Lost and Found

Today we discussed the three parables on redemption: the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin and the Parable of the Lost or Prodigal Son (Some have suggested the parable would be better named the Parable of the Compassionate Father. I agree--both sons are in some sense lost and both seem to be reclaimed by a compassionate and loving father.)

Activities: I started out with a rather fun activity that was perhaps a bit too noisy for the class meeting on the stage. Before class, I took some gold and silver coins, play tender, of course, and hid them around the ward gym.  I asked the students to find them. (If it had not been fast Sunday, I would have used chocolate coins, which would have increased the energy level of the class, both before and after the search.) We avoided turning on the lights in the gym, relying on the bit of light from the skylights, so the darkness help conveyed the difficulty the woman had in finding her coins.

Anyway, my students identified with the searching, finding, and rejoicing of the woman.

Class Goodies:
The Ring: Because it was Fast Sunday, there were no goodies today. Instead I brought some cheap rings from Party City to represent the ring that the father gave his prodigal son. The rings were nice and sparkly and we talked about how the ring was a signet that symbolized the authority and heritage of the father and the son. Had I thought ahead, I would have bought some CTR rings while I was in Utah last week. They might have more aptly conveyed a sense of a royal heritage. Alas, not thinking well enough ahead.

While at Party City, I did pick up some ring pops. I intend to use them next week to review. I have always found it helpful to use the symbols a second time to see if my students can remember a week later what we talked about. (Sometimes when I ask my class what we talked about last week, one student will first remember what we ate and then use it to clue him into what our theme had been.)

The Fatted Calf: Of course, I had forgotten it was Fast Sunday until Friday evening. So I spent the past two weeks thinking up an appropriate feast for my class. There were many possibilities. First, I thought about a fatted calf. I was thinking about Beef Shish Kabobs to represent the fatted calf. Nathan pooh-poohed the idea. He didn't think it really represented a fatted calf. Not enough fat, and he felt small pieces of meat did not adequately convey the sense of an entire calf roasted for a celebration.

Point well taken, so I thought of other ways to represent the fatted calf. I thought of a bacon-wrapped roast or filet mignon. Too much work for a Sunday morning, so I abandoned the fatted calf idea. Ring pops sounded like a much easier feat.

Shepherd's Pie or Sheepherder's Bread: I also considered each of these to get us into the mindset of the Shepherd. While we hearkened back to our discussion of shepherds from a few weeks before, I decided to focus more on the other two parables.


Coin Cake: I think I probably would have gone with a tradition from my childhood. My mother used to bake us coin cakes for our birthdays. She would wrap pennies, nickels, a few dimes and one quarter in foil and then drop them into the batter of an angel food cake. She then frosted the cake with chocolate frosting. There was enough money in each cake for all of us to get something. Nonetheless we all hoped for the quarter. Some of my nieces and nephews became so obsessed with finding money, they would eat or at least pick through three or four pieces of cake, necessitating my mother's baking at least two cakes for every birthday.

I am not quite sure where my mother got this tradition, but it is similar to the King Cakes of many European traditions at epiphany and of Louisiana at Mardi Gras. Anyway, I think the cake would have conveyed aspects of the parable--searching for hidden coins, and the delighting and sharing the discovery of coins.