june 10

June 10

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Wednesday, June 10

MATTHEW 5:17-19
I call you to obey all of the commandments.

Prayerthoughts
a. The law of Jesus fulfills the Ten Commandments given to Moses. Therefore, I should know the Commandments and what they mean in light of Jesus’s words.

b. We should recognize the law of Jesus to be of paramount importance. List the three statements of Jesus that I should pay most attention to.

c. Most scholars would say that the law of Jesus was primarily the law of love. How do I rate my life right now in terms of love of God and others?

d. The Lord refers to scandal as he talks of how people obey his law. Is there any time in my life in which I scandalize others?

e. The two parts of being “great” in Jesus’s eyes are a person who “obeys” the law and “teaches” the law. Do I see myself as doing these two directives?

f. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read 1 Kings 18:20-39 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

FOLLOWING THE LAW OF JESUS

+ The great miracle story of the first book of Kings is the story of God’s response to Elijah

- even under what Elijah set up as impossible circumstances

- it leads to the response that “The Lord is God” and automatically leads to an answer of the opening question of the reading: Who do you follow?

- you follow the God who answers you

+ Specifically, the God who answers the Christian is the God of Jesus

- who has a certain reverence for the law

- this is the most controversial passage of the Sermon on the Mount

- no Christian Church would keep all 613 Old Testament laws

- this passage is also directly contradictory to Paul’s writings who was strong in the way that he spoke and wrote against the Jewish law

- Matthew was more aware of the Jewish Christian than Paul and therefore he has Jesus be more respectful of the law than the other early Christian writers

+ The spiritual meaning of the readings for us lies in the question:

- who do we follow?

- an important question for the Christian of today’s world

- because that world is full of answers like power, pleasure and money—what I call all the time a “complicated world”

- if indeed we do follow Jesus as everyone of us professes,

- then the law of Jesus will be of particular concern and receive the highest priority for us

- the law of Jesus in the six cases that will be brought up in the Sermon on the Mount in the next couple of days in the Gospel

- the law of Jesus as given later on to love God and love neighbor

- the law of Jesus as a general rule of life

+ That idea of choosing some kind of guide is an important one in life

- I hope to introduce you to my website and my thinking as a youth minister sometime while you are here if those who control your life will let me

- but I think modern movies and music are a great source of discovery of what our lives should be

- with regard to choosing a guide, I think of the last series of movies by George Lucas of “Star Wars” and in particular the last one which documents Anakin Skywalker’s choice to be Darth Vader

- it had to do with a choice and being a guide

- and he chose to follow the dark side

+ The guide we choose becomes perhaps the single most important action that a person makes

- luckily, we can alter that choice as we grow and make it stronger

- we pray for that, we work for that.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Stargazing" – Myles Smith

COME ALIVE

The Gospel

Mark 10:5-9

But Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation,’ God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”

Gospelthink: Marriage is such an important choice because it is a decision that God will always bless.

“Time stood still, just like a photograph; you made me feel like this would last forever. Lookin' in your eyes, I see my whole life. They say you know it when you know it and I know. Promise that you'll hold me close, don't let me go. Take my heart, don't break it; love me to my bones. All this time I've wasted; you were right there all along, you and I stargazin', intertwinin' souls. We were never strangers; I lose my mind when I'm around you; how I come alive. When I'm without you I can't help but feel so lost. I wanna give you all I've got.”

How do we come alive? That is a deep question that can be asked of just about any situation that involves having a good time, certainly the situation of romantic love. Jesus spoke of romantic love leading to marriage, speaking of the two becoming one flesh, being joined together by God. In that case in Jesus’s eyes the two can “come alive” for life.

As we move into modern times, many people say that the only way to come alive is have all the latest gadgetry and technological marvels that make our lives so interesting. Those people become so wrapped up in these material things that they forget about the really important things in life, things like the type of character we are or the type of person we should be.

As Jesus in the first century, many people define that coming alive in light of another whom they love in a romantic way. Such is the song “Stargazing” by Myles Smith. “Time stood still,” he sings, “just like a photograph; you made me feel like this would last forever. Lookin’ in your eyes, I see my whole life. They say you know it when you know it—and I know. You and I stargazin’, intertwinin’ souls—we were never strangers; I lose my mind when I’m around you: how I come alive!”

He says that when you know that you are in love, then you really know and that knowledge will make him come alive. The secret, of course, is “really knowing” that the love is present. It is a secret that can only come out after the two have spent sufficient time and energy on developing the love.

A significant portion of our world live are “married” in one form or another and are looking for the feeling of coming alive to life. The good news is that it can happen and does happen often; the bad news is that not enough couples spend the time and energy necessary to truly know that the love is there.

Perhaps they should spend as much time on their relationships as they spend on the material things that make them come alive.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, in my romantic relationships, I want to “come alive.” Give me the grace to truly know my partner so that the love can be real. Be with me, I pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: When people are in love, they both “come alive” to life.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Stargazing" teach young people?

2. In your opinion, do most people think of marriage the way Jesus thought of it? Yes or no and why?

3. In your opinion, how do most people “come alive” in their lives?

4. Is it true that most people get too wrapped up in material things? Yes or no and why?

5. The song makes the point of saying that when one knows that he/she is in love, then they will know it. What is the meaning and is it true? Yes or no and why?

6. The meditation defines what “really knowing that one is in love” means. Do young people about to be married communicate with each other the way they should? Yes or no and why?