I love learning about the parables Jesus told in the bible. When I've taught children about them in RE lessons, I've always enjoyed planning and thinking about the key messages too. But after I recently spoke to a group of ECTs about teaching RE in C of E and Catholic schools, they shared a few common fears they had around teaching these stories:
A lack of clarity about what were the important parts of the story
An absence of contextual understanding
A difficulty in finding a way to make these ancient stories relevant to primary aged children today.
I promised I'd help support them with their planning and thought I'd share some of my thoughts in a blog series.
For each blog, I'll link to the bible passage, signpost some key vocab to consider when teaching to children and highlight a key verse. We'll then take a brief look at the context, the content and how we can make these stories chime in the 21st century. Where possible and helpful, I'll try and signpost helpful existing resources, videos or links to other faiths and popular culture. I hope it is helpful!
In the first of the series, we take a look at the parable of the prodigal son.
Key Vocab:
Prodigal: Often people say the word prodigal means 'lost' which is a helpful, familiar word for young children to understand in this context. However, with older children, I find it helpful to point them to the definition Tim Keller cites in his book on the parable, 'The Prodigal God.'
'One who is recklessly extravagant or who has spent everything'
Inheritance: Money left to someone (often a blood relative) after a person has died.
Squandered: Wasted
Compassion: A sympathetic love
Prostitutes: You're going to want to consider carefully how to describe the way the prodigal son squandered his inheritance. I usually adapt the passage to say 'wild living' or 'wasteful partying'.
Key Verse: V32- We had to celebrate and be happy because your brother was dead, but now he is alive. He was lost, but now he is found.
The Content:
A father has two sons, both work for him. One son asks the father for his share of his inheritance. The father grants the son his wish. The son goes off to the city and spends all the money he was given on wild living. He ends up begging for a job to earn some money and lives amongst pigs with nothing to his name. The son realises his mistake and returns home, rehearsing his grovelling apology to his father. But to his surprise, his father spots him from a long way off and comes running with open arms to embrace his son. The son begins to apologise but the father hurriedly puts his employees to work preparing a party for the return of his son. The other son is out in the field when he realises what is happening. He is furious and refuses to go to the party. His father comes out to meet him in the field. The second son expresses his disbelief to his father that he could celebrate for the son who turned his back on the family and wasted all his money. The parable concludes with the father explaining to the second son that in his eyes, the return of his son was a cause of celebration; it was though he were dead and is now alive again. Was lost but is now found.
The Context:
To ask for money from your father like the son did would have been a great insult in the culture of the day, as though the son were wishing his father dead.
There would be expectation amongst the father's friends and those of similar standing in the community for the father to disown the son when he returned.
Jesus was telling numerous parables about lost items to a group of religious leaders of the time who couldn't believe the people Jesus was hanging out with. The stories focus on something lost being found but perhaps more importantly than that, they highlight the welcoming nature with which Jesus forgave and loved those who were lost.
Not only is the prodigal son 'recklessly extravagant' and 'spends everything' but so too is the father. Christians believe that God's forgiveness and grace is recklessly extravagant and extends to everyone who turns to Him.
There are clear comparisons here with the narrative arc of the bible. God, a loving father, forgives His rebellious children with compassion. He too brings them from death to life; He wants them to come home.
Making it real:
With young children, I tend to focus on the central theme of forgiveness in the story. After explaining what it means to forgive someone, I might give a range of scenarios with increasing severity and ask them how easy they would find it to forgive the person involved. I would also make a tangible link between the story and the importance of children forgiving their friends when they say sorry for something they have done, just as the father did in the story.
With older students, I'd unpack who they feel sorry for in the story. Many may feel sorry for the father. After this discussion, it's also interesting to consider the choices the characters made in the story, what their motive was AND what the outcome was. It's easy to assume the older brother is completely innocent and rightly angry about his father's actions, but were he only working so hard the things he would get in return perhaps he has a muddled heart too.
Other resources:
This video series by American pastor and writer, Tim Keller is a helpful albeit heavily Christian breakdown of the context of the story. Tim Keller - The Prodigal God - The Elder Brother (youtube.com)
A modern day adaptation containing clear parallels with the parable, suitable for older children. The Journey (a modern day version of the story of the Prodigal Son) (youtube.com)
There are plenty of examples of forgiveness that children will be able to reference in their own lives as well as examples from books and movies. I like to use the point in The Lion King when Nala has to forgive Simba for leaving Pride Rock before they return home together.
The prodigal son of the Buddhist Sutra is a similar story. He leaves home without any fortune from his father. His departure looks more like running away in secrecy. He also becomes poorer but is still able to make a living. The key point in this story is that we have no inheritance other than karma. The key difference in the two stories is that the Buddhist prodigal son decides not to return home but instead happens to bump into his father in a town one day, who has his guards seize him and bring him back home against his will.
If you've found this helpful, or know a teacher who might, please feel free to share and keep an eye out on X or by subscribing to my blog for future #PrimaryParables
Next time, the lost sheep!
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