| Year Levels Focus: | God’s goodness is constant. Christians are invited to witness to the Reign of God. (TCREK025) |
| Aims: |
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| Content Statement: |
Students will explore and prayerfully consider some relevant texts in Scripture and in other Christian writings to help deepen their understanding of God as Mystery: Father, Son and Spirit and will reflect on examples of God’s constant goodness. Students will be supported to grow in awareness that all of life, given and sustained by God, is to be received with reverence, protected, nurtured and celebrated. They will investigate how the Holy Spirit continues to enliven and renew our world. Students will be supported to grow in relationship with our loving God and all of God’s creation. They will explore how living in right relationship with God, with people and our world reflects the Reign of God revealed through Jesus. |
God is mystery. We can never fully grasp the meaning of this mystery. The only way we can talk about God (i.e., do theology, which literally means “God talk”) is in metaphor and by analogy with what exists. Since we human beings are living beings, “persons” who “exist”, our most complete metaphor for God is that God too is a personal, living being—although God is infinitely more than that. As St Thomas Aquinas said, “God is the subsistent act of ‘to be’ itself”. God is not so much “a” being as God is the very act of being.
The Christian faith asserts that this mystery (of being-in-itself at the heart of all being) loves all beings into being. In that sense God is “creator”—God loves us into being. And because this mystery loves us, it has a “name”, it is “personal”, it has an identity by which it relates to us, reveals itself to us, and it can therefore be (in some measure) known by us (i.e., to the extent that we are capable of knowing it).
What this means is that all theology (“God talk”) is very limited when it comes to saying anything definitive about God. The most that we can do, when speaking of God, is to speak by analogy and in metaphor. As St Thomas Aquinas put it: “We can never know what God is; we can only ever know what God is not”. Or, as St Augustine said in one of his sermons, “If you understand [it], it isn’t God”.
Apart from speaking of God analogically as personal, among the most important metaphors we use to speak of God is to say that “God is love”. Now, because God is love, “God” is a verb (a “doing word”) more than a noun (the name of something). Love is something that happens between the one who loves (“the loving Father”) and the one who is loved (“the beloved Son”), united by the love they share (“their Holy Spirit of love divine”)—for which the metaphor is “Holy Trinity”, the “three” who are one in the love that unites them.
In GNFL this understanding of God is developed with the aid of these theological emphases:
- The Catholic way to speak of God is by analogy and in metaphor.
- Almost all of the books in the Bible speak of God in metaphor; and almost all Catholic theology (of the academic kind) speaks of God by analogy.
- This way of speaking of God is in our terms (in human images, ideas and language) but it is on God’s terms (the way that God wishes to reveal himself to us).
- Christians use the word “God” because we have no better one with which to point to the mystery we are trying to talk about.
- Using this poor little word saves us from falling prey to a delusion that by using bigger and more impressive words we’ve actually “got” God, that we “grasp” who and what God really is, for example, “The Supreme Being”, “The Absolute Reality”, “Pure Essence”, “Transcendent Ground of Being”. While all of these more exalted terms may have their uses, when it comes to actually defining God, all these abstractions are just as inadequate as the far more earthly biblical metaphors like “fortress and rock” (2 Samuel 22:2), “mother hen” (Matthew 23:37) and “gate for the sheep” (John 10:7).
- No definition of God’s essence or nature is possible—except perhaps the paradoxical one that deconstructs itself, and is therefore no definition at all: “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14).
- The “Christian God” is not just another god among other gods.
- The “Christian God” is rather the Christian way of speaking about this Mystery, which we experience as loving us and which is revealed in Jesus—that’s what makes it specifically Christian.
- The central Christian statement of faith is: “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16); and that love is revealed in Jesus, who loved you and me and everyone so absolutely that he gave his life for each one of us personally and for all of us collectively.
URL link to Theological Conversation chapter (PDF).
- The central mystery of faith & life is that God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one living in love.
- All of life is given, sustained and renewed by the Spirit of God.
- God has entrusted us to hold all life in reverence, and it is to be protected, nurtured and celebrated.
- The Holy Spirit challenges and empowers us to renew our world.
- Living in right relationship with God, each other and creation reflects the Reign of God revealed through Jesus.
God’s goodness is constant. Christians are invited to witness to the Reign of God. (TCREK025)
Students will explore and prayerfully consider some relevant texts in Scripture and in other Christian writings to help deepen their understanding of God as Mystery: Father, Son and Spirit and will reflect on examples of God’s constant goodness. Students will be supported to grow in awareness that all of life, given and sustained by God, is to be received with reverence, protected, nurtured and celebrated. They will investigate how the Holy Spirit continues to enliven and renew our world. Students will be supported to grow in relationship with our loving God and all of God’s creation. They will explore how living in right relationship with God, with people and our world reflects the Reign of God revealed through Jesus.
