TGIMMAugust28

August 28

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Thursday, August 28

MATTHEW 25:1-13

Prepared

Prayerthoughts

a. In what ways do I consider myself “foolish” and “wise”?

b. Do I “prepare” myself for a better spiritual life. Perhaps today I should do one extra spiritual practice (time of prayer, fasting, extra kindness toward someone, etc.)

c. In what ways do I “meet” the Lord every day?

d. We ask people to help us, and sometimes they say “no”. What should be my response back to them; what is my response in general?

e. I should listen carefully to the Lord’s words that I never want to hear from our God:
“I do not know you.” What should I do as a result?

f. The Lord’s counsel at the send of his story: we don’t know when we will die. How do I feel about my death right now? In my obituary which someone will write, will he/she say that I was prepared?

g. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

GOOD CHRISTIANS WILL PREPARE WELL FOR THEIR DEATHS

+ The Gospel is one of Jesus’s stories with the spiritual conclusion that we have to be prepared at the time of our deaths

- the Hebrew wedding practices around Jesus’ time involved two ritualistic journeys

- first, there was a solemn procession from the groom’s home to the bride’s by the groom and his friends

- then, secondly, a procession taking the bride from her home to where the bride and groom would live in the future

- and having parties in each place

- the Gospel is set around the first procession

- the groom would have many people to see in his own home, as did the bride in her home

- therefore the groom was often delayed in coming to the bride’s home

- everyone knew that, and Jesus makes use of that fact to bring home a point

- the lamps were celebration lamps that were more for show than anything else

- the Lord says that the person who is thinking / will bring enough oil along so that when the celebration finally does start, that person will be ready

- if you are wise, you will prepare

- if you are foolish, you won’t

- and Jesus’ point:

Stay awake for you know neither the day nor the hour.

- that is, the spiritual conclusion, and the point that we have to listen to as Christians: be prepared for the Lord’s coming, that is, be prepared for your death

+ We might think, then, about the components of being prepared to meet the Lord

- from the first reading,

- if we are going to be prepared properly, we have to understand the cross

- Paul says that Christian preaching must be the idea of Christ crucified

- Jesus has redeemed us by the cross

- that is, suffering

- therefore, as much as we don’t like it, being able to suffer well—accepting it the way Jesus accepted his cross—is part of being prepared for death

- therefore, the sufferings of life—physical, mental, spiritual—are all part of our preparation for death

+ And generalizing from Jesus’ story, there is one thing in particular that will keep us from being prepared

- one that we all know, I think – procrastination

- we tend to put off until tomorrow and tomorrow never comes

- we could make our spiritual lives better today if we wanted to

- by extra time for prayer or reading of the New Testament, etc., but we refuse to take the time

+ The purpose of Jesus’ story today was that there is no tomorrow

- the bridegroom will come and that’s it – it’s only going to happen once, and we have to be prepared for it

- we should be preparing ourselves better now so that when the Lord comes, he won’t be a stranger.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Unstoppable" -- Sia

SHARING INTIMATE FEELINGS

The Gospel

JOHN 4:16-19

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, "Go, call your husband, and then come back here." "I have no husband," replied the woman. "You are right in saying you have no husband!" Jesus exclaimed. "The fact is, you have had five and the man you are living with now is not your husband. What you said is true." "Sir," answered the woman, "I can see you are a prophet."

Gospelthink: In my encounter with the Samaritan woman, I gently guided her to study her life. As I study my life and my choices, am I happy with what I have done?

"I know what it takes to fool this town. I’ll do it ‘til the sun goes down. And all through the night time, I’ll tell you what you want to hear, keep my sunglasses on while I shed a tear. I break down; only alone I will cry out loud. You’ll never see what’s hiding out deep down. I know I’ve heard that to let your feelings show is the only way to make friendships grow, but I’m too afraid. I’m unstoppable, I’m a Porsche with no brakes, I’m invincible. I win every single game, I’m so powerful I don’t need batteries to play. I’m so confident, I’m unstoppable today.”

One of the interesting incidents to study in the Gospels is part of John's Gospel and the interaction of Jesus and the person that we have come to call "the Samaritan woman." It is interesting to study it with modern songs in mind because most modern songs are about "love" in one form or another. In light of that, we focus on the teaching that comes from the thoughts of the song "Unstoppable" with Jesus's words to the Samaritan woman.

Jesus's words to her at one point of their conversation deal with the way she feels about her present boyfriend. Jesus brings out her inability to stay with any of her boyfriends, and his teaching is about the deep feelings that should be part of her intimate relationships. Making her admit that she had no husband at that point in her life was a statement by her of the lack of a deep feeling in her present relationship. She finally looked at her relationships in light of the deep feelings that should have been part of her love life.

In her song, Sia understands that she is hiding deep feelings. She actually admitted that she had heard that letting feelings show was the only way to make an intimate friendship grow. But, she says, she is too afraid to do it. She then goes into her strong statements that she is quite capable of not showing deep feelings. But such a resolution leads to loneliness, as she sings, "I break down."

What she does not see in her relationships is that she and her partner must share their deep feelings. Without saying those words exactly was what Jesus was teaching the Samaritan woman. Communication is the foundation of any important relationship that we may have, and sharing our intimate feelings is very much a part of that communication.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, it is part of our human nature that we will fall in love. Help me understand that I must be able to share how I feel with the person whom I love. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: A most important part of communication with another is the ability to share deep feelings.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Unstoppable" teach young people?
2. What are the most important characteristics of a good marriage?
3. In your opinion, what would Jesus's opinion be about modern marriages?
4. Why are people who are close to each other afraid to share deep feelings?
5. What are the most important ways to overcome loneliness?
6. In your opinion, do most of the married couples you know communicate the way they should?