Nuestra Luna by B Woodruff
Blessing of the Backpacks
August/September 2017
lectionary focus: Romans: 8:38-39
props: backpack with school supplies, solar eclipse glasses, a Bible that you have written in the added text…
Whoop! Whoop!
It’s Back to School! We are gathered here at EPC for our annual Blessing of the Backpacks. And not just students with backpacks, we all take this time to lift up our briefcases, and purses, and lunch boxes, and diaper bags, and grocery bags, and ask God to bless us with strength, courage, and faith as we go about living our lives to God’s glory in this new school year.
I’ve got my backpack. I’ve got the usual school supplies: notebook, pencils, pens, phone, and keys. And once again, I’ve got an un-usual school supply. (take out solar eclipse glasses and put on) These are solar eclipse glasses. You might have heard and will certainly be hearing that on August 21 there will be a pretty cool solar eclipse. This means that in the middle of the day the sun will disappear. Wellllll, not really disappear. The science is: the moon, our moon, that orbits around our earth, will come between our earth and our sun so that our moon blocks our view of the sun and blocks the sun’s rays from coming to our earth—so in the middle of the day, it will get dark, and for a few minutes, it will seem that the sun has disappeared, gone away, left us.
Long ago before people understood the science of an eclipse, they would watch this event without special protective eclipse glasses and two scary things would happen: their eyes would get damaged—some would go blind—because eyes are not strong enough to look directly at even the edge of the sun; and the other scary thing that would happen—the people thought that they had done something bad and the sun was leaving them in darkness forever.
Now we know how to protect our eyes and we recognize the patterns of the solar system. We know that a solar eclipse is a cool and rare event—something to celebrate—and that even though it goes dark in the middle of the day, the sun is still there.
Our Bible Story today goes so well with the eclipse and back to school. It is one of my favorites. It is so great, let me just read it to you straight from the Bible. It’s from the book of Romans, chapter 8, verses 38 and 39.
For I am convinced that no thing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord—neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor school, nor teachers, nor parents, homework, tests, pop quizzes, essay questions, ACT prep, research papers, overdue library books, dull pencils, broken shoe laces, bad hair cuts, school lunches, friends, not friends, football games, carpool, rainy days…nor eclipses…nor any thing else in all creation will be able to separate us from God.
Yep. That’s what it says. And it means that we are God’s precious children, and even when our world is dark, God is here and God loves us. We can’t do anything, nor can anything happen, that would make God go away.
Each day as you load up your backpack or briefcase or diaper bag, know that you carry God with you and that God carries you.
Will you put your hands on your backpack and pray with me? (This is an echo prayer: the leader says a line and the people repeat it.)
Dear Lord
Thank You
for a wonderful summer.
Thank You
for a new school year.
Bless me
with strength
with courage
and with faith
that I will confidently know
You are with me
always.
We love you.
You love us.
Always.
Amen
We are not Christians alone.
My mission is to share, inspire, and encourage.
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