Stage 1 Year One
Title: Advent to Christmas
Focus:
For Advent:
Advent (meaning “the coming”) is presented liturgically as a time of waiting and preparation. The students will explore scriptural stories from Luke’s Gospel which describe events leading to Jesus’ birth Jesus and will reflect upon how they wait for Jesus in their own lives. They will learn that as we wait for the celebration of Jesus’ entry into our world, we also await with Jesus a time when there is peace and love and no-one is hungry or disadvantaged.
For Christmas:
Children will explore and deepen their knowledge of key people and events described in the Infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke. They will explore the depth of meaning in these narratives e.g. what the different characters represent. Students' appreciation of Christmas as a time when their families and parish community thank God for the gift of Jesus is developed through their participation in family and class preparations for and celebrations of Christmas.
OutcomesJ S1.2: Sequences, records and communicates stories about Jesus
CD S1.3: Identifies and describes the place and purpose of Catholic worship
S S1.5: Identifies and recalls stories from Sacred Scripture through which God reveals himself
Students Learn About: / Students Learn to:
J S1.2:
· The liturgical seasons, focusing on the Season of Advent
· Jesus’ life, focusing on his birth
· Being a disciple of Jesus
· The Bible as the Word of God
· The infancy narratives of Luke’s Gospel
CD S1.3:
· The Church as a people who celebrate and proclaim as shown in the celebrations of Advent and Christmas
· The classroom, school and church as gathering points for celebration
S S1.5:
· The Bible as the Word of God
· The purpose of the Bible
· Stories of God’s call and people’s response
· Stories of the Bible revealing God’s love
· Stories important to the Catholic community
· Special times when Scripture is proclaimed / J S1.2:
· Identify key Advent symbols and practices
· Summarise events leading up to the birth of Jesus and reflect on their meaning for us
· Associate the celebration of Christmas with the birth of Jesus
· Locate, research and record selected Biblical stories
· Name actions appropriate to discipleship
CD S1.3:
· Contribute to an Advent liturgical celebration
· respond appropriately to the Advent liturgical setting
S S1.5:
· Retell specific scripture stories in their own words
· Enact stories from the Scriptures
· Ask questions to clarify meaning
· Explain what those stories teach
· Name times when Scripture is proclaimed
Students are challenged to recognise the implications of Jesus’ words and actions
Students are challenged to participate in school and parish worship
Students are challenged to show reverence and appreciation towards the Bible
Prayer Focus
The focus of the prayer for this module is the Hail Mary, the words taken from Luke’s Gospel. The prayer contains the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary (Lk 1:28) and Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary at the Visitation (Lk 1:42). The second part of the prayer brings our needs to Mary.
The prayer begins with Mary’s unique co-operation with the Holy Spirit. There are two movements in the prayer:
1. The first movement magnifies the Lord for great gifts as seen in the lowly servant, Mary and through her to all God’s people.
2. The second movement entrusts the prayers and praises of people to the Mother of God because she knows humanity.
Children will be introduced to this prayer as our most special prayer to Mary. Children will begin to develop familiarity with this prayer and see its connection to the annunciation story.
Catholic Discipleship
As students become more familiar with the stories recounted in Sacred Scripture they grow in an appreciation of its place in the lives of ordinary Christians. The ordinariness of the lives of Biblical characters allows a point of connection for young students; the extraordinariness of their lives appeals to their sense of wonder. That sense of wonder is the beginning point for life-long reverence of the Scriptures.
Young students enjoy the re-telling of the Christmas story but can be overtaken by the commercial side of Christmas celebrations. Now is the time to begin to encourage them to look beyond the concept of giving and receiving to a deeper yet still very basic understanding of why we celebrate Jesus’ birthday. For the students the Advent and Christmas seasons present opportunities to reflect on Jesus' presence in our lives and to take up the challenge of living as true followers of Jesus. This is a difficult concept for students at this age and this module should offer students experiences to think about and act for those in the community who are needy.
We learn from the writings of St Leo the Great that the arrival we wait for in the Season of Advent is not just the birthday of Jesus Christ, but of God’s kingdom whereby “ God’s presence is taking flesh as food for the hungry, water for the thirsty, shelter of the homeless, comfort for the imprisoned, clothing for the naked.” The work we do as Catholic disciples during Advent e.g. supporting the St Vincent De Paul Christmas Appeal is a way of bringing about the Kingdom of god in our lives.
Core Scripture
Luke 1:39-56 Mary visits Elizabeth Gold & Honey p.207
Mary and Elizabeth My First Catholic Bible p.257
Luke 2:1-7 The birth of Jesus
Matthew 2:1-11 Visitors from the East
Scripture in Context
Luke 1: 39-56
Luke tells the story of the Visitation in the introduction to his Gospel. In doing so he is proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah, God’s Promised One. Mary plays an important role in the introduction to Luke’s Gospel; she identifies the child she is carrying as the Lord himself. Luke introduces Mary as Jesus’ mother but also as a believing and trusting disciple. Even though Mary’s acceptance of God’s offer to be the mother may well cause problems for Joseph and her, she responds positively to God’s call.
Mary travelled to visit her older and pregnant cousin Elizabeth in what must have been dangerous and rough circumstances. However the love she had for her cousin compelled her to assist an older pregnant woman in the time leading up to the birth of her child. Elizabeth, upon hearing Mary’s news is delighted and sings her cousin’s praise, “Blessed are you who believed in the Lord’s promise.”
