question time

It's OK to have questions!

All of us have them, and it's good that we do. It's part of the way that we learn.

Children certainly have them - and are generally not too afraid to ask them. As I discovered again today.

This morning I was in at the school for an hour with all of the pupils of Primary 6. They've been doing the Easter story as part of their RME curriculum: and their teachers, I think, maybe figured that I could help out.

I haven't seen the material being used by the school, but I get the impression it's simply a fairly 'neutral' sort of statement of the facts.

Jesus going into Jerusalem on the Sunday. Some of the things that he did while there. The meal that he had with his friends on the Thursday night. His arrest and trial. And then his being put to death on the Friday.

I think there's maybe a sentence or so at the end which touches on what happened on the Sunday, but not having seen the thing myself I can't be sure. I asked the teachers why none of the children had asked me really anything about the resurrection - and they had replied that the powerpoint presentation which they used didn't have much along those lines at all.

Which seems (in some ways) a bit odd. An 'Easter' presentation which ... well, misses out Easter itself!

Of course, the bare facts are not themselves the gospel. A good man dies a cruel death. That's the thing reduced to its summary form in terms of the basic narrative.

What happened is only the starting point. It's what the whole thing meant that makes it truly 'gospel'. But you need to know what happened, so it was good that the children had all had the chance to get the narrative clear. Or reasonably clear.

My time evolved fairly quickly into a question and answer session. Good questions they asked. Questions which showed they'd been thinking the whole thing through a bit. Questions which showed they'd been trying to feel their way themselves right into the story. And some of them, too, fairly 'leading' sort of questions.

It's a hazardous thing, of course, exposing yourself to the questions which children have! You never quite know just what they'll be asking you next!

But the time was a fruitful time, all right, and we got to grips with some pretty basic issues as to what was going on.

One of the children asked, for instance - "Why didn't Jesus save himself?"

It took us right to the heart of what the cross is about. Forgiveness. His dying in our place.

Or, again - "If Jesus knew that this was what he was meant to do, and knew he was going to heaven, why did he feel so abandoned?"

On the button again. Remember, these are still just P6 girls and boys. Really good questions they're asking.

So I spoke a bit about Psalm 22 and Jesus deliberately quoting the psalm: I spoke a bit about just what that terrible God-forsakenness meant and why he was having to bear it.

And before I knew it the hour was past, break-time was here, and the questioning had to stop. As the teacher said in closing - we could have been here all day!

I stopped by with the teachers for coffee before going back. It's good to catch up with them a bit as well. I think they found it a helpful, instructive session for themselves as well as the children. They, too, are always learning. And I'm glad to go in and help.

At night it was more of the same. Except not this time with the children along at the school.

This time with a group of folk, who also had their questions. I never quite know just what their questions will be. Which makes it quite exciting!

But, again, I'm having to say to them - It's OK to have questions!

The questions all serve to tease out the truth, to make the truth clear, to help people see how the whole thing holds together.

And bit by bit they're slowly getting the picture!

It's thrilling to see how the Lord is at work and draws people out towards Jesus. Absolutely thrilling.