karma

January 28
[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, January 28 MARK 3:31-35 If you manage to follow God’s Will, you will always be close to me. Prayerthoughts a. As I look at my immediate family, are there some relationships that I should work on to make them better? b. There could have been some division among Jesus’s family members because, as Jesus mentioned elsewhere, some were for Him, and some against Him. In general, when I can, do I try to heal divisions in families, in work and among friends? c. Jesus realizes that His ministry is the most important thing in his life. In my life, what is my “ministry”? What am I called to do on behalf of others? d. Jesus talks about the will of His Father. The will of His Father for Him was to help those people around Him by redeeming them. The will of the Father for me is to do the very best that I can, given the circumstances I am in. In what areas of my life could I do better than I am? e. If I had to summarize in my life in a couple of words, what would they be? What area of the past could I have improved? f. My prayerthoughts… Today I will read the Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 10:1-10, and write an important thought from it.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy THE WILL OF GOD SHOULD DIRECT CHRISTIANS + The theology of the Letter to the Hebrews continues in today’s reading, concentrating on the importance of the sacrifice of Jesus - it was a sacrifice that was once and for all - once again, it is the thought of redemption, leading us to the conclusion of the importance of Jesus and what he did + Basically, what Jesus did as he redeemed us was to follow the will of God perfectly in his life - which was nothing less than the good of humankind - Jesus says in the Gospel: Here are my mother and brothers - (pointing to those in the circle)—that is all of us and humankind - that was what he was called to do—touch every human being with his redeeming power, that was the will of God + It is a good time to pursue what our will of God means for us - the follower of Jesus is called to do the will of God - Jesus saying again in the Gospel that the people who do the will of God are as close to him as his closest relatives + And for us, what is will of God? - as it was for Jesus, it is basically the redemption of humankind in our own way - involving a number of things in our spiritual lives, but two of them from the readings today: + 1 – one perhaps is that we know completely the value of sacrifice, the topic of the first reading - sacrifice that calls us to give of ourselves for the sake of others - as Jesus did for us + and 2 – the will of God is that we make God and the things of God something as important to us as our families are important - so that desiring what Jesus taught—his principles of life—becomes a real guide for us + The will of God was uppermost in Jesus mind, leading him to redeem us - the will of God should likewise be uppermost in the follower of Jesus’ minds—you and me, - leading us to be truly concerned about people.

MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: "Karma" -- Taylor Swift KARMA IS A GOD

The Gospel

MATTHEW 25:31-46

Matthew 35:31-46

Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when...?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ... Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Gospelthink: I want you to see that you will be judged at the end of your life by how well you took care of others.

"You’re talking bad for the hell of it, addicted to betrayal, but you’re relevant. You’re terrified to look down, cause if you dare, you’ll see the glare of everyone you burned just to get there. It’s coming back around. And I keep my side of the street clean, you wouldn’t know what I mean. ‘Cause karma is my boyfriend, karma is a god, karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend. Karma’s a relaxing thought.”

Taylor Swift's song "Karma" uses the definition of "karma" to be the idea of "rebirth." If one has a transformation of self, a "rebirth" early on, it will affect what happens in the future. She is expressing her belief that one’s present actions, once transformed, will decide his/her future actions.

She is quite happy with her fate brought about by her actions so far. In that sense, karma is a “boyfriend” and a “god.” Her enemies do not fare as well. "I keep my side of the street clean, you wouldn’t know what I mean," she sings. Therefore, in her mind, “karma” will bring about good if you do good, and bad if you do bad, pressing her belief that one’s present actions will decide his/her future fate. She is quite happy with her fate brought about by her actions so far. For her, "karma" is a god.

Applying the song to Christian living, one has crossed into the realm of what Jesus wants for all of his followers. He describes it in terms of giving to Him, Jesus. Whenever a person gives to another in the different areas of giving--food, drink, clothing and so forth, such a person not only takes care of the other out of love, but in Jesus's mind, actually is giving to Him. "You did it for me," he says. And, as such, it is affecting the Christian's future life.

In a sense then, Jesus is describing the actions of his story to be "karma" for the people on his right. They managed to learn during the course of their lives that they had to treat other people well, a "rebirth" so to speak. As a result, he says that they have become "righteous" in what they do and at the end of their lives, they are given eternal life.

Taylor Swift feels that "karma" is a god. In a Christian understanding, the "karma" is the teaching of their God--capital G--who has taught them the way to behave early on so that their lives will be affected for the good later on.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, the secret to a happy world lies in our relationships to one another. Help us learn to be a true Christian to everyone we meet early in life, remembering that as Your Son is to us, so we must be to one another. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: If we learn to do good early on, we will receive the reward of eternal life.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Karma" teach young people?
2. What is most striking about Jesus's parable in the Scripture passage?
3. In your opinion, do most people see the need for a "rebirth" early on in life? Yes or no and why?
4. In your opinion, what does "Karma is a god" mean?'
5. In your opinion, do most Christians follow the thought of giving to another?