January 9

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Thursday, January 9, Christmas Weekday

LUKE 4:14-22
Jesus’s Mission

Prayerthoughts

a. Jesus treats the Sabbath day with God as part of it. Do I truly make Sunday the Lord’s Day for me?

b. In Luke’s Gospel especially, Jesus is very concerned about the poor. In my life right now, am I showing some concern for those less fortunate than me? In what ways can I show more concern for Those less fortunate than me?

c. “A year acceptable to the Lord.” I have just begun a new year. What are some spiritual resolutions that I should make for this year? (This is the task of the meditation.)

d. The Lord was introducing his mission in life. In general, what is my goal for the life I have chosen?

e. The people of Nazareth were proud of Jesus as their native son. Jesus did not allow this pride to dictate to his actions. Is there too much “pride of self” in my thoughts and words?

f. My prayerthoughts….

Today, I will carry out letter c.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD

+ As Jesus begins his public ministry in Nazareth which is the Gospel today, he says to the people in the synagogue:

Today this Scripture passage [namely, Isaiah] is fulfilled in your hearing.

- which means that what Isaiah the prophet was talking about in prophecy was what Jesus was concerned about

- he was sent by God to address some problems

+ You look at those problems, and with only a couple small changes because of the times we are in, the problems very much resemble problems which we can identify with

1 -- help the poor

- those who are lacking because of lack of money or lack of education or lack of the necessities of life

2 -- give freedom

- in our world, there is a lot of slavery

- slavery to dictators, yes, but also slavery in the sense of people dominating others, whether it be in homes or schools

3 -- give sight to the blind

- there are people who refuse to see what is right and what is wrong—the psychologically blind

4 -- announce the good news that God continues to be with us

- our world desperately wants and needs that message

+ In essence we have the same problems that Isaiah talked of

- and that Jesus said that he had come to address

- and the means that Jesus used to address the problems?

- he was to proclaim it a little later in his ministry and it is what the first letter of John talks of in the first reading:

This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother [and sister].

- the way that Jesus addressed the problems was with love of others

+ We do not have the opportunity usually to address the global problems that plague our world

- but we can address the problems that are part of whatever situation we are in

- then our personal world will start to function well again.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Calm Down" -- Rema featuring Selena Gomez
A MAJOR DECISION

The Gospel

LUKE 15:11-13a

LUKE 15:11-15a

Jesus said to them: "A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that is coming to me.' So the father divided up the property. Some days later this younger son collected all his belongings and went off to a distant land."

Gospelthink: At the beginning of the story of the two sons, the younger son made his choice.

“Baby, calm down, girl, your body is put in my heart for lockdown. You sweet like Fanta. If I tell you, say, ‘I love you’, you know they tell me ‘no.’ Finally, I find way to talk to the girl but her friends gum up the meeting like chewing gum.” And she says, “Yeah, I know I look shy but for you I get down.” [lyrics adjusted]

Most of us live long lives and we make many decisions during those lives. Probably the most important decision concerns the way of life that we will choose as we live through that life. That decision translates to either "marry or not to marry" and the decision is not made, say, during our mid-life when there would be more time to prepare for it; it is made relatively early in our lives. And as we learn more and more about the human brain, the decision is made when the brain may not even be fully developed.

What happens as a result? The answer is easy to come by. As we study Jesus's story of the "Prodigal Son", we see a younger son make the decision to leave his home and family. Anyone familiar with the Gospel of Luke, knows that the decision did not turn out so well.

Many songs speak of the decision to make the feelings of love permanent by a commitment to marriage or the like. Rema and Selena Gomez's song "Calm Down" speak of a decision of the man in the relationship which he should not have made according to his friends, but he makes it anyway. It is his personal choice, and given our free will, it cannot be questioned. The song does not say whether it worked out or not.

The point must be made that if a decision is made which will affect the rest of our lives, such a decision must have a proper preparation. At the same time, perhaps, we must listen to the people in our lives who give us their opinions about our decision.

Perhaps the overall conclusion to such a meditation as this revolves around when the decision will be made. When it comes to the decision to commit my life to something for the rest of my life, perhaps such a decision must be made after a significant span of time has passed. Such a significant span will include time to consider what might happen if I choose something that will hurt me in the long run.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we make many decisions concerning our lives, but perhaps the most important one is whether or not to make a permanent commitment that will affect all of our lives. Give us the grace to make the decision well. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Choosing a permanent love relationship is a personal decision that must be made carefully.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Calm Down" teach young people?
2. When do most people make the decision "to marry or not to marry"? When should they make that decision?
3. Recall the story of "The Prodigal Son." See Luke 15:11ff.
4. If our best friends tell us that we should not get married, is it a good indication that we shouldn't?
5. What is the proper preparation for marriage?
6. What is the proper preparation for a life-long commitment such as religious life or priesthood?