meant to

February 20

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Thursday, February 20

MARK 8:27-33

Who is Jesus

Prayerthoughts

a. I obviously agree with Peter that Jesus is the Messiah. In what ways has my belief made my life different?

b. Whom do I consider to be prophets in my world?

c. Have I made someone or something other than the Lord more important in my life?

d. Jesus did not want his disciples to spread the fact that he was the Messiah because too many people had the wrong idea of what a Messiah should do and he did not want to confuse them. What has been the most important fact that Jesus has taught me?

e. Jesus predicts his death and resurrection. As I think of my own death and resurrection to life, what should be my most important thought?

f. As Jesus pointed out, Peter was thinking too much as a human being. In what ways am I thinking human thoughts and not God-ly thoughts?

g. My prayerthoughts….

Today I will read Genesis, chapter 9, and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

WE MUST LEARN TO THINK AS GOD DOES

+ This Gospel passage is most important in Mark’s Gospel

- up until now, the disciples/apostles have not understood who Jesus was

- now it is clear that they do

- and Jesus sets out to explain what this means in various ways

- also the passage contains the first prediction of the Passion

- and strong language directed at Peter—language beginning to explain the Messiah as Jesus understands him

- which must include suffering, only to triumph immediately

+ The key phrase for us as we try to develop our spiritual lives may be: we must try to determine how God thinks rather than how human beings do

- from this liturgy, for example, there are a couple characteristics of our determining how God thinks:

1 – in God’s thinking, we are in charge of the world (Genesis)

- but there are restrictions, especially concerning human life

- we must be guided by God’s covenant, agreement with us

- God who promises to watch over us

2 – God’s thinking involves a clear view of who Jesus, our redeemer, is

- Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one of God

- and therefore our religion and our thinking about religion, our devotion must center around him

- not that any other devotion is bad

- but we simply must acknowledge Jesus as the center of everything that we do

- his actions, his thoughts

- and once again our conclusion: we must know Jesus

3 – God’s thinking for us involves suffering

- not suffering alone, because there will eventually be happiness

- but there will be real suffering

- so much so that when our human natures—in the person of Peter in the Gospel today—when our human natures cry “no”

- we hear our Messiah, our leader, say “yes”, it is a necessary part of your life

- and so as we grow older, we discover the pains of day to day living, both physical and mental, we must sense the presence of God in them

+ We must want to accept God’s thinking in our lives, but God’s thinking is different from ours.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Meant to Be" -- Bebe Rexha featuring
Florida Georgia Line

NO TIME FOR FAKE LOVE

The Gospel

LUKE 3:1-3

LUKE 3:1-3

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. He went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Gospelthink: Jesus proclaimed a baptism of repentance. I must continue to ask forgiveness for my sinfulness.

“Lay on back and relax,” the man in the relationship says, “No need to go nowhere fast, let’s enjoy right here where we at. Who knows where this road is supposed to lead? We got nothing but time. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be. So won’t you ride with me, see where this thing goes." The reason why they need some time to see where the thing goes is given by the lady in the relationship: "I don’t mean to be so uptight, but my heart’s been hurt a couple times by a couple guys that didn’t treat me right. I’m tired of the fake love."

When something is important, we often try to pinpoint the time, as if to say, it is necessary that we remember when this happened because it is something that is of value. Such seems to be the evangelist Luke’s reasoning behind his dramatic beginning of John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ public ministry. It is almost like a solemn proclamation that begins with "Hear ye, hear ye." Actually this Gospel passage still does not contain enough information to pinpoint when Jesus’ public ministry began, and there are some questions about some of the people he mentioned, but his introduction says that in Luke the evangelist’s opinion, the redemption of humankind is of great value and it deserves a solemn introduction.

The proper understanding of time is one of the most important concepts that can be learned as we grow. Allowing ourselves time to develop important things as we mature is a must. Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line's song "Meant To Be" is an illustration of that thought. They sing of a woman who wants real love and not "fake love." The way to accomplish it, as they say, is time. The man in the relationship encourages the lady who totally agrees with her by saying that they have "nothing but time."

Allowing time to help accomplish something of importance is not only necessary in a romantic relationship. It is part of any maturing process. If we have a desire to learn about life, we must allow ourselves time to study the ins and outs of how to live in this world. If we want to develop a career, it takes time to learn how to do it well. If we have a desire to learn about faith, we need time to determine the way we believe and why we believe the way we do.

Jesus knew about the importance of time as he began his ministry. The evangelist Luke tells us such in his own way by announcing the time that Jesus began his ministry. The song "Meant To Be" reminds us of the importance of time in a romantic setting. The application of their thoughts means a true understanding of the importance of time if we want to bring about anything worthwhile in our lives.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, You have given us time to accomplish wonderful things in this life. Thank You for what You have given us, and help us to use well the time that we have left here on earth, so as to merit your presence forever. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDELINES FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: One must give any relationship time to work out.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1.What are the most important accomplishments in your life so far? In what way has the Lord helped you accomplish them?
2. In your opinion, what is a "baptism of repentance"?
3. Give an example of "going nowhere fast" in our world today.
4. In our opinion, what is "fake love"?
5. What are the best indications that one has real love and not "fake love"?
6. In general, what is the most important thing in any person's life? How much time is necessary in order to do it well?
7. What does the song "Meant To Be" teach young people?