Luke 2: 1-7- The birth of Jesus
According to Luke’s Gospel, Jesus’ birth took place in a stable: the event as it has been handed down is told as one of warmth and simplicity. The birth itself reads as if a routine event - a peasant couple on an arduous journey retire for the night in the only available accommodation. The woman is heavily pregnant and her labour begins, a son is born to the couple. Within the story however, we are introduced to some of the theological themes of Luke’s Gospel. We get a glimpse of Jesus’ humanity through his simple birth and the visit of the shepherds, and of his divinity as made known by the appearance of the angels. The picture we have from Luke can be united in our minds with the picture from Matthew in which we become aware of Jesus’ kingship as shown by the visit of the Gentile magi. His kingship is to be a servant kingship to all from all nations.
Matthew 2: 1-11- Visitors from the East
Matthew tells of the star that guides the Wise Men (Magi) to Jesus just as the angels showed the shepherds the way to Jesus. The Wise Men are ‘explorers’ looking for God. Their minds and hearts are open to God being revealed to them. The Wise Men offer gold for a king, incense for a God and myrrh for a human being. The Wise Men are wealthy and Jesus came for the wealthy as well as the poor. Most significantly, the Wise Men are Gentiles, or non-Jews who came from far away. Their visit to the child Jesus demonstrates that the way of Jesus will be to embrace people of all cultural, ethnic and societal groups. The visit of the Magi is celebrated on the feast of the Epiphany on 6 January. ‘Epiphany’ means God being revealed.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
n. 437 Birth of Jesus
nn. 441-445 Son of God
nn. 456-478 Word becomes flesh
nn. 487-507 Virgin Mary
n. 525 The Christmas mystery
Background for the Teacher
Introduction
Advent: The History and Meaning of the Season
The word 'Advent' is derived from the Latin 'Adventus,' which means 'coming.' Advent is the beginning of a new liturgical year (in the Western Christian churches), and encompasses the span of time from the fourth Sunday before Christmas, until the Nativity of Our Lord is celebrated.
In its early days, the Season of Advent was connected with a Roman celebration of the successful conclusion of the agricultural year each December. In this season, people gave thanks for the earth’s fruitfulness. Christians thanked God for the gifts of the earth and were urged to fast and give alms “signs of that new and blessed order of things that will result when Christ returns to reign and God is all in all” (Bishop David Walker, p. 6). The gifts of creation reveal God to us, as does the coming of Jesus into our world, the ultimate revelation of God. Advent is therefore a season of reflection, of hope, joy and love, in which we come to know God as a gracious God, sharing divine life and love through creation and through the Incarnation of Jesus. It is a season in which we are called to share our gifts with the poor and marginalised.
According to Bishop David, at a time in history when commercialism has over-run the Season of Christmas and many ignore or know nothing about the Season of Advent, a re-connection with the simplicity of the “rural roots” of the season, which is based on the rhythms and nature of grace and a gratefulness for the fruits of the earth is needed.
(Bishop David Walker , “Lectio Divina Advent, Year C”, Diocese of Broken Bay).
Advent: Hope in Christ of the Coming of the Kingdom of God
In the Season of Advent we live out the hope of Christ coming and we look forward to rejoicing in the presence of God with us through the celebration of Christmas. However, the Season of Advent is much more than waiting for the celebration of an event long ago. Pope Leo the Great who was Pope from 440 to 461 gave homilies in Advent that focussed on the advent or arrival that people wait for as a new human society “where the deepest human hungers are satisfied, where giving triumphs over getting, where peace surpasses violence, and where cooperation replaces competition.” Bishop David says that whilst we anticipate the joyous celebration of Christmas, “ what we wait for is nothing less than a world recreated, transfigured by the One whose coming opens new heavens and a new earth, the place where righteousness will be home.”
“Our Advent leads us into holy mystery. God’s word comes deeply embedded in human words and human flesh. Promise and meaning, hope and life, pregnancy and flesh-how wonderful that God so loved the world! How fortunate we are to hear and ponder this good news. Still the world is full of cynicism and suspicion, of oppression and violence, of sickness and death. It was for Micah and Isaiah, for Mary and Elizabeth, for John and Jesus. It is for us.”(Bishop David, Lectio Divina Advent, Year c)
The Incarnation
The Incarnation means God taking human presence in the person of Jesus. The Incarnation opens up limitless possibilities of God’s transforming power, God’s desire to be united with us. God’s act of creation is again demonstrated in the Incarnation. “The same Spirit who ‘hovered above the waters’ (Gen1:2) ‘came upon Mary’ (Lk 1:35). In this act, God ushered in a new creation”. The incarnation (or becoming human) of Jesus is inextricably linked to the Paschal Mystery (the living, dying and rising of Jesus) as the means of our salvation.
(adapted from Pope Benedict XVI, Holy Father’s Vespers Message in Nazareth, 15/5/09 Catholic Online @ www.catholic.org).
The Infancy Narratives
The infancy narratives appear only in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. In our telling of the Christmas story we have merged the two accounts into one scene, although there are differences in the stories.
· Matthew: focuses on Joseph, has Mary and Joseph living in Bethlehem and includes the visit of the magi and the flight into Egypt
· Luke: focuses on Mary, has Mary and Joseph living in Nazareth and travelling to Bethlehem, includes shepherds and a peaceful visit to Bethlehem
These Gospels locate the birth of Jesus within a specific period in history, namely the Roman occupation of Palestine during the reign of King Herod. They tell us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but they do not determine the exact month or day. They are interpreted as the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies (Crotty, R. Introduction to the Gospels). The birth stories are stories of faith and are not understood as exact historical accounts. Together the two accounts reveal the identity of Jesus which will be explored throughout these Gospels.