TCREI010
With guidance, identifying questions about religious ideas, events or rituals, and considering our theories, thoughts and feelings in relation to the Christian worldview (TCREI010)
- developing probing questions about the limits of our understanding of God’s infinite and absolute goodness, truth and beauty
- reflecting on why and how we should respect others and care for our planet
- exploring how the Holy Spirit inspires us to act in our families, society, Church and world
- wondering about the mysterious ways in which God constantly surprises and challenges us
TCREI011
Being familiar with stories of the Old and New Testaments and the many ways they and other media tell stories and use words and symbols to help us discover meaning (TCREI011)
- identifying and defining terms used in Scripture and the Catechism to make a graffiti wall
- comparing and contrasting parallel Gospel narratives (in Matthew, Mark and Luke) to identify how and why they are alike and how and why they are different
- developing glossaries of terms and definitions used when understanding the sacraments
- interpreting Scripture passages (using commentaries) where Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray (i.e., as models of how to pray rather than as formula prayers)
TCREI012
Communicating religious or spiritual ideas and information in a variety of ways: oral, graphic, written, multi-modal (TCREI012)
- discussing issues of social justice, human rights, and personal ethics, and their implications for Christians today
- using critical commentaries, analysing the message and meaning of the Beatitudes, and their implications for our own lives
- creating a Beatitude Calendar for the season of Lent or Advent: for every day, one positive action of wholehearted love for God and neighbour, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, peacemaking, honesty, fairness, nonviolence, justice
- expressing something of the invisible/unknowable mystery of God through one of the arts (musical, visual, performative, etc.)
TCRED010
Making personal or group observations, naming ideas and questions that are important for living as persons and/or communities in a local or global context (TCRED010)
- presenting contrasting views on a global issue, e.g., poverty in the world today, slavery, climate change
- investigating and writing reflectively about the implications of trading fairly for rich countries like Australia and for poor countries like East Timor
- using reputable media, chronicling stories of good news where people demonstrate human kindness and compassion for others
- identifying impoverished communities that need prayerful solidarity, advocacy and material support, e.g., after a natural disaster or war
- exploring how the Exodus story reveals God’s love as something very concrete, practical and even political
TCRED011
Weighing up competing values and choices and making a contribution to dialogue about worthwhile principles for living responsibly locally or globally (TCRED011)
- examining competing values in the classroom, the community or the nation, and dialoguing and naming core principles for a just society
- listening to Scripture, and identifying an imperative to act with compassion towards others
- considering alternative views about the rights of the child, and identifying what it would mean to treat all children (including the unborn) justly and compassionately
TCRED012
Personally and collectively exploring options and commitments that could gain improved outcomes in local or global contexts and, where possible, taking some form of action (TCRED012)
- setting goals and making commitments, personally and collectively (as a class or school)
- addressing bullying in the classroom or the school and implementing strategies to deal with it
- drawing up an agreement (“covenant”) with each other as a class or school by identifying actions, attitudes and beliefs (i.e., “rules”) that give direction, security and protection for everyone
- faithfully observing some simple and helpful spiritual practices, e.g., daily meditation and prayer, periods of silence and stillness, deep and active listening to each other
By the end of Year 6, students can acknowledge the constant goodness of God, reflect on and identify God’s action in their lives in the light of Scripture, and identify ways to respond to his love for all of life. They can explain how Jesus Christ, Son of God, sent by the Father, offers hope to the world and describe how the Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is to be a sign of life, hope, reconciliation and service. They can recognise the movement of the Holy Spirit in various forms of Christian prayer and worship, in the seven Sacraments and in the lives of those who witness to the Reign of God. They can identify the Sacrament of Confirmation and describe its symbols and Rite as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that empowers Christians to witness through ministry and service. They can recognise that the Catholic Church shares in their search for knowledge and understanding about God with other faiths.
Students can develop appropriate questions and, using a range of communication forms, present their ideas and understandings. They can reflect on, discern about, develop and enact courses of action in response to issues that they identify to be important locally or globally.
Pre-unit assessment
Place question sheets in different places in the classroom, with questions asking: What words would you use to describe God? What kind of world does God want? How is the world like or not like what God wants? Ask students to visit each sheet and to respond.
Learning Hook
Engage students’ interest and promote thinking through What Do You Need to Survive?, by World Vision (YouTube).
