TGIMMheyma

July 19

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Saturday, July 19

MATTHEW 12:14-21
Negatives

Prayerthoughts
a. Obviously, no one is conspiring to put me to death. But it gives me a chance to check at how I act toward those who do not like me for some reason. How do I act toward those people and in general the people I do not like?

b. Even as he realized that there were people who did not like him, he still cured people. Do I allow my negative moods to affect the way I act?

c. Jesus was to proclaim justice. Am I fair and just in the way I behave in my life?

d. Also Jesus did not “contend.” That is, he did not “argue” about his place in life. Am I too argumentative in the way I speak to others?

e. In Jesus, people will find “hope.” Am I hopeful as I work in the world?

f. People were wondering about Jesus and what he did. Am I trying to study Jesus a little more closely so as to imitate him more?

h. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read Exodus, chapter 12 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

TAKING THE STRESS OFF OF SELF AND TRULY HELPING OTHERS

+ The preservation of self is part of human nature

- and Jesus, fully human, was part of that

- in this Gospel, telling the people he helped not to make him known,

- but the important thing to see is that Jesus still helped them

- even though he was in danger of death—and he knew it—he took the time to help the people he loved:

He cured them all.

+ The thought is a good one to think about

- even though we tend to be selfish in our outlooks—and we should be because the Lord has told us to take care of ourselves—we still have to take time for others, to help them as best we can

+ We know about preservation of self

- everyone of us is into it

- we protect ourselves

- and there is nothing wrong with that

- but sometimes that self-preservation takes us to the point of forgetting about helping others

- we don’t like to be disturbed from our own routine

- someone else can help others

- yes, there are people who need cured, helped, but I have my own problems

+ The Christian thing to do is to work on behalf of others, even though we have to be concerned about ourselves

- and do something about it—Jesus cured them all

+ One more thought from the liturgy, this time from book of Exodus

- the Israelites were helped by the Lord as they left Egypt

-and the author says that they had to remember the experience, and so they keep the feast of Passover to this very day

- we have to work at remembering what the Lord has done for us

- he has cured us as well as taught us to care for others

- we have to always keep in mind what the Lord has done for us as we take the time to care for or help others

+ Other people are important in our Christian tradition

- and so are we

- and we all have been cured by the Lord in some form or another

- as we remember that, we have to learn to take the stress off of self sufficiently to be concerned about helping others.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Hey Mama" -- David Guetta featuring
Nicki Minaj & Afrojack

DO NOT WORRY

The Gospel

MATTHEW 6:30-34

MATTHEW 6:30-34

Jesus said, "If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil."

Gospelthink: If you seek the kingdom, that is what I want you to do, there is no need to worry about your life. Do I really try to follow the Lord in my life?

"Yes I'll be your woman, yes I'll be your baby. Yes I'll be whatever that you tell me when you're ready. Yes I'll be your girl, forever your lady. You ain't ever gotta worry, I'm down for you baby. Beating the drum, I like the dirty rhythm you play; I wanna hear you callin' my name, like, hey mama, I know you want it in the worst way; I wanna hear you callin' my name, like, hey mama. Be my woman girl, I'll be your man."

The dictionary definition names "worry" to be an emotion of a negative nature about real or imagined issues. Falling into the category of a real issue is romantic love because one can never read the mind of another, and therefore, it will always "worry" a person whether the other in the relationship is true or not. Such is the thought of the song from DJ David Guetta featuring Nikki Minaj and Afrojack, "Hey Mama." Offsetting the concern is the lady in the relationship who says directly "You ain't ever gotta worry."

Jesus spoke of worrying often in the Gospels because one of his favorite phrases to people was "Do not be afraid." He was speaking one time about the worry that people naturally have about the physical things in life--food, drink, clothing, the future, the evil around them. He told them that they did not have to worry about those things as long as they were seeking what the Kingdom of God should mean to them in their lives.

The necessary prerequisite for no worry in both romantic love and love of God lies in a conditional "if." If there is true love to begin with, then it stands to reason that there will be no worry. In the natural sphere it is translated as true concern. If there is true concern and communication for the person in the relationship, there will be no worry about the relationship. In the spiritual sphere, it is seeking the Kingdom of God. If a person is truly looking for the Kingdom of God, as Jesus says, there will be no worry about the necessities of life.

Controlling natural and spiritual worry depends, therefore, on how well we carry out the "if" statements. In the song "Hey Mama," if both parties are truly concerned about the other in the relationship and communicate with each other and remain in such a state, then there will be no worry--the relationship will lead to a happy future. Likewise, if people adhere to the principles of the Kingdom of Jesus, there will be no worry about a happy eternal future: it will be theirs.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, one of the problems of human nature is that we tend to "worry" about our futures. Help us to learn to trust in you so that we will learn how to truly love, and thus have no need to worry . Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: The way to be devoted to another is to never give him/her any worry.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Give your own definition of the "Kingdom of God." See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 2816-2821.
2. In your opinion, do most Christian people truly seek to follow the Kingdom of God in their lives? Yes or no and why?
3. The song uses the word "forever." In your opinion, do most people mean "for all time" when they say "forever"? Yes or no and why?
4. The idea of "callin' my name." In your opinion, is there good communication between most married couples? Yes or no and why?
5. In your opinion, what is the most cause for "worry" in our world?
6. In your present situation, what can you do about the answer to number 5?
7. What does the song "Hey Mama" teach young people?