TGIMMjust

December 13

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Friday, December 13, Advent II

MATTHEW 11:16-19
The religious leaders did not want to listen to what I had to say.

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus speaks of “this generation,” a negative term speaking of my time now. In what ways have I agreed with this world when I should not have.

b. Sometimes I act like a child when things do not go my way. Do I show this behavior often?

c. Jesus points out that the people of his time were like children who were not listening to His message. How are my “listening skills”? Do I listen to others the way I should?

d. Jesus and John are rejected. Do I always accept God/Church/religion as a guide to my life?

e. Do I listen to the difficult words of Jesus, especially in the way I should act toward others?

f. Jesus has the wisdom I need in my life. Do I pray with that in mind?

g. My prayerthoughts….

Today, I will read Isaiah, chapter 48 and write
an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

WE ARE CALLED TO LISTEN TO THE LORD

+ The great condition is given to us by the prophet Isaiah in the first reading:
          If you hearken, if you listen
                     - that which will bring about prosperity and descendants like sand, allowing us to never be cut off from the Lord
                               - is that we listen to the Lord
                                         - the Lord God saying: I teach you what is for your good, I will lead you on the way if you listen

+ The natural human tendency may not be to listen, however
          - in the Gospel, Jesus accuses the religious leaders of not wanting to listen either to John or himself
                     - the interpretation of the parable of Jesus according to scholars is:
                               - Jesus and John are the children calling people to rejoice and mourn
                                         - but the people are refusing to listen to them
                                                   - and the way they refuse to listen is that they make up excuses not to listen—they call one mad, the other a glutton, and therefore both are crazy, and not to be listened to

+ The obvious question that comes out of the liturgy for a person interested in the spiritual life is: are we listening to the Lord?
          - the Lord’s message and John’s message that the religious leaders were not listening to / was a message of the entrance into the Kingdom:
                     - repent and be saved, change your ways so that you can enter the Kingdom
          - two things should be considered:
                     - not only listening to the message, but what excuses might we be giving to keep from listening to the message

+ Listening to the Lord’s message of repentance and changing our ways involves what the Scriptures have said many times in many ways
          - time spent with the Lord should increase
          - there should be serious thinking about our lives
          - there must be consistency in doing these things

+ Giving more of an indication about our intentions, however, are the excuses we may use not to do that type of repenting and changing of behavior:
          - One excuse: “I don’t have time” – saying we don’t have time for what is the single most important thing that we do on earth—prepare ourselves for heaven
          - Another excuse: “There are too many circumstances in my life that have made me the way I am, and I can’t change.”
                     - “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks; I am the victim of the circumstances in my life; my past has messed me up.”
                               - the psychologist in me would say that some of that is true, but the fact is that we can change
                                         - people do it all the time, and people who have many more problems than we have

+ The Lord says today to look at how well we listen and even more telling, look at the excuses that we give for not listening.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Just Like Fire" -- Pink

BURNING OUT THE WAY

The Gospel

JOHN 3:1-5

JOHN 3:1-5

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother's womb and be born again, can he?" Jesus answered, "Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit."

Gospelthink: I tell Nicodemus that he must be born from above, as every human being. Do I remember my Baptism by living out the promises as often as I should?

"I know that I'm running out of time. I want it all, and I'm wishing they'd stop trying to turn me off. And I'm walking on a wire, trying to go higher, feels like I'm surrounded by clowns and liars. We came here to run it. Just like fire, burning out the way. If I can light the world up for just one day, just like magic, I'll be flying free. And people like to laugh at you ‘cause they are all the same. See I would rather we just go our different way than play the game."

What is the best way to improve oneself? That must have been part of Nicodemus' quest. Here in John's Gospel, he came to see Jesus so that he could understand a little more about what Jesus taught but also try to improve himself. Seeking the truth of Scripture as a Pharisee was called to do, he came to Jesus because he felt that God was part of Jesus' life and ministry.

Pink's song "Just Like Fire" comes from the soundtrack of the fantasy movie “Alice Through the Looking Glass" and is a song of the desire to improve oneself. The lady in the song is “trying to go higher” and “allowing the fire to burn out the way” and staying away from simply “playing the game.” The lady feels that she must "walk the wire" and even though she is surrounded by "clowns and liars," she desires to choose a way to be better than she is.

The idea of improving oneself is one of the most important goals we all have. In life there are many times when we can just level off, and when we desire to do nothing. But people interested in leadership will understand that there are many opportunities to do better than they are. They will not be satisfied with only doing second or third or fourth best or playing the game like other people do. They will look at the situation, and determine that they can make it better by doing better themselves.

If we are "just like fire," we will burn out a way to better ourselves and our world.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, You call us to better ourselves as we experience the presence of Your Son. Give us the grace to truly listen to Him, and give us the courage to embrace the fire of His Way to improve ourselves. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: In order to go higher in life, we must follow what we know to be true.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Jesus presents the Sacrament of Baptism to Nicodemus. Project: Make a presentation on the Sacrament. See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 1213-1274.
2. It seems that there were only a few Pharisees who desired to understand Jesus. In your opinion, why did the other Pharisees not want to discover Jesus' teachings?
3. In your opinion, what was the main idea of Jesus' teaching?
4. Text analysis: "Play the game." In your opinion, what does the phrase refer to?
5. What goal in life is most important for us?
6. What are the necessary prerequisites before we can improve ourselves?
7. What does the song "Just Like Fire" teach young people?