Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B
February 26, 2006

Junior High Session

Hosea 2:16b, 17b, 21-22
Mark 2:18-22

Opening Prayer

Let us pray.
Loving God,
You love and accept us just the way we are.
Help us to love you and one another.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.

Opening Life Reflection
The theme for today is God’s love for us. Provide a small piece of modeling clay for each young person. Begin by asking the young people to reflect on their images of God. Discuss:

• What is God like?
• Where do you learn about God?
• What do you believe about God?

Allow time for discussion. Invite the young people to take the piece of clay and form it into an image that reflects who God is for them. Allow time for sharing the images of God. Explain that God is like all these images, yet so much more.

Listening to the Word of God
In today’s Old Testament reading, listen to how God’s love is like that of a faithful husband.

Read Hosea 2:16b, 17b, 21-22.
Allow for silence.

Scripture Discussion Starters
• What images of God are found in the reading?
• What does the image of husband reveal about God?
• How does God express love for the people?

In the gospel reading today listen to how Jesus uses the image of bridegroom to describe himself.

Read Mark 2:18-22.
Allow for silence.

• What do the people ask Jesus about fasting?
• What does Jesus tell the Pharisees about wedding guests and the bridegroom?
• What will happen on the day that the bridegroom is taken away?

Scripture Background

Provide 2-3 minutes of background information on the readings using the Catechist Background section.

In the first reading the prophet Hosea uses marriage as a symbol of God’s loving relationship with Israel. God is faithful and God’s love is constant. In this passage, God the bridegroom calls the chosen people back to faithfulness.

In today’s gospel the image of a wedding banquet is used to symbolize Jesus as the promised Messiah. The notion of Jesus as bridegroom shows the reign of God to be a celebration of faithful love, of joy, and of life. The images in this gospel point out that Christianity is to be celebrated and lived.

Questions for Deeper Reflection
• How does God remain faithful to us?
• Why is Christianity something to be celebrated and lived?
• What does it mean to live as a Christian?

[If you are not going to continue with the doctrinal discussion, proceed to the Gospel in Life.]

Doctrinal Discussion Starter
God’s Love for Us
God is so much greater than we can ever imagine. However we can know God. We have been blessed with an experience of God in creation, throughout salvation history, and finally in Jesus Christ, sent to save us because of God’s great love for us.

Scripture describes God as loving and faithful. These images that describe this loving God are often drawn from marriage and family life. The images found in the Old and New Testament help us to imagine God by showing us what God is like. Some of these images include “spouse,” “father,” and “mother.”

Hosea used the image of marriage to describe God’s loving relationship with Israel. A famous image of “mother” to describe the relationship between God and the people is found in Isaiah. The prophet asks the question, “Can a woman forget her own child? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15). In Deuteronomy 32:11-12, God is described as a mother eagle that takes her young on her wings to teach them to fly. The mother eagle stays close by to care for her young. These images of mother show that God is compassionate, as a mother is compassionate toward her children.

In the New Testament Jesus refers to God as his “Father.” Jesus taught his disciples to pray to God as to their loving Father (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:3).
God is a loving and personal God who cares for each of us. We are greatly blessed. We can love one another because God has first loved us.

• What does the image of mother tell you about God?
• What does the image of father tell you about God?

Sacrament Connection
The Sacrament of Marriage is a sign of the faithful love that God has for us. The love uniting a baptized man and woman in marriage is a sign of Christ’s everlasting love for his Church.

Connecting to Faith First® Legacy Edition
At Home Family Guide, theme 12
Junior High, Mystery of God, chapter 1

Connecting to Faith First®
At Home Family Guide, theme 12
Junior High, Creed and Prayer, chapter 1

The Gospel in Life
How can you expand your image of God this week?