TGIMMDecember7

December 7

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Saturday, December 7, Advent I

MATTHEW 9:35-10:1,5a,6-8
Your mission in the world

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus worked hard at helping people who were in need and preaching his Kingdom. Do I help people whenever I see that I can?

b. Do I pray that the Lord will help care for people by asking him to inspire people to work in the Kingdom?

c. The apostles became the first missionaries. In a sense we are all missionaries, preaching Jesus’ Gospel by our lives. How am I living out that Gospel right now?

f. Jesus’ first directive is to preach the Kingdom, that is, that God is present in our world. Do I show my belief in God as I go about my daily work?

g. Obviously, I cannot heal the sick in my acquaintance. But do I show signs of personal concern—a card, a visit, etc.—to the people that I know who are ill?

h. The Lord tells me that I am to give without concern for cost, that is, to give without expecting anything in return. In my giving to others, what is my motivation?

i My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will compose a prayer especially for those working as missionaries.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE WAY FOR THE CHRISTIAN

+ The Book of Isaiah is the primary book that is used for the first readings during the season of Advent
            - the book is primarily one of hope
                        - a number of “will’s” and “shall’s” for the better
                                    - the Lord will bring about good things in the future
            - in today’s reading: the promise that you will see the Teacher (capital T) with your own eyes
            - actually, the book is primarily speaking of the good that could happen in the eighth and seventh centuries before Christ if the Israelite people would follow the directives of God
                        - but the Church has taken the words and applied them as prophesy about the time of Jesus and his Kingdom
                                    - signifying that Jesus’ time will be a very good one for the followers who call themselves Christian

+ Today in the reading, there is an interesting phrase that can easily be applied to our spiritual lives
            - speaking of the Teacher and his laws, Isaiah says: “This is the way; walk in it.”
                        - that is, using the interpretation of the Church today,
                                    - the Teacher Jesus will give us the way; what we must do is truly walk in it

+ Today’s Gospel is the perfect follow up to the directive because it gives us the way as described by Jesus to his followers
            - he is sending his followers out two by two to prepare for his coming to those villages that he will visit some time in the future,
                        - and he tells them what his “way” is:
            - Jesus himself has already been influenced by the plight of the people that Matthew tells us about
            At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.
            - so he gives his disciples directions with significant words:
                        - go to the lost, proclaim the Kingdom, cure, raise, cleanse, drive out, give

+ In a sense, that is what we as modern followers of Jesus’ “way” are called to do
                        - not in the same capacity, obviously, since we are not leaders in the Church
                                    - but we are the followers of Jesus, and this is what we are to do to enhance our spiritual lives in the way that we act with others
            - we are called to proclaim the Kingdom—announce to the society around us that Jesus’ way is the best way to follow
            - cure—not in the sense of healing, but in the sense of comfort to those who need comforting words
            - raise—not in the sense of raising the dead, but in the sense of raising the hopes of people who have had tragedies in their lives
            - cleanse—cleanse sin from our own lives, and as far as possible from the lives of others
            - drive out—drive out the idols that surround this society, and conquer our desires for pleasure, power and money
            - and finally, and maybe most importantly, give
                        - Jesus saying:
            Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
            - arguably the most important action a Christian can learn is to give to others our time, our energy, our help

+ “This is the way; walk in it” the book of Isaiah says
            - we have chosen the way of Jesus
                        - we must walk in it as best we can.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Can't Stop the Feeling" -- Justin Timberlake

SHARING ONE'S JOY

The Gospel

LUKE 5: 24-26

Jesus said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”

Gospelthink: When you believe in me, you will see incredible things. Do I recognize that the Lord has given me unbelievable things because of my faith?

"I got this feeling inside my bones. It goes electric, wavey when I turn it on. All through my city, all through my home, we're flying up, no ceiling, when we in our zone. I got that sunshine in my pocket, got that good song in my feet. I can't take my eyes off it, moving so phenomenally. You gonna like the way we rock it, so don't stop. I can't stop the feeling, so just dance."

It is not too difficult to get into the minds of the people that Jesus cured. Their lives were not happy before they met Him. In fact, there were no doubt many difficulties that their ailments caused. The man who was paralyzed for some reason in Luke's Gospel could not do anything on his own, and had to rely on the generosity of others to help him. Suddenly, his whole life changed, bringing about good things for him, and astonishment for the people who witnessed the miracle. The man expressed it by glorifying God, perhaps keeping his stretcher as a remembrance of the good feelings that he had.

When we feel good about something, we will want to show it in some way. Sometimes, it may not be something that we are proud of, but we feel the need to express it. The man in Justin Timberlake's song "Can't Stop The Feeling" feels good about the feeling he has--it is sunshine in his pocket, causing an electricity in his body that he never has felt before. He knows that the reason for his feeling is the person he is with, and so he shows it by his dance with her, wanting to make her feel good as well.

There certainly are difficult things that happen in our lives, and too often we tend to dwell on them too much. But the fact is that there are good things in our lives also: we experience them every day. We can turn selfish and enjoy the moment ourselves, not sharing it with others. Or we can become interested in allowing others to experience our good feelings, encouraging them to enjoy the good that we have.

The man that Jesus cured had a good feeling about what happened to him. His action was to glorify God. Our reaction to the good feelings that happen to us ought to be one of helping others to see our joy, and share it with them in a good way, maybe even by dancing with them.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Your Son gave many people reason to have good feelings in their lives. Continue to give us the opportunity to turn to Your Son, and thus feel good about our lives, and to share our good times with others. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: When we feel good about something, we should express it in a good way.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What are some incredible things that we have seen in the lives of others?
2. Text analysis: "Sunshine in my pocket." What is the meaning of the phrase?
3. Why is dancing a good way to express our concern for others?
4. Why do people often express their good feelings by doing things that are not good?
5. Why do people tend to dwell too much on negative happenings in their lives?
6. What are some good ways to share our good feelings with others?
7. What does the song "Can't Stop The Feeling" teach young people?