ghost

April 28

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Monday, April 28, Easter Weekday

JOHN 10:22-30
The religious leaders were not listening to my voice.

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus spent time in the temple on the feast day. Do I spend enough time with the Lord in prayer on Sundays?

b. There are situations in my life in which I do not have the answers I want. What are they, and do I spend enough time with the Lord asking for His help in those matters?

c. Jesus’s works tell us plainly who he is. What are the works of God’s creation that most impress me?

d. We profess to be among Jesus’s “sheep.” If it is true that I am, what are the characteristics that should be present in my life right now?

e. I hear the Lord’s voice as I set out to do what I have chosen by my free will. In what way is the Lord “talking” to me?

f. It is encouraging that the Lord has chosen me, and I am with the Lord no matter what. There are some things in my life however that hold me back. What are the things that hold me back from being the “sheep” that I should be for the Lord?

g. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read Acts of the Apostles 11:19-26 and write an important thought.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE SHEEP OF JESUS

+ The readings give us a contrast of how people listen to the message of Jesus

- 1^st reading: people open to receiving the message and actually receiving it

- in Antioch, a strong commitment to the Lord and the beginning of the Antioch church with Paul and Barnabas as their principal preachers

- Gospel: Jesus saying that the Jews he was talking to were not open to the message and therefore did not accept it at all

- in Jesus’s and John the Evangelist’s terminology, they were not his sheep

+ We might spend some time with the question: what does it take to be a sheep of Jesus?

- Jesus gives that to us in the Gospel, and speaks of two things: that we hear his voice and follow him

1 – hear his voice

- listen to what Jesus says in the Scriptures

- and more importantly—in our prayer connected with the Scriptures

- that is, listening empathetically

- listening not only to the words, but the deeper meaning of the words

- such a state only comes with what is called “pouring over” the Scriptures

- apparently the converts in Antioch in the first readying were able to do that type of listening

2 – follow him

- that we actually put into practice the words that we listen to

- including the real desire to love, forgive, bring about peace, to get along with people, to understand where people are coming from, etc.

- again, from Luke’s description in Acts, the new Christians in Antioch were able to accomplish this characteristic

+ If we really want to be Jesus’s sheep,

- we will listen to what he says, and then follow him.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Ghost" -- Justin Bieber

THERE'S ALWAYS TOMORROW

The Gospel

JOHN 14:16-20

JOHN 14:16-20

Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.”

Gospelthink: I promise you that the Spirit of Truth will guide you. Do I make the prayer to the Spirit asking for guidance often enough?

"Youngblood thinks there's always tomorrow. I miss your touch on nights when I’m hollow; I know you crossed a bridge that I can’t follow. Since the love that you left is all that I get, I want you to know that if I can’t be close to you, I settle for the ghost of you. Your memory is ecstasy. I miss you more than life.”

In St. Paul's letter to the Romans, he speaks about what the Advocate or Spirit of truth does for Christians: "We ourselves who have the first fruits of the Spirit, we groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness." (Romans 8:23-25). St. Paul knew exactly what Jesus said about the Advocate or Spirit of truth: it gives hope to a Christian.

Perhaps the greatest hope for a Christian person is that Jesus promised life to the people who would adopt his way of living. Jesus who the Christian believes is God told his followers: "I will not leave you orphans." God will be with us through thick and thin, in good times and in bad, always there, even when all hope is gone. God will be there all the way. There is always hope.

Interestingly enough, Justin Bieber speaks of hope that is realized because of a person who is no longer present to him. It is a perfect statement about what the virtue of hope does for a person looking for a love relationship. "Your memory is ecstasy," he sings. Like the Spirit of truth or Advocate working for a Christian, the man who is looking for a relationship is guided by the way his girlfriend loved, or as he sings her "ghost."

The song itself is a song of hope, perhaps in three ways. First, as he spoke about the song, Justin Bieber said that he wanted to "make people feel like there is hope and that the trauma and the hurt [of the pandemic of the Coronavirus] that you feel isn’t gonna last forever.”

Secondly, from the song itself, he sings, “Youngblood thinks there’s always tomorrow." The situation is one of hope because the man in the relationship is rejoicing that he has the memory of his girlfriend which gives him the feeling of good times in the future.

And, thirdly, from the video of the song that is well worth while watching, the story of a death is presented, and then the family works through that death to be more hopeful for the future.

There is hope for a Christian automatically because the Advocate or Spirit of truth assures us of a good life in the future, in the "tomorrow." It is also true for love relationships, even if there is some type of unavoidable separation.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Your Spirit is part of our lives since we have chosen to follow you. Thank you for the guidance of the Spirit, especially as we work at making our lives here better, even in the face of adversity. We know that you will continue to be with us.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Dwelling on a good relationship is hope for a future one.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Ghost" teach young people?
2. What is the meaning of each gift of the Spirit (usually listed as Wisdom, Understanding, Reverence, Knowledge, Courage, Awe of the Lord, Right Judgment)?
3. Why do some Christians "give up hope" even though the Lord is present to them?
4. What are the causes for a Christian to "give up hope"?
5. What lessons can be learned from the Coronavirus which infected our world?
6. What are the characteristics of a good relationship that a person will always remember in his/her future?
7. We all will experience the death of someone close to us. What should be the Christian's response to a person who is suffering because of it?