I wrote these two descriptions wrestling with how to describe how the enormous difference between the way we develop children’s identities today and the way they were developed in most ancient cultures.
Part 1 – Narrative of teenager in Jesus’ day – Yitzach son of Asa of the tribe of Judah
Yizach Bio – Yitzach lives in the village of Tekoa. He has 3 older brothers 2 older and 1 younger sister. His family owns 23 acres of olive trees, 35 acres of wheat as well as 84 sheep, 14 goats and the family home in the village as well a variety of living sheds and barns on their land. They employ 3 full-time servants, 2 who assist with the household and 1 who is an assistant foreman for projects. They employ anywhere between 2 and 20 seasonal employees depending on harvest time and other peak seasons.
In his family home lives all of his siblings including his older brother’s wife and their 2 children, his great aunt and his grandfather who is a widower and a village elder representing their family and serving their community.
Describe your family – We are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from the tribe of Judah and the line of Jahab who led our family in the war against the Greeks 200 years ago. Before the Romans took over our family owned 200 acres of olive trees but we have slowly begun to sell our land to pay the heavy taxes put on us by the Romans. My father has asked me to learn a new trade for our family in case we lose the rest of our land.
Who are your heroes? – My biggest hero is Jahab. We still have his sword and shield hanging in our home and grandfather tells us stories about him and other ancestors of our clan every Sabbath.
What do you want to do when you get older? I’m hoping to learn the skill of blacksmithing and to sell my wares and services to help my family keep our land and eventually buy more of it back from a Roman centurion.
What is your family hoping to accomplish this year? – We are hoping to save enough from the harvest and from all the lambs that were born this year to buy back one of our acres and to add on a room to the house for when my 2nd oldest brother is wed.
What would you like to accomplish this year? – I’m learning ancient Hebrew from our Rabbi and hope to honor my family by being able to read the Torah well at my Bar mitzphah. My parents will also have paid for me to learn some valuable skills from Joseph the blacksmith and I hope to bring in twice as much this year as last year by repairing equipment for families in our village.
What is your biggest hope? – That the Messiah would return and bring justice for my family for all the suffering we endured under the Romans. That our home and land would be established forever and that our descendants will live in peace in the land.
What is your biggest fear? – That we would be forced to pay even higher taxes and sell the rest of our land and that our family would have to hire ourselves out to other families and then our name would disappear from families of Israel.
Part 2 – Narrative of a teenager today – Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson Bio – Brad lives in a middle class Christian home in the suburbs of Atlanta. He is 12 years old and has an 8 year old sister. His dad works as a regional sales rep for P&G and his mom works part-time teaching preschool. He goes to Roswell Middle School and his grandparents on his dad’s side live in Richmond Virginia and his grandma moved into an apartment near there home where her mom can help care for her.
Describe your family? – Well my parents are nice but a little strict and my sister is totally annoying. My mom help me with my homework and my dad helps coach my little league team in the spring.
Who are your heroes? – Huh, I haven’t thought about that before. I guess a few of the baseball players on the Braves are pretty cool.
What do you want to do when you get older? – I’m not sure. I’ll probably go to college and have to decide then but I think I want to be a professional baseball player.
What is your family hoping to accomplish this year? – Uh, I think we want to go on another vacation to Florida this summer and maybe get a new car.
What would you like to accomplish this year? – I hope to be a pitcher on my baseball team this spring and to make more friends at school. I really hope I get a Playstation 3 for Christmas.
What is your biggest hope? – That the Braves make it to the World Series and that this cute girl at school will notice me.
What is your biggest fear? – That I won’t have any friends at school and will be treated like a nerd by the popular kids.
Discussion Questions
Where did each kid get his identity? How do you imagine that effect their life?
How do these ideas about family differ?
How did we get our modern idea about family?
What have we lost in the transition?
Family Teams 