Law and Prophets

My Sunday School kids crack me up. Don't get me wrong - they grate on my nerves plenty, too - but today they had me rolling. The thing is, they don't understand what kind of wit is needed to joke like they do. They don't realize how genius they are, and I hope with the exception of a few bursts here and there they never do. I want to keep them as unaware as possible for as long as possible to protect them from arrogance. So, yeah... I hope they're not reading this.

Today we breezed through our lesson about Jesus' Transfiguration and had about 10 minutes left to play a game. (Yes, it's Transfiguration Sunday, kiddos. Heads up- Ash Wednesday is in 3 days.) For those of you not familiar, here's the story of the Transfiguration:

The Transfiguration
²After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. ³His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. ⁴And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
⁵Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." ⁶(He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
⁷Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"
⁸Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what "rising from the dead" meant.

Alright, so the kids wanted to play "Hangman." I allowed it as long as the word(s) had something to do with the lesson.

P wrote this on the board:

_ _ _ | _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ _ _

H and I went back and forth guessing a few letters until she got it (before I did, I might add.) H yells out, "Law and Prophet!"

Before I can even congratulate H for her answer, P (her brother, by the way) grabs the marker and adds another _ at the very end. "Nope, sorry, wrong answer."

I don't know why I thought it was so funny, but I was dying. H didn't see the humor in it- she was too busy yelling, "Law and ProphetS! Law and ProphetS!" I couldn't help but laugh and pat P on the back for a job well done.

Wait for it...


And for those of you who are wondering how "Law and Prophets" fits into the lesson, some scholars believe Moses and Elijah represent the Law and Prophets, respectively. Through his Transfiguration God shows Peter, James, and John (and us) that Jesus fulfills the Law and the words of the Prophets... that Jesus is indeed Christ.

I'm telling you, these kids are brilliant.