where we might thirst for water, people can still satisfy their longing for God’s righteousness by finding beauty in creation and praising its Creator.

Design a collage using images taken from retail catalogs that represent the “things” that people “hunger and thirst” to have. Paste the pictures of material longings on one side of the poster. On the reverse side, create a collage using images from a religious retailer's catalog. Look for ideas related to Matthew 5:6 showing the kind of “right-thinking” that leads us to hunger and thirst for God’s ways.


Banners/Textiles


Decorate bib aprons for use in the church kitchen. Use fabric paint to write Jesus’ words from Matthew 5:6 as a challenge to remember the importance of spiritual hunger and thirst even as we prepare food and drink for our bodies.

Use the words from Psalm 42:1b as the focal point for a banner to place near a drinking fountain or to use in worship. Remind those designing the banner of Jesus’ words in the fourth Beatitude, and discuss what it means to long to know God just as the thirsty long for water.


Creative Writing


Compose prayers for finding spiritual nourishment inspired by the fourth Beatitude. Copy the words of the prayers on to table tents to use as daily reminders of our need for God’s righteousness. Remind the writers that we must satisfy our spiritual hunger and thirst with God’s presence every day, just like we must satisfy our need for physical food every day.

Write want ads for two newspapers. Call one the Worldly Words and one the Christian Courier. First, write the ads for what is “wanted” based on what the world says is satisfying and important to our happiness. Then read the Beatitudes, especially Matthew 5:6, and write ads for what those want who long for spiritual satisfaction.


Culinary


Make a list of favorite “junk foods.” Look up the calorie count and nutritional information on each food item on the list. Discuss the importance of making good choices about putting fuel in our physical bodies. Then make a list of favorite sources of spiritual food. Discuss how to create a more balanced and nutritious spiritual meal as a part of living in spiritual health.

Plan a “hunger meal” in which the participants remember those who truly understand what it means to suffer from physical hunger and thirst. They may wish to donate money to an organization involved in world hunger relief. As part of their experience, the participants should emphasize taking in spiritual food by holding a special prayer service, reading and studying scripture, singing hymns, or sharing their personal longings for God’s blessings.


Dance


Choreograph a scene that portrays people receiving spiritual nourishment. Begin with some who are twisted and contorted, representing hunger and thirst. As others bring symbols of spiritual food – an open Bible, a communion chalice, a loaf of bread, a bowl of water for baptism – those in need begin to be restored and find new energy for living.

Create different gestures to represent longing, as in hunger and thirst. Discuss whether the chosen gestures turn inward or reach outward. Point out that the longing Jesus said would bring us blessedness is directed toward God. Conclude with gestures that would represent that kind of longing.


Drama

 

Interview church members to discover how friends have helped individuals to discover or remember their need for God. Use the gathered stories to write “Spiritual Service Announcements” that remind people of their importance in helping others awaken to their need for spiritual food.


Read the story of the Israelites receiving manna in the wilderness, Exodus 16:13-36, and enact their daily search for food. Suggest dialogue that explores the idea that life is a spiritual journey toward God, more important than even daily food. We will find satisfaction only when our hunger and thirst is for God’s presence even more than for food and water.


Games


Print the word righteousness on paper or spell it on the chalkboard. See how many other words the participants can form by rearranging the letters or spelling smaller words contained within these thirteen letters. Set a time limit and offer a small reward to the one who can discover the most words hidden within the longer word. Discuss the meaning of righteousness as “right thinking” in line with God’s ways. Explain that Jesus promised the greatest reward of blessedness to those who wanted this word more than even food and water.

Use a software program to create a crossword puzzle based on words related to who God is. Include names for God, qualities of God, blessings of God, and any other spiritual terms that explain how human beings experience the in-filling of God’s presence.


Music


Look through a hymnal to find songs that connect water or food with God’s satisfying presence like “Fill My Cup, Lord” or “There Shall Be Showers of Blessings.” Sing the first verses of each or sing a few favorite hymns. Tie the images of food and water to the spiritual blessing that Jesus promises in Matthew 5:6.

Sing a version of Psalm 42, such as the praise song “As the Deer.” Connect the thirst for water and the thirst for God’s righteousness with Jesus’ message in the fourth Beatitude.


Photography


Develop an “ad campaign” for God. Point out that television commercials try to create “hunger and thirst” after things that don’t satisfy. Challenge the participants to make commercials to reach audiences with a message about “hungering and thirsting after righteousness.”

Locate a video or a brochure from a world relief organization with pictures of water or well projects that have improved the quality of life for an impoverished area or developing country. Discuss the importance of clean and available water to human beings. In light of this physical need, speculate about the implications of Jesus’ statement challenging us to recognize our spiritual thirst for God.


Puppetry


Develop a puppet script around a group of characters that discover a treasure map that promises to guide them to “true happiness.” The map guides them to “clues.” The first clue would be “your hunger and thirst.” Next they find the words “can fill.” They suggest many ideas of what they might find that “can fill your hunger and thirst.” The missing piece to their treasure map puzzle are the words “Only God.” Finally they understand the complete message found in Matthew 5:6.

Make or use puppets to re-tell the story of the prodigal son, Luke 15:11-32. Use Jesus’ words from Matthew 5:6 about hungering and thirsting for God’s goodness as the moral of the story. Discuss which of the characters in the story best portrays the quality Jesus means by “righteousness.”


Storytelling


Tell the story of Saint Francis who gave up all his wealth and position to become God’s beggar. Explain that Saint Francis understood what Jesus meant in the fourth Beatitude, that true happiness comes from desiring God’s presence more than anything else in life.

Use a sand table as a storytelling tool. Create a representation of a well as a part of the scene. Use this setting as a backdrop for discussing the importance of water in the desert and to relate the stories in which Jesus used water as a symbol for God’s grace, for example John 4:1-26, when he spoke to the woman at the well.

 

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