Peace: John the Baptist prepares the way

Teacher background

On the Second Sunday of Advent in Year B, the readings introduce John the Baptist. Isaiah 40:1–11 begins the part of Isaiah that scholars call Second Isaiah, written for Jewish exiles in Babylon in the sixth century BCE. God says, “Comfort, comfort my people” (Isaiah 40:1). A voice calls for a highway through the desert so God can lead the people home, and the passage ends with God as a shepherd carrying the lambs.

Mark 1:1–8 opens Mark’s Gospel with those same words about a voice in the wilderness and shows John answering them. John lives in the desert and dresses like the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). He calls people to be baptized in the Jordan River as a sign that they are turning back to God, and he says someone greater is coming. The day’s psalm adds, “Righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:10).

The main idea for children: John helped people get ready for Jesus by turning back to God, and God’s forgiveness makes a smooth road for peace. Many churches light the candle of peace today. Keep talk of sin gentle and concrete. Everyone does wrong things sometimes, and God is always ready to forgive us and help us start fresh.

Welcome activity

Clear the road (5 minutes). Before class, crumple twenty or thirty pieces of scrap paper into “rocks” and scatter them on the floor between the door and your Advent wreath. Lay a few pillows or rolled towels across the path as “hills.” When the children arrive, tell them a special guest is coming, but the road is too bumpy! Give them one minute to put every rock in the basket and move the hills aside. Then walk down the clear road together.

Gather in a circle and ask:

• What does your family do to get ready when a guest is coming?
• How does it feel when everything is ready?

Say: “Today we will meet a man named John. His job was to help people get ready for Jesus.”

Light the candles. Light the candle of hope again, and then the second candle, or switch them on. Say: “Many churches call this the candle of peace. Peace is when things are made right between us and God, and between us and each other.”

Telling the story

10 minutes. Open your Bible to Isaiah 40 and then to Mark 1. Show the children where the story is. Then read this version aloud, or tell it in your own words. Pause where the notes in italics suggest.

Long ago, God’s people were far from home. They had been taken away to a land called Babylon. They were tired. They were sad. They missed their homes in Jerusalem. (Make a sad face.)

Then God gave a prophet a message for them. Here are the first words: “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. Comfort is like a big, warm hug for your heart. (Hug yourself.)

The prophet heard a voice calling out. The voice said: Get a road ready for God in the desert! Fill in the low valleys. (Crouch down low, then pop up.) Make the mountains and hills low. (Reach up high, then bend down.) Smooth out the bumpy places. (Sweep your hand flat in front of you.) God is coming to bring the people home!

How would God come? Gently, said the prophet. God is like a shepherd. “He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom.” That means God holds the little lambs close, right next to God’s heart. (Pretend to hold a lamb close.)

Many years later, a man named John lived in the wilderness. The wilderness is a wild, dry place with rocks and bushes and lots of sun. John wore rough clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt. And for food, he ate locusts and wild honey! Locusts are big grasshoppers. (Pretend to munch something crunchy.) Crunchy!

Mark, who wrote down this story, says John was the voice the prophet heard. John was getting the road ready for God. He helped people get their hearts ready.

John stood by the Jordan River and called to the people. He told them to turn back to God. God would forgive them. They could be washed in the river as a sign of a fresh start.

And the people came! They came from the towns and the farms. They came from the big city of Jerusalem. (March in place.) They told God about the wrong things they had done. They said they were sorry. Then John baptized them in the Jordan River. (Pretend to splash water.) They came up out of the water ready to start fresh.

John told the people about someone who was coming. He said, “After me comes he who is mightier than I.” John said he was not even worthy to untie that person’s sandals. (Point to your shoes.) John meant: Someone great is coming! I am only the helper getting the road ready. Then John said, “I baptized you in water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.”

John was talking about Jesus. Jesus was coming soon!

Getting ready for Jesus is still our job in Advent. We can make a smooth road for peace. When we say “I’m sorry,” we fill in a valley. When we forgive a friend, we make a mountain of grumpy feelings low. When we invite someone who feels left out, we smooth a bumpy place. And God comes to us gently, like a shepherd, and holds us close.

Wondering questions

5 minutes. Wondering questions have no wrong answers. Ask one at a time, wait in silence, and welcome every answer without correcting it. Repeat back what a child says so they know you heard them.

• I wonder which part of this story you like best.
• I wonder what it was like to meet John by the river.
• I wonder why so many people went out to the wilderness to see him.
• I wonder how it feels to get a fresh start.
• I wonder how the little lamb felt when the shepherd carried it.
• I wonder how you could bring peace to someone this week.

