Hello, my name is Mr. Robertson, and I love RE.

I'm really excited that we're going to be learning with you today, and I have a fantastic lesson for you.

This lesson is all about our big inquiry question: how did Jesus' treatment of outcasts speak to Christians today? And in this lesson, we're going to be looking at how the story of Jesus and the lepers is interpreted by Christians today.

Really looking forward to learning with you.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain how Christians might interpret the story of Jesus and the lepers.

We have four keywords in this lesson today.

I'm going to say the keyword first and then I'd like you to repeat it back to me.

So our first word is exclude.

Brilliant.

Our second word is disability.

Amazing.

Our third word is community.

Fantastic.

And our fourth word is calling.

So what do these words mean? Well, the word exclude means to leave out.

Disability is a condition that makes it difficult to do things that others can do.

A community is a people that live or work together or share an interest.

And calling in this RE lesson is a feeling of duty to take on a job or role.

We're going to be using these words throughout the lesson, and I'm sure you'll be able to use them really confidently by the end of it.

So our lesson on interpreting Jesus and the lepers today is in two parts.

And the first part of the lesson is this: how might Christians interpret the story? This lesson is a theology-themed lesson, and Lucas is going to explain theology in religious education for us.

Lucas says, "Theology is about looking at stories and texts and learning about when, why, and for whom they were written.

We can better understand people's worldviews by examining how they have been interpreted both in the past and today." So how we're using theology in today's lesson? Well, we're going to be looking at how different Christians interpret the story of Jesus and the lepers.

And that's going to help us better understand Christian worldviews.

Now, as we know, Christians, many Christians read the Bible to understand how they should live their lives.

If they want to find information about the words and stories of Jesus, they begin with the four gospels which are found at the beginning of the New Testament.

You can see our Bible bookshelf there.

Christians might interpret Jesus' words.

In other words, they work out what they might mean and they try and apply them into their own choices and actions today.

And that's really what we're going be interested in today.

So Luke's gospel has a story of some lepers who were healed by Jesus.

And in this story we find out about 10 lepers.

And these lepers had been suffering a terrible skin disease called leprosy, which is really infectious.

But Jesus went over, he touched them and he healed them.

So Jesus was not afraid of the religious laws at the time, which said that they shouldn't touch or associate with lepers.

Once they were healed, the lepers could go to the priests, and that meant that they would be allowed to come back and live amongst the rest of the people in society.

In one of the stories in Luke's gospel, 10 lepers are healed, but only one leper chooses to come back.

And that leper is actually a Samaritan.

So that was a group of people, the Jewish people did not want to associate with, and he thanks Jesus for his healing.

So lepers were excluded from society and had to live away from everyone.

Jesus included them by treating them kindly and even touching them.

How were lepers treated at the time of Jesus? Let's think about what we've learned so far.

A, they had to live with their families.

B, they could live anywhere they liked.

C, they had to live away from everybody.

Pause the video, theologians, and have a think.

Excellent work.

It's C, isn't it? They had to live away from everybody.

Lepers were not allowed to live with people, their families, or anywhere they wanted.

Sofia and Lucas are talking about feeling excluded.

Sofia says, "Sometimes I feel excluded if I can't hear what people are saying because of my hearing impairment." My friends make sure to include me by looking at me and speaking clearly." Lucas says, "I feel excluded by steps.

I love to go places with ramps so I can zoom straight in with my powered wheelchair." So both of them have had feelings of being excluded.

Let's meet David.

David has a Christian worldview and he attends an Anglican church.

David says, "I volunteer at a homeless shelter because I want to follow Jesus' example.

Homeless people often feel excluded, but Jesus was good at noticing people that society overlooks.

Jesus brought good news to the lepers by noticing them and healing them." So we can see from what David says that because Jesus noticed people who society excluded, he wants to help as well.

And so he works with homeless people because nowadays that's a group of people who are excluded in society.

Fiona has a Christian worldview.

She volunteers as an Anglican prison chaplain.

She says, "People in prison are excluded from society, a bit like the lepers.

In God's kingdom, prisoners can change their lives and be forgiven.

The Lord's prayer says, 'Your kingdom come,' so I try to make the world more like God's kingdom by helping people in prison feel included and cared for." So Fiona is also working with a group of people who feel excluded, and that's people in prisons.

And now let's meet Charlie.

Charlie has a Christian worldview and he attends a Baptist church.

Charlie says, "In my Bible, I read about people who are excluded, like the lepers in Luke's gospel.

I believe God calls Christians to care for people who are overlooked.

I felt called by God to spend a year working with people who have learning disabilities." Hmm.

So how has Charlie responded to this idea? Well, he spent a year working with people who have learning disabilities.

Let's think about what they've just said.

True or false question for you here.

All Christians volunteer to do the same things.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think.

Good thinking, theologians.

It's false, isn't it? But why is it false? Well, many Christians feel called to volunteer in different ways.

We heard about David helping in a homeless shelter, we heard about Fiona working with prisoners, and we heard about Charlie working with people with learning disabilities.

So they're all doing some kind of voluntary work, but they're not all doing the same thing.

I've got a task for you now.

Sofia and Lucas are thinking about how Christians interpret the story of Jesus and the lepers.

Who do you think has the best answer and why? Sofia says, "Jesus said that he'd come to bring good news to people like the lepers.

Christians might read Luke's gospel and feel called to make the world more like one Jesus talked about." Lucas said, "Jesus noticed the lepers.

He talked to them and healed them.