Surface
(Giving language, facts, and basic concepts structure to lead into deeper learning)
Key Vocabulary: Trinity, relationship, interconnected, Reign of God, Kingdom of God, miracle, beatitude, identity card, sovereign
What are things like in God’s Kingdom?
Support students to clarify the concept and characteristics of kingdom to lay foundations about God’s Kingdom as a reign of love because of God’s constant goodness. Scaffold activities that support students to describe God’s Kingdom as being not about place (alone) but about creatures/people and about a way of being and of being together.
- Brainstorm the qualities and list the kinds of responsibilities that come to mind in relation to the title of “King” or “Queen”.
- Share stories from history about some actions from royalty that indicate the sovereign’s attitude/qualities. Identify the actions/vision of a benevolent or of a corrupt sovereign.
- Discuss the various plans that different kings/leaders have for their people.
- Create a Y chart (looks like, feels like, sounds like).
- List what you might see, hear, feel in a kingdom or group that is led by a wise, caring leader or king. Describe what you are likely to see, hear, feel if the leader or king is selfish, corrupt.
- View Morning Lesson with Mufasa, the Lion King (YouTube). Discuss Mufasa’s definition of the role of the king and his connections to the kingdom.
- Identify the vision, actions, characteristics of the kind of reign Mufasa promotes—balance, right order, care, peace, joy.
What kind of king is Mufasa?
What does he want to create, and why?
What would the animals see, hear and feel in Mufasa’s kingdom? - Revisit the first creation story in Genesis 1:1–2:4a. Present it as God’s picture of the way his Kingdom was meant to be. While clarifying that the day sequences are a literary device, invite students to sequence the steps, using visuals/cards. Recall that at every stage, “God saw that it was good”. What caused it to be “good”?
- Reflect on psalm texts to identify qualities of God and the kind of world he creates. Psalm 100:5: “God is sheer beauty, all-giving love, loyal always and forever”.
Psalm 37:23: “He holds them by the hand”.
Psalm 19:1: “The heavens declare the glory of God”. - Consider the relationship between the stages of creation, and wonder why the creation of human beings was the final step, and why there is “resting” within his Kingdom. (When can you rest?)
Scaffold activities through which to explore the fact that the Kingdom is not about place but about creatures/people and a way of being/being together.
- Think of the family, classroom, playground, school, the natural world each as a true and good kingdom.
- Working in groups, develop a collection of Y charts about each of these settings.
- Invite students to create a personal jigsaw of words and actions that reflects God’s Kingdom in family, class, playground, school or the world of nature.
- Recall that the sign of the cross is a sign of God’s Kingdom, a reminder of the perfect love of the Father, Son and Spirit, who are one.
- Invite students to expand on the prayer in a chart similar to “Learning Sequence”, in To Know, Worship and Love (TKWL), Book 4, chapter 1, p. 9, and use for prayer the words they compose.
Deep
(Learning experiences that lead on from beginning experiences to questioning more deeply and exploring ideas in different ways to lead to making connections between faith and life)
Continue to explore the question, “What are things like in God's Kingdom?”, with a focus on the fracturing of harmony and the plan for restoring relationship.
- List words that describe relationship in Eden and then note when humanity broke the relationship.
- Explore the fracturing of harmony in the second creation story (Genesis 2:4b–3:24) and focus on the need for a renewal through Jesus, a mending, a bridge to again link God and humanity.
- View The Good News of Jesus, by Motion Worship (YouTube), or a similar resource to support students to develop and interpret the story of Jesus restoring relationship.
- Invite students to design a story map or spider map to capture the message of the clip/ other resource and present a visual of God’s creation and his new creation through Jesus.
How does Jesus help us know about the Reign (Kingdom) of God?
Guide students in analysing the Scripture story, Luke 4:17-24, in which Jesus describes the Kingdom of God.
Jesus announced God’s reign
- Use charades to dramatise or share a story/example of making a special announcement.
- Lead into Jesus coming forward to read/proclaim from the Scripture scrolls in the synagogue in his own town of Nazareth, presenting himself as the Messiah, Son of God.
- Read the Scripture text, Luke 4:16-21, and perhaps support with the YouTube clip, Jesus Declares He Is the Messiah, which shows his visit to the synagogue, unrolling the scroll, etc.
- Pose questions, and analyse details and reactions:
When did this happen?
Which town did Jesus visit?
What was special about this town?
What did Jesus do in the synagogue on the Sabbath day?
What did the Scripture read by Jesus mean to those who were present?
Why didn’t the people in the synagogue like what Jesus said?