After the wondering questions, play the quiz on the slides, or ask the questions aloud and let the children call out the answers.

Craft: a John the Baptist vest

10 minutes. Each child makes a “camel’s hair” vest like John’s, and wears it for the game.

You will need a brown paper grocery bag for each child, safety scissors, brown and black crayons or markers, and a piece of brown yarn or a long paper strip for each belt. Before class, make each bag into a vest. Lay the bag flat, cut straight up the middle of the front, cut a hole in the bottom of the bag for the head, and cut an arm hole in each side.

1. Crumple the vest into a ball, then smooth it out again. Now it looks rough and wrinkly, like camel’s hair.
2. Draw lots of short, wavy lines with brown and black crayons to make it look hairy.
3. Cut fringe along the bottom edge. Help with cutting where needed.
4. On the back, write “Prepare the way!” in big letters.
5. Put on the vest and tie the yarn or paper strip loosely around your waist for a belt.

Take a picture of everyone in their vests, if your church allows photos.

Game: John says

7 minutes. Play this like Simon Says, with one change: nobody is ever out. If someone moves when “John” did not say “John says,” everyone laughs and keeps playing. Have the children stand in an open space facing you.

1. You are John. Call out actions, starting most of them with “John says.”
2. “Fill the valley!” Crouch down low, then pop up.
3. “Make the mountain low!” Reach up high, then touch your toes.
4. “Make the path straight!” Hold both arms straight out in front of you.
5. “Wash in the river!” Pretend to splash water.
6. “Turn around!” Turn around in place.
7. “Share the peace!” Wave to a friend and say, “Peace be with you!”
8. Speed up, then slow down. End with “John says: Get ready! Jesus is coming!” Everyone cheers.

Let a few children take turns being John.

Memory verse

3 minutes. Teach the memory verse with motions.

Make ready the way of the Lord! Make his paths straight!

Mark 1:3

• “Make ready”: rub your hands together, ready to work.
• “the way of the Lord!”: point far down a long road.
• “Make his paths straight!”: hold both arms straight out in front of you.

Shout the verse like John calling in the wilderness, with your hands around your mouth. Then say it softly, like an echo coming back from the hills.

Snack idea

Optional. Serve “wild honey” on crackers or apple slices, with pretzel sticks for “locusts.” Real locusts are not required! Check for food allergies before class, and serve water or juice. Honey is not safe for babies under one year old, so keep it away from little brothers and sisters.

Closing prayer

Ask the children to fold their hands or open them on their laps. Read each line and let them repeat it after you.

Dear God,
thank you for John,
who helped people get ready for Jesus.
Help us make a smooth road for peace.
Help us say sorry
and forgive each other.
Hold us close,
like a shepherd holds the little lambs.
Amen.

After the prayer, share the peace. Show the children how to turn to a neighbor, shake hands or wave, and say, “Peace be with you.” The answer is, “And also with you.”

Take-home note for families

Send this note home with the activity sheets. It also prints by itself on the printables page.

Today in Sunday school

Today was the second Sunday of Advent. Your child heard how the prophet Isaiah brought comfort to God’s people and told them to get a road ready for God (Isaiah 40:1–11). Then they met John the Baptist, who wore camel’s hair, ate locusts and wild honey, and helped people get ready for Jesus by turning back to God (Mark 1:1–8). We lit the second Advent candle, the candle of peace.

Talk about it

• What would you eat if you lived in the wilderness like John?
• What helps you make peace after an argument?
• Who could you invite in this week, so they feel included?

Try this at home

If your child made a paper Advent wreath last week, glue a flame on the PEACE candle. At dinner or bedtime this week, take turns naming one way someone in your family helped make peace that day.

Pray together

Dear God, thank you for holding us close, like a shepherd holds the lambs. Help us say sorry, forgive each other, and make peace in our home. Amen.

Adapting for younger or older children

Younger children (ages 4 to 6). Wear a vest yourself and tell the story as John, with a toy sheep for Isaiah’s shepherd. Skip the crossword and the word search, and use the maze, the coloring pages, and a vest with the fringe cut ahead of time. Teach only “Make his paths straight!” with the straight-arms motion.

Older children (ages 10 to 12). Read Isaiah 40:1–11 and Mark 1:1–8 side by side, and find the words Mark borrowed from Isaiah. Look up 2 Kings 1:8 to see whom John dressed like. Talk about what repentance means: turning around and going God’s way. Use the crossword without the word bank, and invite the children to make a list of places in their town or the world that need peace, and pray for them.