Living like Jesus
A set of five Biblical sessions commissioned by the Baptist Union Racial Justice Group, Wonderful Youth was originally created to be delivered during Black History Month in October 2019, but sessions can be run at any time.
Wonderful Youth provides a window of opportunity for youth groups to explore and celebrate some of the historical and current unique contributions from people of colour.
Luke's gospel shows us a Jesus who welcomes, walks with and heals individuals - both in their own right and as representatives of social groupings, who at the time would have been looked down upon or shunned or worse. Jesus sets out his agenda in his home synagogue as he proclaims: good news to the poor; release of captives; recovery of sight; and the freedom of the oppressed (Luke 4:16-30). This is exciting, edgy stuff and it sets the tone for what Luke reveals to us about his ministry.
The Centurion (Luke 7:1-10) - a racial and power gap is bridged in a time of need because of a relationship which cuts through the social, political, religious and ethnic divides.
The anointing of Jesus by a woman in the city (Luke 7:36-50) - an urban story of inclusivity, openness and outrage. The true faith is shown by the voiceless and nameless person from the margins.
The woman who reached out to Jesus (Luke 8:40-56) - a woman in a place where she should never even have been, has a powerful healing encounter. The untouchable outsider meets Jesus.
The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) - the old enemy, the Samaritan, is the merciful hero of the piece. Crossing the boundary of prejudice to show love to his neighbour.
Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) - rich and powerful yes, but unpopular. Raises questions about who is included in the Kingdom and what needs to be done to get there. Also, issues around who is on the edge trying hard to be noticed or trying to find out. Plus expectations of hospitality.
In each episode and in the story of the Good Samaritan, either through who he chooses to heal or welcome or what he shows us in his storytelling, Jesus is emphasising his inclusive nature. Each time, the choices that Jesus makes go against the accepted way of doing things and seek to involve and affirm people who are outsiders. It is no big leap to reflect this in how we relate being overlooked, oppressed, excluded, silenced because of being a person of colour, or a woman, or having a disability, or being a young person.
So what we might do as we work with this theme is apply it to life today and see how the Jesus agenda should be our agenda through including outsiders, affirming the oppressed, giving voice to the silenced, setting modern day captives free!