Encounter Christianity: In Journeys about Jesus lesson plan 2

Lesson two - Rejection (pages 4-5)

Text from the book

Rejection (poem by Judith Nicholls)

The travellers, weary now in every pore
With eyes downcast beneath the darkening sky
Still wait in silent hope outside the door.

The inn is full; they’ve seen it all before.
We’ve no room here! and then a brusque Goodbye!
To travellers weary now in every pore.

In disbelief, too tired to implore,
They try to turn away but wonder why
They wait in silent hope outside the door.

Rejection is not easy to endure;
Where can you go when there’s no place to lie
For travellers weary now in every pore?

The landlord hesitates, becomes unsure,
Now sensing a despair he can’t pass by;
They wait in silent hope outside the door.

The stable? Could he offer only straw
With lowing cattle for a lullaby?
The travellers, weary now in every pore,
Wait still in silent hope beside the door.

Learning objectives

Pupils will:

know the story of the birth of Jesus, especially the arrival in Bethlehem where there is no room at the inn
reflect on what it is like to be rejected;
understand that there are times when we cannot change things.

Background

You have to make a long journey, a long and uncomfortable trek; you look forward to arriving but a door slams in your face. You have to ‘make do’. This story, from Luke’s Gospel, is re-lived today in the refugees and the homeless, but most of us have ‘travelled’ in body or mind to be turned aside to ‘make do with the stable’. This well-known, romanticized story is a powerful example of rejection at the end of a journey, as reflected in Judith Nicholls’ poem.

Ways of using the picture

Have the pupils ever been in a similar situation – nowhere to stay or at the end of a tiring day? Do they look forward to their bed in their home?
Look up Nazareth and Bethlehem on a map. Estimate the distance and how long the journey would take at walking pace. How might Joseph and Mary have felt?
Discuss how refugees must feel as they flee from their countries, seeking safety and security.

Bible reference

Luke 2.1-7

Key words

Travellers
Landlord
Weary
Rejection
Silent
Hope
Disappointment
Downcast
Disbelief
Endure
Despair

Activities

You will need

Children’s Bible with good account of Luke 2 v. 1-7.

Think about seaside holidays and riding a donkey on the beach. Imagine riding a donkey for a long journey. Use towns that are about 70 miles apart (and that children will know about).

Read the poem through to the class a couple of times. Use your voice to emphasise particular words or feelings. Ask the pupils to read it through on their own, thinking about how Mary and Joseph must have felt. Set the pupils a task:

‘Imagine you are Mary or Joseph travelling to Bethlehem. When you reach Bethlehem how do you too feel? Are you cold, tired, hungry and alone? How do you feel when doors are shut in your face?’

Pupils could choose to write their own poem on the same theme.

Contrast and compare how the artist has portrayed the scenario in relation to the poem.

Look at the repeated line in the poem and ask the pupils to create their own repeated line that gives the most important message.

How do the children respond to the artwork?

Watch a video clip of a school nativity play or a film clip from ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ showing this scene. How do the pupils respond?

The children can follow up the story in their own way such as using the characters to act out the story through painting or modelling.

Learning outcomes

Pupils will have:

reflected on what it is like to be rejected;
explored feelings and emotions of frustration and despair;
have begun to understand how refugees might feel.

Extension work

The pupils could write their own script for a film or video using the work they have done.

Web site links

http://arthistory.about.com/library/blartist_tissot.htm
A brief biography of the artist, James T Tissot of this page's image can be found at this site. Further information can be gleaned from http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/tissot/

http://www.jesusanswers.com/bible/map.htm
This contains a good map that enables pupils to work out the distance travelled between Nazareth and Bethlehem.

http://www.fesko.com/nativity.jpg
This image, and the one at http://www.talonsite.com/bith/arriving.htm are modern re-enactments of the arrival into Bethlehem and the Nativity scene.

Teachers can discover the latest news about global refugee issues at http://www.unhcr.ch/

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