never

June 19

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Friday, June 19

MATTHEW 6:19-23

I want to be your treasure and your light.

Prayerthoughts
a. Because of my human nature, I tend to collect the things—treasures—of earth. Do I spend too much time and energy on those things? Perhaps I should give some things to the poor.

b. I am involved in the treasures of heaven right now as I pray. Do I place trust in the Lord even as I do what I have chosen as my life’s work?

c. It is a significant statement from the Lord: “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” Do I show by my actions that I have chosen treasure in heaven as a true guide for me?

d. I should be spending time on making the eye sound, that is on the teaching of Jesus, because if I do, then there will be no darkness in my life. Which teaching of Jesus should be most important to me as I live right now?

e. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read 2 Kings 11:1-4,9-18,20 and write an important thought from it.

+++++

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION

+ The Gospel continues to consider Matthew’s arrangement of Jesus’s principal doctrines in the Sermon on the Mount

- after six moral principles, and the three religious acts of Old Testament Israelites, Matthew and Jesus go into a section on how to love God and people better

+ It is an interesting first reading as we talk about how to love God more

- we see what love is up against and the evil in the world

- this time in the person of another woman like Jezebel, Ahab’s wife

- this person is named Athaliah

- the way the evil is taken care of is by force, often the way the Old Testament explains a situation

- but extrapolating all the killing, etc.

- the story is one to be imitated in that good overcomes evil

+ Two of the images of the way good is to overcome evil is given to us in the Gospel, both saying basically the same thing

- 1 – the way to become good people is to concentrate on heavenly treasure, not earthly treasure

- 2 – the way to become good is to accept a fundamental option or a fundamental movement toward God who is light

+ The question that the liturgy puts for our consideration today probably revolves around the idea of the general direction of our lives which should be toward the good and not evil

- as you are thinking of that, may I suggest three things to consider:

- 1 – evil

- as is illustrated in the first reading, there is evil in the world, a lot of it

- you’ll see it, you’ll feel it

- people refusing to get along, people refusing to carry through on the Christian ideals

- fight it everywhere you see it

- 2 – selfishness

- that which causes the evil in our world

- we want what we want

- look at the motivation of your actions, why you do the things you do

- keep studying the Gospels to see how well you are doing with your life in a spiritual sense as well

- and 3 – make it a habit to give to each other

- I’m really convinced that the basis of the spiritual life lies in how we are giving to one another

- we can’t be evil if we are giving without expecting anything in return

- we can’t be selfish if we really want to give to other people

+ The Lord’s image of where our treasure is and the darkness that can overcome the light is important to consider

- and I suggest you consider those images in light of your involvement with evil, selfishness and giving to others.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Never Be the Same" -- Camila Cabello

WE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

The Gospel

JOHN 14:1-6

Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way." Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Gospelthink: As I told my disciples, so I tell you: I will come back for you, and in the meantime, I am the guide for you. Is it clear by my actions that the Lord is present in my life?

"Something must’ve gone wrong in my brain. Got your chemical all in my veins, feeling all the highs, feeling all the pain. Now I’m seeing red, not thinking straight, blurring all the lines, you intoxicate me, just like nicotine, heroin, morphine. Suddenly, I’m a fiend and you’re all I need. Just one hit of you. I’ll never be the same."

Camila Cabello's song “Never Be the Same" is a love song and is intended to be a statement on behalf of the one loved. The man in the relationship is all the lady needs, the woman in the song sings, and, from her point of view, if only she and he could be together for the rest of their lives, their lives would be happy, and "never be the same" as it was before their relationship. He is so important to her that he will affect the rest of her life.

This love song can enable us to turn our minds to a world that is in need of help. As we study the feelings of the lovers, we can ask the question, “What is all we need?” The Christian should answer with the thought of Scripture, “Jesus is all that we need; he is the way, the truth and the life.”

For Jesus to be real, the Christian must truly accept him as the way, truth and life with all that the phrase means. It means that we will never be the same as before we knew him. It means that we Christians will deliberately break the addiction to violence that we have; it means that we will control the pleasure that can get out of hand; it means that we will not allow money to be a god for us; it means that Christians will accept the personal responsibility to change some of their sinful behaviors.

After the tragedies that have happened in our world, after the terrorism attacks and the killings in schools, after the retaliatory wars that are initiated, we wonder whether we are recognizing that we have a problem. The problem may be simply that we are lost and that we have accepted no direction from anyone besides ourselves. Every Christian must acknowledge that Jesus and what he has given to us is the solution. He really is the way, the truth and the life. He is “all that we need.”

Love songs can easily teach us how to look at our world. As lovers realize what each of them mean to each other, they understand that each will have a noticeable affect on how each of them thinks. They are guided by their love. When a Christian looks at the world, and they are guided by the love that they have for the Lord, the world will change and never be the same as before they knew about him.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, as we study the love songs of our day, may we learn that Your Son has shown us Your love and therefore we can never be the same once we know You. Your Son is the truth that we accept. It is His life that we should imitate. Help us see that we must accept Him totally into our lives. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: When a person is important to us, that person will have an effect on us.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. In your opinion, have most Christians honestly chosen Jesus as the way, the truth and the life? Yes or no and why?
2. What do most couples need in a loving relationship?
3. In our past, what are some things that affect the rest of our lives?
4. What does the world need most?
5. How does a Christian bring the teaching of Jesus to the world?
6. In your opinion, will the world ever accept completely the teaching of Jesus? Why or why not?
7. What does the song "Never be the Same" teach young people?