Preparation/ For Consideration: Familiarize yourself with the Orthodox understanding of light as a symbol, and the gospel passage Matthew 25:31-46. For more information on this topic visit the website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese a www.goarch.org.

Opening Prayer:  You are the light of those in darkness; You are the Resurrection and the Life of all whom You have raised having destroyed the power of demons death, O Savior.  Help us to live as children of Your light so that we might not walk in darkness, but always in Your love.  Amen. 

ACTIVITY: United in Belief through Light Game

Duration: 20 Minutes

Have participants pick up a copy of The Nicene Creed and form a circle as they enter a room that can be darkened.  The large, unlit candle is in the center of the circle. 

As you darken the room, say:  Can you see okay? 

Then light the candle in the middle of the circle.  Select a quiet, shy person to hold the candle and stand in the middle of the circle.

Say: Gather closely so that you can see your papers and let us read The Creed together.

After reading The Creed, look for a person who appears to have not stepped as close to the light than the rest of the group.

Ask: Can we see everyone okay?  Is there a face that cannot be seen because of the darkness? 

Have the entire group take notice how much less his/her face can be seen.  Ask that person, by name, to step forward to be a volunteer for the next part, causing them to step closer to the light.  Be sure to call volunteer by his/her name through out the activity.

Ask this person: Would you like to live according to the beliefs in The Creed we just read? 

If they answer yes, have him/her stand in the center of the circle and hold an end of a rope (that doesn't reach to the corner) while giving the other end to the Candle Holder.   If the answer is no, send the person back to the circle and ask for another volunteer to step forward to do the same.  Then, select a second person from the circle by name and do the same, giving him/her a shorter rope.  And, finally, select a third person by name and give that person the only rope long enough to go everywhere in the room. 

Say to each volunteer:  In agreeing to live according to all that we state in The Creed, you are agreeing to live according to the Orthodox Faith.  Doing so connects you to God.  It draws you near to Him, and we can see that because you are filled with His Light.  In return, God’s promise to you is that you can go anywhere you want and stay in His Light so long as you don’t want to go farther than this rope. 

Have the remaining people sit in the circle. 

Say to the First Volunteer: You have every freedom to choose go to the corner of the room where there is a lamp that you can turn on yourself and we can all get out of this darkness.  Would you like to do that?  Why don't you do that for us--we will watch what happens.  (Quietly watch until you see rope pulled tighter.  When he/she cannot go any further…

Say: Let me help you (…while cutting the rope!).

Ask: What’s it like over there?  Can you see?  Can you read The Creed for us now? Look for: No, it's too dark, or no, not enough light to see.

Say to the First Volunteer:  Unfortunately now that you made your decision, you will have to stay there. 

Say to the Second Volunteer:  Do you think you can help him/her?  Go over there, maybe your rope will reach.  

(Again, quietly watch until you see rope pulled tighter.  When he/she cannot go any further… )

Say: Let me help you (…while cutting the rope!).

Facilitator: It is important to let them, or the people seated in the circle, figure out that the lamp has no power. If either volunteer or anyone in the circle remembers that there was another lamp in the other corner, tell them they are free to go and try it.

Look at the third person and say:  You also have every freedom to choose to go out there to help them.  We'll watch what happens as you try.  But hang on-- you will need this… (hand him/her a candle and have him/her light it from the Candle Holder.) 

When all three are in the same corner, ask all three: What’s it like over there now?  Can you read The Creed now? Look for: Yes, I believe…

Say:  Now that you can see and read The Creed come back to your ropes so we can repair them. 

Tie each rope back together making it a point to shorten their length.  Then go to the Candle Holder and secretly ask him/her to gently pull them in and collect the ropes. 

Have Light Source address the three volunteers by name saying: Take this candle.

Say to the group: Take a good look at these three and watch them freely walk around.  Consider the Light Source and think of all that they were asked to do.  We are passing you each a candle, and our Light Source will come and light it as you stand in the circle.  Notice how light the room will get.  

Wait 2 minutes.  Did the lighting of our candles remind you of anything?  (Look for Great and Holy Friday, Pascha)  The idea of God as Light in the world is very important for us as Orthodox Christians.  Take a good look at the lights we hold.  On the count of three, for the Trinity, ask them to blow out their candles.  Immediately ask them to close their eyes and remember what they see.  Then, turn on the lights, tell them to open their eyes and gather the group around the white board so their ideas can be recorded. 

Say: Describe what you just saw when you closed your eyes.  (Look for: glowing shapes that looked like the flames of the candles, shapes of people around us…) 

Say:  Even in darkness, God, Who is Light, will shine.  Let's share what else we saw in that activity.  What did the action that we just witnessed represent?  Look for:

Light Source = God

Blowing of the candle = power we give to sin

Say:  We have on the board a summary of our relationship with God.  He is our Light Source, yet we struggle to be radiant in Him.  There is a limit on our behalf, because of our free will.  If we choose to go too far from Him, we “cut" ourselves off and are no longer radiant in Him.  But we don’t have to be stuck in sin and darkness.  We can again be radiant if we truly change our minds and heart--if we truly repent.  Through Confession of our sins, we are reunited with God and live in His light, becoming even more radiant than before.  The entire activity was about this.  I want to ask some questions and give everyone a chance to give the answers that come quickly or first in your mind.

