Opening Question: How many of you stayed up on New Years Eve? What happened?

Through the sights and sounds of television, more than 300 million people watched the ball in New York City’s Time Square as the old year became the new. More than one half million people went to Times Square to watch the ball in person. The ball is actually lights in the form of a ball and, sitting on a tall building, can be seen for more than a mile away.

The excitement climbs as people count down “5, 4, 3, 2, 1…” The ball of lights travel down and, at midnight, goes out. Then a brighter sign goes on and spells out what everyone cheers: “Happy New Year!”

The time from Thanksgiving to New Years is a time for lights. Beautiful Christmas lights on houses. Beautiful trees with glowing, blinking lights. There is even a ball of lights on New Years. But now its light to take down the lights and put them away until next year. Wouldn’t be nice if there were lights all year round?

In the reading today, the author calls God a light that will brighten up the night and draw people near. Today we celebrate Jesus as God’s light, the one who drew the three wise men near to worship.

Bridging Question: Have you ever seen the Milky Way in the sky? Have you ever seen pictures of things in the night sky?

Paul looked forward to the Scout camp out. They were going out to the desert where the sky is clear and there are no city lights to spoil the view of stars. They loaded up the trucks and vans. Then they rode in for over two hours. The ride was long and boring. Sometimes they would joke and tell stories. Sometimes look at the scenery out of the window. Sometimes they would try to sleeps using their jackets as pillows.

After a stop to get food and gas, they made their way to the winding desert road. The scenery got darker and darker as they left the lights of the city. The road began to wind back and forth. The younger scouts got a little scared. The taller boys could see the white lines on the road with the headlights. But all the boys knew one thing. They were out in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night…

CONTINUE READING

Closing Question: How is Jesus the “light of the world?” How can you share your light with others? How can you share Jesus’ light with others?

SOURCE: Word-Sunday.com – All materials found in word-sunday.com are the property of Larry Broding (Copyright 1999-2022). Viewers may copy any material found in these pages for their personal use or for use in any non-profit ministry. Materials may not be sold or used for personal financial gain.

This enchanting and beautifully illustrated book begins with, as the title would lead you to understand, a letter from Mother Earth. In this letter, Mother Earth asks for help from her children everywhere. She writes to express her love for each and every child and asks for their love and appreciation in return. In her own words and with all of her heart, Mother Earth enfolds children with love and entrusts them with her protection. This love that Mother Earth expresses for her children very much parallels the love that God makes manifest for the whole world in the celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany. Mother Earth and God, our Loving Father, seek unity of love and a cooperation among peoples. The love is made manifest to the children of the earth by God’s loving creation, Mother Earth, and to be enjoyed and stewarded by all of the inhabitants of the earth. The truth being told in the Scriptures and in Dear Children of the Earth is that we are all Children of the Earth and as such are called to unity.

Think of how your room would be if you did not clean it or provide some order for it? Soon you would be stumbling over all kinds of things. This would be an example that visually allows you to see what happens when we do not care for something. If our environment is to provide for us, then we must care for it. Similarly, this is true of caring for one another and being in union with one another as the Children of God. Think of what it might be like to be isolated from one another, to live alone and have no one to talk to or listen to, no one to embrace or share things with.

Unity is what God wants for all of us. God intends for all of us to be connected to one another and to seek out all the similarities and uniqueness and to celebrate them, much like the beautiful colors of a multicolored tapestry.

The pictures and text in the book give readers a real sense of the Iditarod. We see all the Alaskan people at the way stations helping the sled teams throughout their journey. Brown accurately describes the pride that Alaskan people of all ethnic groups take in the race. This is an excellent book for middle school students to learn about Alaskan geography and the sport of dog sledding. I enjoyed the book and think your children will as well. Wrap up; it is cold out there!

SOURCE: Southern Nebraska Register, Catholic Diocese of Lincoln (The image and link to the video embedded above are not part of Terrence Nollen’s review.)