athats

April 26

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Sunday, April 26, Fourth Sunday of Easter

JOHN 10:1-10

My Shepherd

Prayerthoughts

a. In many ways I am a shepherd to others. That is, others follow me in one way or another. What virtue in my life do I desire to have others follow?

b. The sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd, and follow him/her. Am I paying attention to the voice of the Lord enough, that is, in how the Lord talks to me in the Scriptures?

c. The shepherd walks ahead of the sheep, and therefore is a true guide. Who or what have I allowed to be my guide in the past?

d. Those past guides are strangers and using the symbolism of the Gospel, I should “run away” from them. As I study my past, perhaps I should take some time to think of how I have given into them, and ask for forgiveness.

e. Jesus continues to use stories or figures of speech in his words to me. What should the story of the shepherd move me to do today?

f. Jesus is the gate for the sheep, that is, it is he who should be the guide for the sheep directing them. What are the principal influenes in my life right now, and should God be more prominent?

g. Jesus came that we might have life, not only here on earth, but eternal life as well. A prayer of thanks 1giving would be in order here.

h. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read 1 Peter 2:20b-25 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

LEADING OTHERS TO GOD

Introduction: Shepherds are a gate

+ In Jesus’s time—and I’ve read sometimes even today in Israel—the local shepherds form a pen out of boulders to shepherd their flock

- the boulders become a wall that encompasses a certain area which makes the pen

- and they put a break in the boulders which becomes the passageway

- in that break the shepherd would lie down at night

- in such a case, the shepherd was literally a gate

- Jesus uses that image today

- saying to the Pharisees and us that he is the gate

Whoever enters through me will be saved.

The conclusion: Jesus is our focus

+ The person who is thinking of the spiritual life with that Gospel

- must come up with the obvious conclusion that Jesus is the center, the focus of everything we want to do in spiritual matters

- he is the means whereby we learn what to do to improve our spiritual lives

Jesus wants us to follow his example

+ But, there is another part to the obvious conclusion

- in the first letter of Peter (2^nd reading), the author reminds his readers what Jesus himself reminded us of in the Gospel, namely that he is an example for us

- an example that we should follow

- which says, in effect that we should become a gate for others to lead a deeper spiritual life

- leading others to the salvation that Jesus was speaking of

What does it mean for us today?

+ What does that mean exactly?

- there are many ways for us to follow Jesus’s example, but one we may want to think of in particular is from an excellent movie of a number of years ago called “The Color Purple”

- in it, one of the characters described the lead character, a lady by the name of Celie with the words:

- “When I see you, I know there is a God.”

- perhaps that is as good a summary of what it means to be a true example that we are ever going to hear

- when people see a Christian, they should think of God

- and it becomes very personal: when people see you, who do they see?

- do they see a person who reminds people of God

- or do they see a person who is more concerned about themselves than anyone else

Further examples

+ Do they see a person who is more concerned about money than they are about the people they work with?

- do they see a person who is able to criticize at will, but who offers very few solutions to the problems?

- do they see a person who would rather watch one hour of TV rather than spend a few moments with God in prayer?

Conclusion:

+ We proclaim that Jesus to be the center of our lives

- and we also know that he is the example that we must follow

- perhaps a good spiritual exercise this week would be this:

- get by yourself for about 15 minutes, and then start thinking about the conclusion to the statement from “The Color Purple”:

- when others see me, what kind of person do they see?

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "That's What I Want"--Lil Nas X

WAY TOO ALONE

The Gospel

LUKE 2:36-38

LUKE 2:36-38

In the temple, there was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

Gospelthink: When I was presented in the Temple in my early years, Anna prophesied about me. Do I show Jesus to be important in my life?

"These days I’m way too lonely, I’m missing out, I know these days I’m way too alone, and I’m known for giving love away but I want someone to love me, I need someone who needs me, ‘cause it don’t feel right when it’s late at night and it’s just me in my dreams, so I want someone to love, that’s what I really want." [Lyrics adjusted]

According to the evangelist Luke, Jesus was presented in the temple of Jerusalem at the beginning of his earthly life, and one of the people who witnessed it was the prophetess Anna. It is the only time in the Gospels that we hear of her. Like all holy Hebrew women, she was waiting for someone who would fulfill her life and enable her to die with the satisfaction of having found what she wanted in life. She was lonely, longing for the redemption of her race. She realized that her wait was over as she gazed on the child Jesus.

Loneliness is one of those realities that must be experienced before it can really be understood. The person in Lil Nas X's song apparently has experienced the reality. He knows loneliness up close and personal, it seems, and he tells us the problem. He wants someone to love, someone who needs him, someone who will care about him in the same way that he cares.

Loneliness continues to be a problem for all of us who can often find nothing to do but occupy ourselves with trivialities designed to waste time. Furthermore, it is even a problem for those who are "busy," because when the sports are finished or the activities are over or the studies are done, the feeling of boredom can set in. Loneliness can be understood as a disease that can cause great harm and even lead one to question the importance of life itself.

What brings such loneliness about? One answer might be the fact that we often become so wrapped up in ourselves that we believe that there is no one who loves us or who cares for us. And perhaps one of the ways to overcome loneliness is to realize how much we are cared for by others.

We are all hoping that someone will find us, as the person in Lil Nas X's song desires, and for the person of faith, for the "Anna’s" among us, we have such a person in Jesus Christ. The person who manages to turn to him can never be lonely.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we believe that your Son will interact with people who turn to him. In times of loneliness in our lives, give us the grace to turn to him in prayer, and realize that together with so many others in our lives, he truly cares for us. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Everyone of us must feel that someone loves us or else we will be lonely.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "That's What I Want" teach young people?
2. In your opinion, who are the greatest witnesses to Jesus?
3. What is the difference between loneliness and being alone?
4. In your opinion, are there people who need no one to love them in this life? Yes or no and why?
5. What are some signs that loneliness has taken over a person?
6. The meditation gives one reason for loneliness, namely being too focused on ourselves. What are some other reasons for loneliness?
7. The meditation gives one remedy for loneliness, namely turning to our faith. What are some other remedies for loneliness?
8. It is true that we are all cared for by God. How can a person convince another that this is true?