Ask:

Say: Being radiant is our way to reflect that we have a relationship with God. We strive to be closer to Him at all times and reflect His light.  Let's talk about how God wants us to live in His radiance, by reading a passage from the Gospel of Matthew that teaches what we ought to be doing if we truly reflect Him.  It is the reading we heard on the Sunday of Judgement, two Sundays before Great Lent began.

Gospl Passage

Ask for a volunteer to read the following passage.  You can break it up into parts so more people can participate as volunteers.

Matthew 25:31-46

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I was naked and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Say:  Most of you have probably thought about what you want to be when you grow up.  Some here may even be in the process of making the life-changing decision concerning which college to go to, and are already thinking what classes you may take. You are probably asking yourself and praying to God, wondering what He wants you to do, which choices He wants you to make.  Can that choice help you be a good Christian who is filled with light? 

As we look at this Gospel passage, we see that it is very clear what God wants us to do.  According to what we just read, can someone tell me the 6 things God wants us to do? 

Look for and write the following on the board:

This is a very interesting list.  In the light activity, we saw how the beliefs we share bring us closer to God, and closer to each other.  But, in this passage God doesn’t say that we are judged by what we say we believe. Here, He says that we are judged by what we do, because what we do is how we express what we believe.  Our faith must be put into action and we must take our lights out into the world, so that people may see our Radiance and come to know God.

How can you do these things?  It is important to first realize that what we do--whether we feed the hungry, visit the sick and so forth, shouldn’t be only done to those who can do us favors in return.  He says, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”   The LEAST OF THESE--those who can’t repay you, make you more popular, or have anything to offer in return.  Jesus, who can do everything and is the most powerful person EVER, served and associated with those who have nothing, ”the least of these.”  In your life you may have already experienced that it is easy to love God, but it is not so easy to love “the least of these.”  Yet God tells us that this is how we are to love Him. 

And there is more!  Have you ever been hungry?  Think for a minute about when you were hungry.  Maybe you feel hungry on Sundays after Liturgy, after fasting and preparing to receive Holy Communion. You may even be hungry now.  Think of the feeling you get when you see a table full of food and you are first in line.  Think of coffee hour at your parishes.  Now, I’m not talking about just donuts.  I mean cold cuts, fruit, veggies, chips, maybe a macaroni dish, cookies, cakes, muffins, and even bagels.  Is that a great feeling, or what? 

Imagine now someone who is hungry, so hungry they haven’t eaten for days.  Do you think they are feeling the same way you did when you were first in line at coffee hour?  Probably not.  They are probably wondering why God hasn’t helped them yet.  Maybe they are even feeling anger and resentment, or despair.  But if someone were to feed them, they are more likely to be thankful, happy, joyful, full of energy,  and feeling God’s love. And if you were the one to feed them, you’d be the one who brought God to them.

Say: Think now about the person who is also thirsty, lonely, sick, in need of clothing, or in prison.  Use describing words or phrases to tell the difference between being hungry, thirsty, sick, a stranger, needing clothes, or in prison?  (On a white board, write down words that the group uses to describe these attributes.)  Look for:

God doesn’t want anyone to feel these things.  We as Orthodox Christians, living in the Light of God through baptism have a responsibility to be lights for these people and to radiate God’s love for them.  Yes, we--me, them (other adults), and you!  God didn’t say that he was judging only the priests to these criteria, but each and every one of us. 

Call some of the participants by name to strengthen the image of being called as individuals. 

Say: How can you do anything about these things?  After all you are just a kid, right?  Wrong!

Say:  Now is the time to break up into smaller groups of 8-10 people.   

Discussion Questions:

Duration: 10 Minutes

Ask the groups to share their answers to the following questions:

Gather small groups together around the board to recap. 

Say:  We all discussed ways that we can live a radiant life reflecting God’s love for us.  What were some of the ways your group thought they could live according to God’s will now, today? 

Write ways to serve on the board.   When every group had a turn…

Say:  On a scale of 1-5, 5 being the most likely, which of these are you more likely to do for The LEAST OF THESE when you go home?  Rate each activity.

Say: These are wonderful things to do now.  I hope you do.   What about later when you have more resources?  What are some ways we can live a radiant life reflecting God’s love for us.  What were some of the ways your group thought they could live according to God’s will in the future?

Write ways to serve on the board.   When every group had a turn…

Say:  We pray that this light, your ideas on how to serve the LEAST OF THESE, do not get blown out like a candle can when you have the resources.  May the light be protected and always shine through each of us, and our actions.  We want each of you to be radiant, like a city on a hill, so that people will come to know God by knowing you. 

Gather for Closing Prayer:  You are the light of those in darkness; You are the resurrection and the life of all whom you have raised having destroyed the power of death, O Savior.  Help us to live as children of Your light so that we might not walk in darkness, but always in Your love.  Amen.

About the Authors:  Vassi Makris Haros is a graduate of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Having served as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the Metropolis of Detroit and the Metropolis of Pittsburgh, Vassi offers a depth of experience as Session Writer for the Archdiocese.  Additions to Vassi's work have been made beyond the editing process by Margo NT Kelley, of the Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries.