St. John the Short

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this week's lesson is to learn about the life of St. John the Short and to learn and practice obedience.

INTRODUCTION - 10 minutes

God made each of us very special. The way we look is a part of who we are and we should each thank God for all His creation. We know one special man named John who happened to be very short. Being short set him apart from his brother and all his friends. It was one way that God showed how special His servant John was. With love for John, his friends called him St. John the Short, but he is best known for his great obedience.

Is it hard to listen to your parents? When did you not listen and regret it? When did you listen and was thankful? (perhaps other examples of this). Do you ever need to listen to your parents even though you don't understand or agree with them? That is what it means to be obedient.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 minutes

Memory Verse

"And all these blessings shall come upon you and find you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God." Deuteronomy 28:2

LIFE OF THE SAINT - 15 minutes

Today we read the story of Saint of Obedience, model and example for us all. In fact in all the stories of monks that we read, he was an example for them to be obedient.

St. John came from a good Christian family from Upper Egypt. With his parents and brother, he used to pray and read the Bible everyday. They would also attend the Divine Liturgy as a family. Although they were poor and did not have a lot of things, the boys' hearts were filled with treasures of God John and his brother learned to love God so much they both decided to become monks. A monk is a person who leaves their homes and cities to live in a far away place and only focus on God and His Word.

At the age of eighteen years old, John had a vision from the Lord calling him to the Mountain of Natron (In The Wilderness of Shiheet/Skete). There in the desert, the holy monk gathered his friends. John went to join them under the discipleship of Abba Bemwa. Discipleship or to be a disciple means to live under the teachings of a wiser person. So John lived with Abba Bemwa and always listened and obeyed everything this holy father told him.

One day, Abba Bemwa planted a dry piece of wood into the ground, very far away from their home. He told St. John to water it everyday until it had fruit. Normally, only healthy seeds can grow and have fruit; St. John knew that a dry piece of wood cannot grow, but he obeyed his teacher regardless. For three years, every day St. John would walk very, very far to water the wood and walk all the way home again. This would take him all night long, but still he listened to his teacher. God blessed his obedience and the dry piece of wood became a fruitful tree that we can still visit today

St. John loved Abba Bemwa very much and was a good disciple. St. John lived with and was taught by his great teacher for twelve years. However, Abba Bemwa became very sick and tired, but St. John stayed with his teacher and took the best care of him. Because Abba Bemwa was very sick and sometimes cranky, he never said "thank you" and was often rude to him. This would have made anyone else frustrated and upset, but St. John was only filled with love. Finally, when it was time for Abba Bemwa to go to Heaven, he called his dear disciple to him and told him "thank you" and called him an angel for his patience and obedience.

One day, St. John was selling baskets that he made in the market. He used that money, all that he had to buy some bread to eat. He was heading home when he saw an old lady and her son who was blind. They were also poor, but had nothing to eat. St. John was filled with love of God for them and gave them all of his own bread. He did not mind that he had nothing left, but was happy to give to the poor. The lady saw that St. John was a kind and holy monk and asked him to heal her blind son. St. John wanted to help, so he put his hands on the boy's head and prayed to God. He trusted that God would help the boy and prayed with all his heart for God to do this miracle. After praying, St. John made the sign of the cross on the boy and the boy was healed St. John, the lady, and the boy all praised God for His great kindness

When St. John was 70 years old, he became very sick. He had lived his life always doing his best to make God happy. In his obedience to God's words and his teachers, he brought many people to know God better through prayer and kindness. When it was time for him to go to Heaven, God let him see angels singing beautiful songs. He joined those angels always praising God forever in Heaven. We celebrate St. John the Short on October 17 and ask him to remember us in his prayers before our God.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 10 minutes

Speak with your priest about a beautification project that the church needs. It could be flowers that can be planted in front of the church entrance, painting your Sunday school class, or simply sweeping and cleaning the church kitchens or bathrooms. As a class, work together in obedience to the Sunday school teacher or Abouna to complete the project, without expecting a "thank you."

ACTIVITY - 10 minutes

Saint John the Short obeyed Saint Pemoa, even when the job seemed unbelievable. For three years, Saint John watered a stick until it became a fruitful tree that is still around hundreds of years later. Have students play Simon Says as an exercise in obedience.

DISCUSSION - 10 minutes

  • What does your face look like when you obey and you don't agree (Sad? Angry? Happy?)
  • How can we learn to be happy when we obey our parents?
  • What blessings do we get when we are obedient?
    • No guilt (we feel bad because we care about ourselves more than our parents, we don't trust them, or want to sacrifice)
    • No anger and fighting (this happens when we resist)

RESOURCES

The Tree of Obedience Video:

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Review the story of Saint John the Short with your second grader and remember to use his intercessions during prayer routines throughout the week. Remind the children how St. John the Short was obedient and how we need to practice to be just like him.

Also, you can order the graphic novel of Saint John the Short called "A Forest in the Desert", by Michael Elgamal on Amazon.