February 20

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Friday, February 20, Friday after Ash Wednesday

MATTHEW 9:14-15

Your fasting should lead you to understand your spiritual life a little more.

Prayerthoughts
a. As we think of Jesus’s departure and his return on the final day, we are in that interim period now.  How do I fast?  Fasting can be more than fasting from food.  Do I fast from food, television, Internet, etc., by treating them with moderation in my life?

b. Jesus refers to his own death with the thought that the bridegroom will be taken away, and then it is time to be mournful and to fast.  When I am sorrowful in my life, do I try to remember the positive thought that the Lord is directing what is happening?

c. As I listen to the Lord speak of his death, I think of my own death.  As I study my life right now, am I preparing for my death by trying to correct my faults?

d. Considering my life once again, what are the central events in my life so far? How do I see the Lord’s action in each of them?

e. What is the one thing in my life that I want to accomplish before I die?

f. My prayerthoughts...

Today, I will read Isaiah 58:1-9a and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

FASTING—A REMINDER

+ The obvious topic coming from both readings today is fasting

- Isaiah calling for a fast that seemingly has nothing to do with bodily fasting

- Jesus saying that when he is gone, then his disciples will fast

- but our belief is that Jesus is always with us

- and so Jesus is calling for a new understanding of fasting

+ Jesus’s idea of fasting, it would seem, should be defined much like the Isaiah reading

- more as a deliberate reminder

- and might work this way:

- fasting is a means of self-denial and when we deny ourselves and we feel it, we are reminded of the things that we can give and do for others

- of course, fasting by itself is a means of denying self, and we need to do that in our lives, as well

- we have too much of everything

- but, the important thing to see about fasting is that both Jesus and Isaiah seem to say that fasting is not an end in itself

+ With Isaiah’s fasting as developed in that first reading, the self-denial should lead to the understanding that people are hurting

- with our fasting or our abstaining or our denying ourselves something

- it should remind us of people or situations that could use our help

- in the sense that we can help make the situation more Christian, or more holy or simply better

- our denial of self can lead us to see for example:

- what we can do better at home

- what we can do better where we work

- what we can do better when I’m doing the things of day-to-day living

+ Fasting has been looked at as one of the means of renewal, as pointed out by Jesus in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount

- along with giving alms and praying, all three of which we heard on Wednesday, all three of which Jesus points out can be done with the wrong intentions

- the fasting that we have in our Church today

- the result of Isaiah’s and Jesus’s perspective on fasting,

- is that it is not an end in itself, but reminds us of the amount of good that we can do.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

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

NO TIME FOR FAKE LOVE

The Gospel

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’s 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’s 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?