She was much perplexed
When the angel came to Mary he didn’t start off with the classic angelic “don’t be afraid!” That was Gabriel’s second line. His first line “greetings, favored one!” was so confusing Mary had to stop and think about it. “She was much perplexed.” The angel was announcing to Mary that she had been chosen to bear the son of God into the world. Another confusing prospect for someone who has not yet “known a man”.
This is the story we are going to talk about in Sunday school this week for the first Sunday of Advent. We are going to talk about angels announcing things. we are going to talk about the preparations we have to make to welcome and care for people – like a new baby! – or a friend for Thanksgiving! Advent is about preparing our hearts and lives for Jesus, and we welcome Jesus in every neighbor we meet, whether they are heralded by angels or not.
But to keep with the theme of Mary preparing for baby Jesus after the angel’s announcement, the craft this week is going to be: handprint angels. Only no handprints because I am afraid of paint with 16+ kids and only 2 adults. So. Hand tracing! And we can glue on some scraps of paper to make the craft seem more than coloring.
Directions:
- trace the kids’ hands as the wings of the angel
- have the kids cut scraps of construction paper and glue into a collage to make the angel’s clothes
- color in the angel’s face and wings as desired