december2

December 2

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, December 2, Advent I

LUKE 10:21-24

Childlike

Prayerthoughts

a. What is my understanding of “childlike”?

b. Often being “childlike” refers to people who are not solicitous for power. How do I want too much power?

c. What is God’s will for me?

d. Jesus has given us His idea of God in the Gospels. Does God play a significant role in my life right now?

e. I have truly seen Jesus in the Scriptures. Am I trying to identify with Jesus enough in the words that I read?

e. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read Isaiah 11:1-10 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

JESUS, THE SIGNAL

+ Isaiah supplies a phrase that bears some thought for the truly spiritual person

- the root of Jesse, namely, Jesus is a signal for the nations

- a signal implies something that directs another

- and consequently, the question: what is Jesus directing us to

+ The root of Jesse, Jesus, will signal the harmony of which Isaiah speaks

- a harmony which we will bring about through a conscious decision to be harmonious

- that is, not to be divisive in the way that we go about things

+ Isaiah’s reading speaks of a coming Kingdom which we now understand to be the Kingdom of God that was taught by Jesus

- it will be a Kingdom of harmony, compared in the animal kingdom to a time when wolf/lamb, lion/ox, child/adder, leopard/kid, calf/lion, cow/bear, baby/cobra are together with no harm

- and that which will bring about the harmony is something that animals and little children cannot do—the ability to reason things out

- so Isaiah predicts a Kingdom in which humankind will reason things out and make decisions wisely

- they will do that because they are led by the shoot that sprouted from Jerusalem

- namely, Jesus, the person we believe the reading was speaking of—and the Spirit was upon him, the reading mentioning the so-called gifts of the Spirit

- it is one of the best passages of foretelling the coming of Jesus

+ And from the Gospel with Luke’s preference for the forgotten of society

- saying that the root of Jesse will lead us to the Kingdom which will be hidden from the clever

- and revealed to children instead

- not in the sense of selfishness or lack of responsibility,

- but in the sense of being trusting of others, taking delight in the simple things, being people who can truly be dependent on others, and on God

+ A tie in between the readings is the mention of the child in both

- Isaiah: a child will guide them to harmony

- Jesus saying that the important things in life are revealed to people who make themselves like children, dependent on God

+ The root of Jesse, Jesus, signals harmony and being child-like.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Easy on Me" -- Adele

THE GIFT OF TIME

The Gospel

John 4:16-18,27-30

Jesus said to the woman, "Go call your husband and come back." The woman answered and said to him, "I do not have a husband." Jesus answered he and her, "You are right in saying, 'I do not have a husband.' For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true." Jesus's disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, "What are you looking for?" or "Why are you talking with her?" The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, "Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?" They went out of the town and came to him.

Gospelthink: The Samaritan woman saw who I was. Is it clear from my life that I have chosen the Lord?

"There ain’t no gold in this river that I’ve been washing my hands in forever. I know there is hope in these waters, but I can’t bring myself to swim. When I am drowning in this silence, let me in. Go easy on me, I was still a child, didn’t get the chance to feel the world around me. I had no time to choose what I chose to do, so, go easy on me. There ain’t no room for things to change when we are both so deeply stuck in our ways. You can’t deny how hard I have tried. I changed who I was to put you first, but now I give up, go easy on me.”

These meditations have often pointed out that Jesus did not have anything to say about the process of discovering "romantic love." Life commitments to each other were arranged rather than discovered in Jesus' time. Consequently, the person searching the Gospels for how to work with romantic love will never find it. But the Scriptures give many examples of people searching for love in their lives.

Studying the lady in John's Gospel who has been described as the "Samaritan woman," we see a person who was searching for love in the life she was leading. The fact that she had several lovers is a statement of a person trying to discover true love. Studying her situation leads us to conclude that she had many relationships that had failed.

According to her, Adele's song "Easy on Me" was written as a result of her divorce. Reversing our thinking then, it is an excellent song for anyone who is thinking of marriage because she explains what she did wrong. The person looking toward marriage can listen to her and "do it right." Among her lessons, she tells us:

She knew that she said "forever," but she did not know its real meaning;
When the marriage was a little shaky, she knew that there could be hope;
She knew that he could still "let her in," if she could convince him;
In many ways, she was still a child with romantic love because she had much to learn;
She knew that she should have spent more time to know what she wanted;
She knew that she and her lover were often stuck in their ways, and wouldn't change;
She knew that she had to try harder;
She knew that she had to change, but she had to sense that he would as well.

It is difficult to summarize all of those thoughts into one direction, but if there is one guiding thought to all of it, it may be her words, "I had no time." A person in love with another does not know the personality and feelings of another. The person has knowledge of how she/he feels in a situation in whatever circumstance they are in, but she/he really has no knowledge of how the other feels. And the only way of knowing is by giving themselves the gift of time. Then during that time, they would be able to communicate exactly what their feelings were, and change if need be.
It is interesting in the story of the Samaritan woman in the Gospels that Jesus knew that she did not "have a husband." In twenty-first century terminology, she had a number of divorces. Perhaps it was because she had not given enough time to each relationship.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, permanent commitments are very difficult to establish given our lifestyles, but if couples are to be happy, such commitments must be learned. In whatever role of life we choose, give us the grace to follow through on the commitments that we make. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: There are reasons why a relationship fails, and it is difficult to face those reasons.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Easy Son Me" teach young people?
2. What is most striking about the story of the Samaritan woman in John's Gospel?
3. In your opinion, what is the biggest reason that there are divorces in our country?
4. Studying the lessons outlined by Adele's song and the meditation text, which one is most important to learn?
5. The meditation suggests that "giving each other time" is most important for love relationships. Do you agree with this analysis and why or why not?
6. According to most counselors, lack of communication is the number one cause of marriage breakdowns. Obviously, the more time a couple has, the better the communication will be. Why do many couples not take enough time to build the relationship?