7. My mother and my brothers (pages 14-15)

Text from the book

'Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.'

When he was teaching, Jesus used the example of his own family to explain God's love for everyone. Christians believe that, by following Jesus, they become part of God's family. In what ways can families help and support each other?

Aims of the book

Pupils will:

• explore some of the key sayings of Jesus;
• be aware of what friends and enemies said about him;
• reflect on the layers of meanings in the words.

Learning objectives

Pupils will:

• explore the joys and challenges of family life;
• discover the ways in which Christians form a worldwide family;
• ask and consider the question ‘Who is my brother/sister?’

Background

Some scholars say Jesus was an only child; others believe that Mary was a perpetual virgin; others say that Jesus’ sisters and brothers were step-brothers and sisters from a previous marriage by Joseph. Here, Jesus is using a well-known Middle Eastern custom, which often includes all like-minded people in a community as ‘brothers and sisters’. Blood ties are important, but no more important than doing God’s will, because then everyone is related to each other in spirit.

Bible reference: Mark 3. 34, 35

Ways of using the picture

Do the pupils have family friends referred to as ‘uncle’ or ‘aunt’?

We often use ‘family’ to refer to a community – the school or religious ‘family’. What are the characteristics of such a family?

Jesus doesn’t seem to think his own family is special. Is that so? What could this story teach us about Jesus’ family relationships?

Key words

• Family
• Community
• Relationships
• Love

Activity

You will need:

• Large sheets of paper and pens
• A large circular piece of paper with a drawing of a table in the centre

In small groups, spend time looking closely at the picture on page 14. Identify the different aspects of family life that have been shown by the artist. Can the pupils find similarities and differences with their own experience of family life. Record ideas on a large sheet of paper headed ‘Our Families’. One of the things to celebrate is that families come in all shapes and sizes. Collect these ‘brainstorms’ together and display them and then return to a class group.

Using the ideas from the group activity, consider ways in which:

a) the class and b)the school can operate like a family unit. What are the ordinary, everyday things that we do together? Who would the pupils include in their ‘class’ family, or ‘school’ family? Think about the ways in which people support each other in the different family units.

There is a saying ‘you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family’. Discuss the challenges that come with being part of a family group – what are the irritations?

Introduce the idea that Christians believe they are part of a world wide family. Either in groups or as a class make a list of the things Christians do to hold them together in a world wide family. Some ideas are:

• celebrating festivals;
• reading the Bible;
• sharing in the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, Mass);
• worship;
• supporting each other;
• trying to get on together even when they don’t like each other!

These ideas could be displayed on a large circular piece of paper in the centre of which is a drawing of a table on which is placed bread and wine.

Learning outcomes

Pupils will:

• learn about different kinds of families and communities;
• learn that Christians believe they are part of a world wide family.

Extension work

The Church of England is a member of the Anglican Communion. There are Anglican churches all over the world. Find out about what is meant by a ‘worldwide Church.’

Find out about the origins of Mothering Sunday. Think about why some Christians describe their church as ‘Mother Church’.

Web sites

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/

This is the official site for the Anglican Communion and includes a virtual tour, photos and reports. Also worth a visit is www.cofe.anglican.org/, the official site of the Church of England.

http://www.teal.org.uk/stats/the.htm

An interesting site with details of the World Wide Church, with information about Christian population, denominations and church number.

© Alan Brown and Alison Seaman, 2002

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