Christians might have a calling to follow Jesus's example by helping people who are excluded." So we've got two different answers there about how Christians interpret the story.

Which of those do you think is best and why? Theologians, just think a little bit about what we've been learning so far, and I'd like you to pause the video and have a think.

Excellent work.

What did you come up with? There wasn't necessarily a right answer here, so you might've come up with lots of different things.

You might've said, I think that Sofia has the best answer because she explained that Christians read and interpret the Bible to follow the teachings of Jesus.

Or you might have said: I think Lucas had the best answer because he explained that Christians try to follow the example of Jesus by caring for people who are suffering.

Well done if you managed to think of answers like these, but if you wrote something different, that's brilliant as well.

In the second part of the lesson, we're going to ask this question: how do Christians help those who are excluded? So in this part of the lesson, we're going to be learning about the organisation called L'Arche.

L'Arche is an organisation that provides houses where people with and without learning disabilities live together in supportive communities.

L'Arche aims to make disabled people visible and celebrate their contribution to society.

So some people might think that people with learning disabilities are excluded from society, but rather like the example of Jesus, the L'Arche organisation wants to make them visible and bring them back into society.

You could see a lovely photograph there of two people from the L'Arche community hugging each other.

Charlie explains his Christian worldview.

Charlie says, "After I finished school, I wanted to go and do something worthwhile for a year before starting university.

Some of my Bible readings were about Jesus noticing people who were excluded in some way.

I believed God was calling me to follow Jesus' example." So what does Charlie say there? How did he get interested in working for the community? Well, he noticed that some people are excluded from reading his Bible, and he wanted to do something about it.

"I discovered that I could spend a year as a live-in assistant at a L'Arche community.

This would mean living in a house in a community of people with learning disabilities.

My role would be to support their needs and help them to lead full lives." So that's interesting.

So Charlie has joined this community because he wants to help them.

Which of these is not a definition of community? A, people that share an interest.

B, people that live separate lives.

C, people that live or work together.

Hmm.

Think about what the L'Arche community is doing.

Which of those three seems to fit that best? Pause the video and have a think.

Yes, well done.

It's B, isn't it? This is not a definition of community.

Community is about living and working together, or it's about people who share an interest.

It's not about people living totally separate lives.

Well done if you got that right.

Let's meet Anna.

She has a Christian worldview as well and she's a house leader in a L'Arche community.

Anna says, "In a L'Arche community, members with learning disabilities are called core members, and they're at the heart of the organisation.

They're not excluded from decisions.

They usually know what they want to do, and it's our job to help them to do it.

We do things with them, not for them." This is Jane.

She has a Christian worldview and she's a core member of a L'Arche community.

Jane says, "The L'Arche community is my home.

The live-in assistants have more time for us because they share our home.

We talk, eat, and do lots of things together.

Assistants might come to church with me or watch me at my drama group.

Sometimes we bake a cake to share with the community." Ah, isn't that brilliant? We can find out a little bit more about what life is like in the L'Arche community from this.

And you can see how members like Jane and their assistants do things together like going to church or watching drama or baking cakes.

Anna says, "As a Christian, I believe that all human lives are precious to God.

L'Arche communities are joyful places where people with and without disabilities celebrate life together.

There's no pretence.

We're called to accept each other and learn from each other." So Anna means that everybody is equal in the L'Arche community, whether you have a disability or you don't have.

That doesn't matter to the community.

It's about accepting and learning from each other.

Charlie talks a little bit more about his time.

Charlie says, "Jesus saw that the lepers were lonely because they were excluded from their community.

He reached out and valued them as people.

L'Arche has given me genuine friendships with core members.

I've learned so much from living in their community and sharing ups and downs and lots of laughter with them." Jane explains how it feels to live in a L'Arche community.

"Being a core member of a L'Arche community has given me so much.

Being here helps me to be myself.

We might pray together before meals and we take time to reflect on what's important to us.

No one is excluded.

We all belong here." So you can see that the L'Arche community is very, very different from the community of lepers, isn't it? Because they were outside of society and ignored and excluded.

But in a L'Arche community, everybody belongs together and everybody helps each other.

So let's think about our final task.

Our question here is, how do Christians help those who are excluded? Izzy is wondering how and why Christians like Charlie feel called to help those who are excluded.

Lucas tells her that Christians might have a calling to care for people with disabilities because all lives are precious to God.

Can you give Izzy another two reasons? Think back to what we've been learning.

Why did some of the people in the L'Arche community talk about why they wanted to help? And what sort of things happen in a L'Arche community? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done for thinking about this.

So you might have said: Christians try to follow the example of Jesus by noticing and helping people who are excluded, such as people with disabilities.

You might also have said: Christians believe Jesus taught that God loves everyone.

This means that all Christians should work to ensure everyone is valued and no one should be excluded.

Brilliant work if you managed to think of some of the answers there, and I really hope you've learned the lesson learning about this important community and the work they do.

Let's summarise what we've learned today.

We've been learning all about interpreting the story of Jesus and the lepers today.

We've learned that Christians today interpret the stories of Jesus and the lepers as an encouragement to help people who suffer.

We've learned that some Christians have a calling to work with people who are excluded from society.

We've learned that L'Arche is an organisation that works with and supports people with learning disabilities.

We've learned that L'Arche communities aim to make disabled people visible and celebrate their contribution to society.

I've really enjoyed learning with you today.

I hope you've enjoyed this lesson, and I look forward to seeing you in another lesson soon.

Thanks very much indeed.

Thank you.