April 1

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, April 1, Lent IV

JOHN 5:1-16

Life-giving

Prayerthoughts

a. Jesus sought out one man in particular who was most in need of help. In my life, do I seek out people in need of help, and attempt to give them the help they need? Yes or no and why?

b. Do I try to heal those who need it, that is, do I bring life to whatever situation that I am in?

c. Jesus had healed the man and slipped away. He had done the good deed, and then did not care whether he was given the credit or not. Do I seek recognition from others?

d. Jesus tells the man not to sin. In my spiritual life, do I sincerely admit that I am a sinner?

e. The man told the Jews about Jesus. Am I willing to spread my faith when I have the opportunity?

f. The Sabbath was a sacred time for the Jews, and they tried to use the fact to persecute Jesus. Is the Sabbath, Sunday for us, a sacred time for me?

g. My prayerthoughts…

Today I will make a resolution to do something “sacred” this coming Sunday.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE CHRISTIAN IS LIFE-GIVING

+ The beautiful imagery of the reading from Ezekiel is acted out in the Gospel

- it is water from the temple that gives life and makes trees bear fruit and the trees’ leaves are used for medicine

- that is, water that is truly from God

- Jesus is the perfect image of the living water who truly cares for people

+ The application for the Christian is clear and quite challenging

- we are people who freely choose the Christian life and we should therefore be the living water to others

- flowing from God, that is, having our source in God now present through Jesus Christ here in the Eucharist, in the Sacraments

- and now everything we touch should be just as life-producing as Jesus was life-giving to the man in the Gospel

- the symbolism of the two readings together is magnificent for the Christian, and it has direct bearing in our daily lives

+ The personal question from the liturgy should be:

- as we flow from God through Jesus, is our touch life-giving?

- that is, in whatever situation we find ourselves, are we bringing life to it

- life-giving to our family in whatever form that comes as parents, grandparents, friends

- do others recognize God in us?

- if others judged God by us, how would they view God – mean, good, negative, positive?

- life-giving to our workplace

- is our attitude at work what might be called the attitude of Jesus?

- life-giving to the different people we meet

- in the Gospel, Jesus sought out the person that was most hurting

- do we seek out situations in which we can help with the talents that we have?

+ The drawback of the beautiful imagery of the readings is that it may be lost in the mundane world of day-to-day living.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Adore You" -- Harry Styles

A STRAWBERRY LIPSTICK STATE OF MIND

The Gospel

JOHN 12:1-3

JOHN 12:1-3

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

Gospelthink: Jesus' friend Mary expressed her love of Jesus by action. Do I show my love of God by the actions of my life?

"Walk in your rainbow paradise, strawberry lipstick state of mind. I get so lost inside your eyes. Would you believe it? You don’t have to say you love me, you don’t have to say nothing. You don’t have to say you’re mine. Honey, I’d walk through fire for you. Just let me adore you.”

How ever we describe a "strawberry lipstick state of mind," there is little doubt that it describes a situation of a deep feeling of love. As Harry Styles describes it in his song "Adore You," it is a feeling that one could walk through fire for the other, that he would get lost in the eyes of the other. And therefore lead to near "adoration" of the other.

It is not unlike a situation that Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus felt toward Jesus during one of his visits with them. In another place in Scripture, Mary is described as a person who liked to listen to what Jesus had to say. Using the words of Harry Styles' song, she was simply "adoring" this person who did so much for her family and for their world. The remark that John the evangelist makes about the house being filled with the aroma of the oil is probably a description of the good feeling that everyone in the house experienced as a result of the adoration that Mary gave to Jesus.

The song "Adore You" is of course, a love song that captures the feelings of the man in love with his girlfriend. In the course of the song, however, he says some things that love counselors would question. He sings that the other person does not have to say that she loves him, that she does not have to say anything, that her reciprocal love of him does not have to be expressed in any way..

Indeed, the good feelings of love cannot be denied in a love relationship. The feelings are very deep and seem to acquire the the attitude of permanence, that it will always be that way. But feelings are often fickle. The counselors of our world who work with preparation for permanent love will say just the opposite of what Harry Styles sings. That which will make the feelings of love so rich is the mutual respect that each of the couples makes. That respect only comes about by mutual sharing of the feelings that each has, and mutual discussion of why they feel that way.

As one experiences love, it may seem like all one needs is a "strawberry lipstick state of mind," that is, the feeling that everything in the relationship is true love. But those feelings must be stated to one another at some time. There is a reason why lack of communication is the principal cause of love breakdown even though the feelings of love may be present.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, You have blessed us with the ability to feel romantic love. Help us go beyond simply feeling good for another, and learn to speak about those feelings and why we feel that way. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDELINES FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: In romantic love, we must truly love the other, but we have to develop that love well.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Adore You" teach young people?
2. The Gospel passage pictures a "family gathering." In your opinion, why would Jesus encourage such family gatherings?
3. The anointing is a sign of true affection for Jesus. In our lives today, how can we show "true affection for Jesus"?
4. What virtues are present when two people are deeply in love with one another?
5. Why is "communication" so necessary in a love relationship?
6. Give some examples of "fickle" feelings.
7. Besides "lack of communication," what are some other causes that destroy permanent love?

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