July 11

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Friday, July 11

MATTHEW 10:16-23
I warn my disciples and you that not everyone will agree with you.

Prayerthoughts
a. The English translation, “beware of people” is interesting. Who are the people in my life that I should trust more?

b. There will be people who do not agree with me because of my Christian and/or personal beliefs. I must learn to respect everyone no matter how they are treating me. Are there some people that I do not respect as much as I should?

c. I must watch what I say and how I say it. Do I find myself being too quick in my response to some situations?

d. Do I call on the Holy Spirit enough as I am seeking guidance for what to do in my life?

e. In the early persecutions which Matthew is remembering here, families were torn apart. In my family right now, are there some people that I should reach out to?

f. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will study what I said yesterday to determine if I could have been more charitable.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

TRUSTING IN THE SPIRIT EVEN IN DIFFICULT TIMES

+ Jesus is speaking during the so-called missionary discourse in Matthew’s Gospel

- a time when Matthew gathered together all of the sayings that Jesus told his Apostles concerning what they were to do as they went from town to town proclaiming the Kingdom that Jesus was preaching

- and in this Gospel, we are in a section in which Jesus warns the missionary Apostles about things that will happen because of other people

- it is an important area of Jesus’ doctrine as we generalize Jesus’ sayings from words to Apostles to words to all of us

- Jesus calls us to love, even love enemies,

- but we can’t be naïve in our dealings with those others that we love

- Jesus tells the Apostles and us as we deal with others that we have to be on guard

- to watch who we trust

- and even though we are on our guard and as clever as serpents and innocent as doves, sometimes things are not going to go the way we want them to

- that is, there will be difficult times

- and then Jesus tells the Apostles and us that we have to rely on the Spirit to direct us

+ That Spirit has a pretty good track record in the sense that the Spirit directed the lives of the great people of the Old Testament

- during the past couple of days in the first reading, we have been listening to how the Spirit directed Jacob, one of the great early patriarchs of the Hebrew nation

- and today, how the Spirit directed him and his family to Egypt

- so that nearly 400 years later, Moses can lead them back to the Promised Land

- and that whole history is full of difficulties that Jacob and Moses faced

+ It is a relatively simple directive that we receive from the Lord in this morning’s readings,

- but it is not an easy one to carry out

- as Jacob had difficulties in his life and yet followed what his God told him to do

- as the Apostles will have difficulties as they spread the doctrine of the Kingdom of Jesus, and yet they are told to trust in the Spirit

- you and I are told that we have to do the best that we can, to continue to love others even though they don’t love us, to continue to work with the Lord’s work whatever that may be in our lives

- but when we have the difficulties that we will always have

- we have to trust in the Spirit of the Lord

- and honestly believe that the Lord is directing things somehow, someway

+ It is the wisdom of the Scriptures that we have to do the best that we can in whatever endeavor we are involved in

- and trust that the Lord will direct us.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Beautiful Mistakes" -- Maroon 5 featuring

Megan Thee Stallion

FULFILLING THE PAST

The Gospel

MATTHEW 5:17-18

MATTHEW 5:17-18

Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.

Gospelthink: I give you my teaching which fulfills the Law of Moses. Do I consider all the words of Jesus to be the teaching that I must follow?

"It’s beautiful, it’s bittersweet. You’re like a broken home to me; I take a shot of memories and black out like an empty street. I fill my days with the way you walk, and fill my nights with broken dreams. I make up lies inside my head like one day you’ll come back to me. Now I’m not holding on. I’m just depressed that you’re gone. Beautiful mistakes, I wouldn’t take them back. I’m in love with the past."

When Jesus gave his different teachings to us, he was most aware of the Law of Moses which was the primary law that the Israelites were to follow. So, he was particularly aware of what the Law of Moses taught. He knew however that that Law was not enough. In order to bring about the Kingdom that Jesus was preaching, there had to be more. And so, he uses the word "fulfill" as he explains how his teaching differs from that of Moses. Jesus's teaching went further than that of Moses, saying that the present law is now much more important than the one of the past. And so in the Sermon, Jesus gives instance after instance in which he says, "You have heard that it was said...but I say to you."

There are a number of songs that reflect on lifestyles that speak of the past. "Beautiful Mistakes" is one of them. In fact, any song that speaks of a breakup will speak of past actions before the breakup, and those actions were usually very good. In the song, the man in the relationship is remembering how the past was beautiful and the fact that he is in love with those past memories.

But of course, what is necessary is to live in the present moment. In the song, the man is unable to do that. He wanted to have those feelings of the past when the relationship was more as he wanted it to be. Right there might be the problem. He does not want to live in the present because it means that he would have to change, to grow.

Jesus looked at the past laws of how to live, and said that they were what should have been at that time. But what was important was the present moment. It is a pattern that the person developing romantic love must follow. The past was good, and the present should remember the past good things, but they must build on them because we cannot live in the past. In a sense, the relationship must "fulfill" the past.

We can indeed be in "love with the past," as the man sings in the song, but to try to live there is a mistake because it will destroy the present.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, as I live in this present moment, I must be aware of the good past actions that I have done. But help me understand that I must live in the present, and allow the past to be learning moments so I can live better now. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Our past can teach us many things, but I must live in the present.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Beautiful Mistakes" teach young people?
2. In your opinion, what is the most important law that Jesus taught?
3. In your opinion, how does Jesus's law "fulfill" the Law of Moses?
4. What is the best way to overcome a breakup?
5. Selfishness may be the problem in any breakup. Do you believe that that is a true statement?
6. When is it clear that a person wants to "live in the past"?
7. What are the most important elements of a good relationship?