Gather
Activities and prayers to gather the group and introduce the theme
Use the Jump menu on the right to find Prayers and other resources.
When did you...
- Ask people, working in pairs: can you recall any times when –perhaps without even really thinking about it –you might have been guilty of one of the following behaviours, or something like them: not owning up when you’ve been undercharged; asking to be reimbursed a little bit more than you are owed, because you can; complaining about something or someone that really didn’t deserve it; not responding to a request for help when you could easily have done so?
- These are examples of the sort of behaviour John the Baptist complains about in today’s Gospel reading, as we will hear shortly. Often the Gospels tell us about what John and Jesus said to those in authority, both religious and secular. But what we hear today was aimed at ordinary people like us –and that is not so easy to dismiss.
First impressions
You could also use the image and following questions to help introduce the theme.
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or use the Jump menu to go to This week's images.
For artist's details, see this issue's illustrators.
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Questions
- How might what these young people are doing be ‘good news’ for someone?
- What then should we do, to be a sign of the good news to others?
- How is your community a sign of the good news?