Road to Emmaeus

THE ROAD TO EMMAEUS

 

Objectives:

  1. Children should be able to tell the story of the road to Emmaeus in their own words.
  2. Children should know that the disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

 

Possible Lesson Plan:

  1. Open with prayer.

 

  1. Read the story of the Road to Emmaeus in the Children’s Bible Reader, pages 259-260, or the Golden Children’s Bible, pages 356-358. Where were the men going? Why? Who was the stranger? When did they know that He was Jesus? Review the story of the Last Supper, when Jesus last broke bread with His disciples.

 

  1. Feed the Elephant True/False Questions:

True                                                     False

            The men were going to Emmaeus.                  The men were going to Nazareth.

            They met Jesus on the way.                            They met John the Baptist.

            Jesus told them all about the Bible.                Jesus told them “The Three Pigs”.

            They knew Jesus when He broke bread.         They never knew who Jesus was.

 

4. Add a flip flop to your Pascha Story Bag for the Road to Emmaeus, or some pretend bread or both, plus a plastic fish for the Appearance to the Fishermen discussed at Opening Exercises. Again review the contents of the bag with the children. No plastic fish? Make a “Jesus Fish” from a pipe cleaner.

5. This is a good time to review, as Jesus did, the span of the Old Testament and prophets and what they said about the Messiah. When did people first disobey God? Review the story of Adam and Eve. Over and over, God saved His people: Noah and the ark, Abraham and Isaac, Moses and Passover, Jonah and the big fish, the three boys in the fire, Daniel in the lion’s den. Look at the pictures in the Read with Me Bible. In each case, God provided the means of saving His people. What were they? (ark, ram, blood of lamb, fish, Jesus Himself, an angel) He gave His people His law, the Ten Commandments, but they disobeyed even that. Now He has given His Son to save us all!

6. Re-enact the scene as the men broke bread with Jesus. Have the students sit in a circle. Have some really tasty bread, with butter and jam ready. Remember to pray before eating. The teacher then can tear off a piece of bread for each student and everyone can eat the bread with butter and jam.

7. Make Prosphora in class. Tell the students that this is the bread that Father uses for Communion.  It would be best to mix the dough at home:

    3 cups warm water                                          Mix warm water and yeast first

    2 tablespoons fast rise yeast  

    5 pounds bread flour                                       Add flour, salt, and cool water and knead

    3 cups cool water                                                

    1 ½ tablespoons salt

    Let the dough rise during Liturgy in the kitchen (not in oven). Divide into a loaf for each child and let the children knead and shape the loaves and stamp them. Take them home again to bake. Help each child to make a list of relatives, living and dead, for Father to pray for.

    8. Make a plaster footprint. Take a paper plate for each child. Mix plaster of Paris, pour into plates, and allow to thicken till it’s like dough. Have children take off their shoes and each can step in the plaster on his plate, making a footprint. Clean their feet and put shoes back on. Remind the children that the men were traveling by foot to Emmaeus when Jesus appeared to them. By now, the plaster’s already nearly set. Let the children paint only the part that is not the footprint. Before the plaster completely dries, poke a hole about ½ inch from the top. Write the child’s name above the footprint in black permanent marker, and “Follower of Jesus” below. Next week, when the casts are fully dry, remove the plates and tie a ribbon through the hole. This would make a nice Father’s Day gift next month.

    9. Close with prayer.