Discipleship

For this lesson, you will need a bag of candy and several bowls. Hide the candy around the room before the youth arrive.

Welcome. We are going to divide into groups of three and four. (If the group is small, you can just skip this and have them play as individuals.) I have hidden candy in this room. You will have 30 seconds to find as many pieces as you can. The team (or individual) who finds the most pieces wins.

Go!

After 30 seconds, gather everyone back together. Have each team put their candy in a separate bowl in front of each group and decide who won. Don’t let them eat the candy.

• Did that game make you happy? Why?
• What are some other things which make you happy?

Now take all of the candy away from the losing teams and put it in the winning team’s bowl.

• Is everyone still happy? Why or why not?

Finally take away all of the candy from the winning team.

• Now who is happy? Who is unhappy?
• How do disappointments and the unfairness of circumstances impact our happiness?

Read the gospel:

In this gospel, Jesus is talking about laying down his life. In fact, Jesus is saying this at the Last Supper, after washing the apostles’ feet. He is aware that he is about to be arrested and that those in power will seek to kill him. This is why he talks about laying down his life.

But he also speaks of joy.

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete.

• Do you think Jesus was happy, when he had a good idea what was coming next?
• How can Jesus have any joy when he knows such a trial awaits him?

Jesus was probably not feeling happiness at this moment. Perhaps even worse that the leaders plotting to kill him, he knew his best friends would abandon him. His disappointment was probably overwhelming.

But Jesus does not tell his disciples that he wants them to know his happiness. He says that he wants them to know his joy.

Joy is very different from happiness. It is a deep peace that comes from knowing that no matter what, we are God’s beloved sons and daughters. Jesus trusted completely in his Father. And though he couldn’t see exactly how it would work out, he knew that somehow he would not be separated from the love of the Father. That was the source of his joy. He trusted that somehow, in the end, the Father would make all things right.

So joy is very different from happiness. Happiness is a feeling which comes and goes according to what is going on in our life. Joy is a way of thinking and being. It is a state of mind.

• Think of some of the difficult times in your life. Have you ever found joy in those moments, even though you were unhappy?
• How might you foster an attitude of joy in your life?

One way to develop a sense of joy is to practice gratitude. But not just when you are happy. So this week, whenever something does not go the way you had hoped, take a few moments to think of something good in your life and thank God for it. Ask Jesus to be with you during what is difficult.

Remember that joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. So if it isn’t easy, spend a few minutes just thinking of how much God loves you. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring you a sense of peace and joy.

Have a small stick a foot or more in length and a larger branch. If possible, use the main branch of a vine, but any branch will do. Also have a heavy bunch of grapes. Put a loop of string around the grapes to allow for hanging.

(Try this out on your own beforehand to ensure that you have appropriately sized props and tape which is not too sticky.)

Have the youth use some regular cellophane tape to attach the stick to the larger branch. Here are the rules:

• The stick must be perpendicular to the branch.
• Only the last two inches of the stick can have tape on it.
• They cannot use more than six inches tape. (More or less – make this appropriate for the size of the branch.)

After they get the tape attached, using the string on the grapes, have them hang the bunch of grapes on the other end of the stick, about an inch from the end.

If you have provided them with flimsy enough materials, the stick should not stay attached to the vine. Or the stick should not be sturdy enough to support the grapes. Or both. Discuss the results.

• Why couldn’t the twig support the fruit?
• Why didn’t the stick stay attached to the branch?
• What would have to change to make this work?

Read the gospel:

Jesus said to his disciples: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.

You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you.

Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.

Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

John 15:1-8

In this gospel, Jesus is reminding us that we need him. A grape vine is very strong and sturdy. The vine can be several inches in diameter. It supports all of the branches and the grapes. Without a strong, sturdy vine, the branches would break off and the clusters of grapes would fall to the ground. Once on the ground, it doesn’t take them long to be so full of bugs that they go bad.

Jesus tells us that he is the vine and we are the branches. If we are to bear fruit, we must be firmly attached to him. If we do not rely on Jesus to be our support, we cannot hope to be strong enough to bear the weight of the challenges in our lives, especially the challenges to discipleship.

So we need to be strongly attached to Jesus. If we are, then he will support us and help us.

• What are some things we can do to strengthen our relationship with Jesus? (prayer, read Bible, etc.)
• What are some things which are pulling us down? (difficult friendship, stress of school, etc)
• What sort of fruit might we bear when we rely on Jesus? (new friends, better relationships with family, strength, courage, etc)

This week your challenge is to spend ten minutes with Jesus each day. You can spend it in prayer, or reading your Bible, or journaling, or some other method. But put aside those ten minutes to let your relationship with Jesus grow stronger. Then rely on the Lord throughout the day whenever you feel you need his support.