June 14

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Sunday, June 14, Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

MATTHEW 9:36–10:8

I Care about Others

Prayerthoughts

a. Jesus showed compassion toward all of those who were hurting. Are there some people in my acquaintance toward whom I should show more compassion?

b. If Jesus’s thought is to spread, more people need to be dedicated to it. Do I show enough initiative in being dedicated to spread the message of Christianity?

c. Jesus gives us something to pray for—laborers for Christianity. What are the most important prayers of petition that I should make in my life?

d. Jesus gave his Apostles authority to drive out evil. I must drive out the evil in my life. Identify the evil around me and determine a way to conquer it in my own way.

e. The Lord appointed specific people to be his Apostles. I am a person He has appointed in the sense that I am His creation. In my work, am I honoring the Lord who has created me by doing my work with love?

f. Jesus chose Judas who betrayed him. In what ways have I betrayed Jesus in the past? Perhaps this is the time to renew my asking for forgiveness.

g. Jesus restricts his Apostles to work only with Israel, the thrust of his ministry on earth. Most of my “missionary activity” will be with people whom I know. How am I treating those in my acquaintance whom I know best?

h. Jesus’s first directive is to preach the Kingdom, that is, that God is present in our world. Do I show my belief in God as I go about my daily work?

i. My prayerthoughts…

Today I will read Romans 5:6-11

and write an important thought.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

HEAL YOURSELVES!

introduction: the Gospel

+ It is important to get a feel for how Jesus is thinking in the Gospel today

- he is studying the people, wanting to help them as much as he can

- in order to it well, he realized that he needed assistance, he needed laborers

- and so he chose the Apostles

- telling them to stay in their own neighborhood to do their evangelization

- and giving them what to say and do

+ It was a difficult task: they would eventually die as they carried it out

- they discovered that in order to do it well, they needed people who would accept what they were doing, and make it part of their lives

- and that is where you and I come in: we are now the people who look our world as Jesus and the Apostles did, and want to help it as much as we can

an example: Jesus Christ Superstar

+ One of the classic productions about Jesus is the play and movie Jesus Christ Superstar—it happens to be one of my favorites—and I quote from it a lot

- in one of the scenes, Jesus is by himself after he cleanses the temple

- suddenly from all around him, injured people start to crawl toward him, singing – “See my eyes, I can hardly see; see me stand, I can hardly walk; I believe you can make me whole; see my tongue, I can hardly talk; see my skin, I’m a mass of blood; see my legs I can hardly stand; I believe you can make me well; see my purse I’m a poor poor man; will you touch, will you mend me Christ; will you kiss, you can cure me, Christ…”

- and as they sing, they inch ever closer to him

- they are all dressed in black, like spiders that are about to injure him

- and Jesus sings: “there’s too many of you, don’t push me; there’s too little of me, don’t crowd me”

- and finally in the play as they are engulfing him completely, he screams: “Heal yourselves!”

what we are called to do

+ I believe that that image is an extremely good one

- it is exactly what Jesus and the Apostles wanted to accomplish with the people who would be called Christians

- we really are responsible for healing ourselves as much as we can

- not in the sense that we become gods and completely self-centered

- but in the sense that we have to use what we have / to do the things that need to be done

- God will give us grace to direct us, help us in every way, but we have to do the action, we have to heal ourselves

how do we heal ourselves?

+ And the way that we heal ourselves?

- Jesus gives us two directives today—

- 1 – proclaim the Kingdom

- make it clear that we really believe what we are doing here

- 2 – bring about miracles in your own locale

- we can’t do anything spectacular as Jesus and the Apostles did, but we can make a difference in people’s lives

- and we do it by giving to others without expecting anything in return

- I believe that natural disasters and tragedies happen for a number of reasons

- one of them is that they provide an opportunity for miracles to happen, miracles that you and I can supply by opening ourselves to help others

conclusion: laborers

+ Jesus says in the Gospel

Ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest

- many people say that it means that we should pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life

- I think it goes much further than that—if our world is going to be led back to God

- we absolutely need more than priests and religious,

- we need all kinds of dedicated people—period—who labor for God and everything that is God-like.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Walk Me Home" -- Pink

REST FROM WHAT IS GOING ON

The Gospel

MATTHEW 11:25-30

Jesus said: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light."

Gospelthink: Some comforting words that I speak to you in particular (and everyone, of course). In my trials, have I come to the Lord the way I should?

"There's something in the way you roll your eyes, takes me back to a better time when I saw everything is good. But now you're the only thing that's good. Trying to stand up on my own two feet, the conversation ain't coming easily. And I know it's getting late, so what do you say we leave this place. Walk me home in the dead of night. I can’t be alone with all that’s on my mind. So say you’ll stay with me tonight ‘cause there is so much wrong going on outside."

A person of faith knows that love songs are quite appropriate to express the love that God has for the people of our earth. From the first moment of creation, it is clear that God loved the human race. God gave us everything that is good. And even after the human being messed things up with sin, God continued to love us through Jesus. And even further, God constantly reaches out to us through the Holy Spirit. As Jesus taught during his lifetime, therefore, God calls us to come and find rest.

Pink in her song "Walk Me Home" is looking for some type of rest and respite from "so much wrong going on outside." That wrong probably includes her relationship with her significant other in the song, saying "the conversation ain't coming easy," but it includes more than that. She can't be alone with all that is on her mind, she sings, probably signifying that she is suffering also from some type of discouragement caused by the wrong outside.

It is a double problem that she has, both her own relationship, and her experience with what might be called "the world outside." She is convinced that the other person in the relationship is going to help her conquer the negative feelings.

For the Christian, the person that should help us conquer the negative feelings is Jesus himself who tells us to come to him to find rest. It will cost a little, as he says, because there is a burden--we have to give ourselves to his judgment--but he assures us that the burden is light. One is led to believe that given our acceptance of Jesus in prayer and knowledge of his principles, we can help both the wrongs within and without.

Pink's song asks for help for herself by working with a relationship and also the world outside. Her significant other will certainly help, and together with her God help lighten any burden.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, through your Son, you promise help and rest from the burdens that hurt us. Give us the courage and grace to turn to you as well as other people as we try to improve our time here on earth. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: We must have some help when we get too discouraged with what happens in the world.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Walk Me Home" teach young people?
2. In your opinion, do most Christians believe that they can turn to God in prayer for help?
3. Why is it difficult for Christians to turn to God in prayer?
4. When are the times when we understand that "everything is good"?
5. In your opinion, what is the most significant wrong that goes on "outside"?
6. In the meditation, what does it mean that we must give ourselves to Jesus's judgment?
7. In particular, what can a friend do to help the person in the song feel better than she does?