Reaching Out: Our Call To Minister Session 7: You Took Me In

By the end of this session the students should be able to:

tell the story of Abraham and the three visitors
explain who Joseph of Arimathea was and why he is special
compare helping strangers with the parable of the Last Judgment
list to our three articles from the Resource Handbook that give examples of taking in and welcoming strangers
list one or two ways they, as a group or personally, can minister to and welcome strangers

Useful scriptural texts:

Genesis 18:1-15
Luke 23:50-57

Materials:

Copies of the following articles from the Resource Handbook:

A Home for the Homeless [Volume 1, Community Service]
Helping the Resettle Refugees [Volume 2, Community Service]
Our Children are Evangelizers [Volume 1, Witness and Mission]
RESTART: A Program to Find a Home for the Homeless [Volume 1, Community Service]
Keeping in Touch with our College Students [Volume 1, Youth-College Ministries]
Campus Ministry: A Warm Shoulder [Volume 1, Youth=College Ministries]
I'm New Here: Greeting a Visitor to Your Parish [Volume 1, Parish Development]
LOVES [Volume 1, Community Service]
Entertaining Angels Unawares - The Parish Coffee Hour [Volume 1, Parish Development]

Procedure:

5 minutes. Start-off by having everyone close their eyes. Say, 'Imagine yourself in a strange place where you don't know anyone and no one knows you. You don't know where anything in the town is: food store, post office, record store, video store, etc. You have no friends. Every person you see is a stranger. YOu don't know who you can trust, or maybe even where you're going to sleep. Really see yourself there.' Have everyone open their eyes. Discuss: What would that be like? What would you do? What would you want the most?

10-15 minutes. Read Genesis 18:1-15. Why does Sarah laugh in the passage? What did Abraham do for the three visitors? Who were the three visitors that Abraham saw?

Now read Luke 23:50-57. Who was Joseph? [He was Jewish leader who believed in Jesus.] Why do you think Joseph took the body down and buried it/ [Because he loved Him.] What do you think the other Jewish people would have done if they knew what Joseph had done? [They would not have been happy that such a prominent person would be taking care of this man who they crucified. THey might have ridiculed, alienated, or maybe even stoned him.]

How are these two stories related to Jesus' commandments in the parable of the Last Judgment? [Both talk about taking-in and caring-for God.]

Have you ever been invited in by or been a guest of someone you didn't know [school top, exchange program, etc]? What was it like? How would your trip have differed if you didn't have anyone in the are to help you out?

Today people tend to avoid inviting need people into their homes. Why do youth think that is? What are ways that we can fulfill the commandment to take people in without recklessly endangering ourselves and our family?

25 minutes. Split students into groups of three or four and divide the articles among them. Have each group read their articles, answer and discuss the following questions:

Compare the ministry in each article with Jesus' saying 'and you took me in.'
Who are the people being ministered to in this article?
Who are the people in our community who have the same needs?
What can we do to minister to them?
What are some ways we can minister to people who have nowhere to go?

Based upon the list we have so far, who are some people in our community who are ministering to these people? How can we help them or is there something else we could do?

Conclusion:

In the story of the Last Judgment Jesus says that whatever we do to the stranger we do to Him, and whatever we don't do, we don't do for Him. When we help the new kid at school or the neighborhood, we are showing our love for God. Whenever we ignore them or make fun of them, we are ignoring and making fun of God.