Maybe you know Kim’s Game. It’s a simple memory game. You have one minute to memorise all the items on a tray. They are then covered, and you have to write down all the ones you can remember. In this instance, the eleven items all relate to the Easter story. First, everyone plays the game. Then you pick up the items one by one and explain its part in the story. You may think of more items you could add.
- Silver Coins (a mixture of quarters, nickels, and dimes will do)
Jesus had a lot of enemies, and they said to Judas, one of Jesus’ friends, If you tell us where we can catch him, we will pay you 30 pieces of silver. And Judas said OK. (He wasn’t a very good friend, was he?)
- Soap
The night before he died, Jesus had supper with his friends. One thing he did that surprised them was that he went around and washed their feet. This was to show that we should serve one another and take care of one another. (And if you come to this church on the Thursday evening before Easter, you might get your feet washed too!)
- Bread
Then, at the end of the email, he picked up some bread, broke it in pieces, and gave some to each of his friends. Then he said a very strange thing: “This is my body which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” And every Sunday in churches all over the world we share some bread and we remember Jesus.
- Olives
After supper he went to a garden called the Mount of Olives, where there were lots of olive trees growing, because it was a special place he liked to go to pray. That’s where Judas and the soldiers found him and arrested him and took him away.
- Crown of thorns (this can be quite small and simple—just symbolic really)
The soldiers made fun of him. They’d heard that people thought he was a king, but they didn’t believe it. So they put a purple robe on him (like a king) and put a crown on his head—but it wasn’t made from gold or silver, like a real king’s crown. It was made from thorns, which was pretty mean of them
- Cross
Then they put him on a cross. You will often see crosses in a church. (If you are in this church at Easter, see how many crosses you can count. I once counted nearly 100, but you might count a different number.) And those are there to remind us that Jesus died because he loves us so much, and we don’t want ever to forget that.
- Nail (I have deliberately downplayed the details of Jesus’ suffering. The Gospel writers themselves go into very little detail)
There’s a big nail to remind us that it really hurt Jesus to be put on the cross.
- Dice
While he was dying on the cross, the solider sat around playing a game with dice. When they fastened Jesus to the cross, they took his coat and his shirt, and the soldier who won got to keep Jesus’ clothes for himself.
- Rock
When Jesus was dead, they put him in a grave, and rolled a big stone across the front. And they thought that was the end of him.
- Butterfly (this can be a brooch, or anything in the shape of a butterfly)
You may say, But there’s no butterfly in the Easter story, and there isn’t. But what happened to Jesus is a little bit like what happens to a butterfly. You look at a chrysalis, and it looks kinda ugly and dry and dead—but then out comes a beautiful butterfly. Of course, the chrysalis isn’t really dead—and Jesus really was dead. But it can help us understand.
- Angel (a Christmas tree ornament will do fine)
And angels came and told the disciples what had happened: They said, Jesus is alive again, and you’re going to meet him soon. And they did—and it changed their whole lives. And because Jesus came back, he’s still alive today, and he can change our lives too.
Easter 2018