Encourage students’ own questions and ideas. - In Understanding Faith (UF), Unit 43, Part 3, pp. 2 and 3, consider the description of the kingdom. Engage with the comic strip activity (p. 3) relating Luke 4:16-21 to students’ lives at home or school.
Jesus taught about God’s Reign through words and stories
Support students to analyse the account of Jesus teaching the Beatitudes (Matt 5:3-10), to differentiate between qualities depicted and to identify connections with the way they live.
- Jesus spoke about the hearts/attitudes of Kingdom people: investigate the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:3-10.
- Listen to the song, The Beatitudes, by John Burland, Peter Kearney and Andrew Chinn.
- Consider situations at home, in school, locally or globally in which some people are living out the Beatitudes.
- Ask students to identify and rank the qualities of those who live by the Beatitudes and are people of the Kingdom. Reach consensus about key qualities (cf. UF, Unit 43, Part 7, interactive task, “Kingdom Qualities”).
- Discuss why Pope Francis calls the Beatitudes “the Christian Identity Card” (Gaudete et Exsultate, n. 63). Design a Christian identity card with a chosen Beatitude. Explain your choice.
- The Beatitudes uploaded by seestarernli (YouTube) could support reflective prayer. Invite students to reflect on their own actions and attitudes and to identify a beatitude for them to focus on in their daily living.
Offer opportunity for students to explore Gospel images of the Kingdom and to create and explain their own images.
- Investigate some of the images of the Kingdom presented by Jesus: mustard seed, leaven, pearl, treasure (cf. UF, Unit 43, Part 4, p. 7, and interactive task on p. 8). Ask students to create and explain their own images.
Jesus taught about God’s Reign through signs
Provide activities that enable students to distinguish between and to explain different people’s responses to the announcement of God’s Kingdom.
- Jesus’ healing miracles were signs of the Kingdom. Explore the Gospel accounts of some of these miracles (cf. UF, Unit 43, Part 5). Where is healing needed now— personally, locally, globally?
- Jesus’ announcement of God’s Reign, and his teaching and his actions were met with wonder and joy by some people, with some hesitation by others, and with anger by yet others.
- Examine and discuss the responses of the different people in the Gospel stories listed; suggest reasons for their responses. Ask students to imagine their own responses had they been present at one or other of these events.
Transfer
(Learning experiences that help students engage with deeper understandings that can be applied in their own lives)
How can we respond to God's Spirit and live as people of the Kingdom?
Encourage students to examine exemplars or events in which the qualities of the Kingdom are evident and others that fall short. Challenge students towards response in prayer and in action after evaluating a range of possibilities.
- Clarify the characteristics of God’s Reign and the qualities of people of the Kingdom.
- Identify and discuss scenarios in which the Reign of God is evident. Discern the action of the Holy Spirit in these settings or in the people involved.
- Investigate other situations of hurt, damage, destruction. Discuss responses needed in the classroom/school, in the local area, in the natural world, globally. Consider examples or scenarios in those settings in which action is needed to strengthen or restore harmony and the Reign of God.
- Encourage students to develop a chart of personal prayers related to the situations considered. Ask them to evaluate steps that could be taken in relation to an identified situation and to decide on levels of response. Ask them to develop a story map about their thoughts and, if possible, to implement some of their ideas.
Resources
The Beatitudes. seestarernli. YouTube.
Burland, John. The Beatitudes.
Chinn, Andrew. The Beatitudes.
Comic Strip. Activity. In Understanding Faith. Unit 43, Part 3, p. 3. Online Subscription.
Francis, Pope. Gaudete et Exsultate. Apostolic Exhortation. http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20180319_gaudete-et-exsultate.html
Interactive Task. In Understanding Faith. Unit 43, Part 4, p. 8. Online Subscription.
Jesus Declares He Is the Messiah. YouTube.
“Kingdom Qualities”. Interactive Task. In Understanding Faith. Unit 43, Part 7. Online Subscription.
Learning Sequence. In To Know, Worship and Love, Book 4, chapter 1, p. 9.
Morning Lesson with Mufasa, the Lion King. YouTube.
Motion Worship. The Good News of Jesus. YouTube.
Religion Teacher. The Meaning of "Christ" (and "Messiah"). YouTube.
The Messiah Comes! Animated Stories from the New Testament. YouTube.
Understanding Faith. Unit 43, Part 3, pp. 2–3. Online Subscription.
Understanding Faith. Unit 43, Part 4, p. 7. Online Subscription.
Understanding Faith. Unit 43, Part 5. Online Subscription.
World Vision. What Do You Need to Survive? YouTube.
* Unless otherwise noted, items listed under “Resources” are books.