June 16

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, June 16

MATTHEW 5:43-48

I say it directly to you: love even your enemies.

Prayerthoughts
a. This has been called “the unique” doctrine of the Christian, to love one’s enemies. In general, do I “love” those who disagree with my way of thinking, even though they disagree with me and would never “love” me?

b. There are a number of believers in God, especially in special circumstances such as war, who still believe that they should do harm to enemies. I should pray for them as well.

c. “Pray for those who persecute you.” Generally, I do not have persecutors as such, but I should think in terms of the early Christians or those who are persecuted in our world. Would I have the thought to pray for them?

d. The reasoning behind loving everyone is that God created everyone. I should look at all creation as God’s gift. I should take the time to praise our God for creation.

e. I should think in terms of doing “more” than merely acknowledging them. I should “love” them. Studying my actions with others, say yesterday, did I show that I truly accepted them as people that I “loved”?

f. Jesus tells me to be perfect as God is. As a human, obviously I cannot accomplish that, but do I come close to it in the way I speak, act and think?

g. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read 1 Kings 21:17-29 and write
an important thought from it.

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Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

GENEROSITY AND LOVE OF OTHERS

+ There are many virtues that “prove” that we are the offspring of God,

- that is, that we really want God to be part of our lives

- two of them are mentioned here in today’s liturgy

- both essential to the spiritual life, both among the most difficult things to accomplish as we strive to follow Jesus’s directive to be…

…perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

- that directive is obviously an ideal since we will never reach it, but we can have it as a goal, something that we are always striving for, and realizing that we will never quite reach it

+ Of the two virtues mentioned today, the first comes from the letter to the Corinthians: the Christian directive to be generous

- Paul writing about the churches of Macedonia: “they gave themselves first to the Lord.”

- giving of what we have

- giving of time, talent and treasure to God who has given to us so much through the Son

- and the reason for this “giving” must be completely understood

- we are giving of what we have, not because we are being kind or even generous

- but because we are absolutely convinced that we are alive and well because of God, and therefore we must give back to God in some way, somehow, and in a significant manner

- it is a matter of justice

- we owe God, and therefore we must be generous

+ The Gospel gives us the second virtue of the Christian to consider today: honest love of others, this coming from the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount—

- he has spoken of anger, adultery, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and now love of enemies

- most of us can love those who love us

- that is easy enough, but it is not so easy to love those who don’t love us

- those who would be categorized as “enemy”

- people who do not agree with us

- people who do not like our families

- people who have spoken out against us

- people upon whom our natural tendencies is to take revenge

- people who continue to “not like” us

+ Two virtues that deserve some serious meditation are presented to us today

- they might serve as a practical gateway to the way of perfection:

- generosity and true love of everyone, even enemies.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "How Do I Say Goodbye"--Dean Lewis
LOVE OF PARENTS

The Gospel

LUKE 2:51-52

Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

Gospelthink: As I finished off my young years, I was obedient to my parents.

"Early morning, there’s a message on my phone. It’s my mother saying, ‘please come home’. I fear the worst, how could you leave us all behind? There’s so much to say but there’s so little time. So how do I say goodbye to someone who’s been with me for my whole life? You gave me my name and the color of your eyes. I see your face when I look at mine. When I couldn’t, you always saw the best in me. So, how do I say goodbye. And I saw the way she looked into your eyes, and I promise if you go, I will make sure she's alright."

It is interesting to study the close of St. Luke's "infancy section" of his Gospel with the thought of how Jesus reacted with his parents in his young years. Luke simply reports that Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor. Case in point: part of that wisdom that he learned was no doubt a love of his parents. Being a devout Jewish person, he had to be aware of the directive of the Book of Deuteronomy, "Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." (Deut 5:16) Such a study means that as he grew, he was most concerned about his father and mother.

Interestingly enough, a popular song gives the same counsel to the singer's life. Dean Lewis in his song "How Do I Say Goodbye" speaks in a sense of a deep love of his father and mother, a love no doubt that directed his life as he grew up, but especially as his parents became older. The song is directed toward his father, but he also includes his mother and his love of her.

Dean Lewis must have realized how hard his parents had tried with him. He understood that he and indeed all of young people did not come out of the womb with instructions. Like any young person, he probably had given his parents a rough time. As often expressed by adults, he may have been responsible for the gray hairs that were part of their lived life. He also understood that his parents at times did not do what was best for him. They made mistakes as they directed him, but he understood also that he had caused some of the problems.

The song does not mention the "problems" of his growing up or the "problems" of parenthood, but given the nature of families today, he must have realized what his life with his parents was like and what it should have been. And with the song, he is telling them how much he has loved them, and that he wants to take care for them as they get older.

It is an excellent "call to others" to do the same for their parents.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we all have families, and we all have parents who have been part of our lives. If they have passed, we pray for eternal life for them. If they are still alive, we ask for the grace to help us understand their needs especially when they get older. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: We must remember our parents and help them if they are still alive.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "How Do I Say Goodbye" teach young people?
2. What do you think Jesus's early life was like?
3. What do our parents need most from their children?
4. [personal suggestion] Perhaps it would be a good idea to write a love note to one's father and mother.
5. In your opinion, do most young people understand their parents and the situations of their lives? Yes or no and why?
6. If there was only one thing that everyone should say to their parents (besides the obvious "thank you"), what would it be?
7. What is your opinion about placing parents in nursing homes or the like?