january16

June 22
[media presentation below] GospelThink Monday, June 22 MATTHEW 7:1-5 The Wooden Beam Prayerthoughts a. How much do I judge others? Do I take the time to pray for them when I know that I am judging them? b. As I study my thinking when I judge others, what primarily am I judging them about? Why? c. As I think of myself seriously, what do I consider my main fault? What in particular can I do about it? d. Do I try to “see clearly” in every situation in which I am involved? e. My prayerthoughts…. Today, I will read 2 Kings 17:5-8,13-15a,18e and write an imporant thought from it.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy TO SEE CLEARLY + One of the keys to the serious spiritual life is given to us by Jesus as Matthew closes off the Sermon on the Mount - namely, to be able to see clearly - the context of the statement is very important because the Lord is talking about how we pass judgment on others - we definitely have to pass judgment at times - but Jesus’s point: we have to be able to clearly see in order to do it *- if we see clearly, then* we can take the speck out of our brother’s and sister’s eye + Some thoughts might be in order to understand what “seeing clearly” means - to do it, we have to get rid of the plank in our own eye - anyone who thinks about the conduct of another automatically must first consider his/her own behavior if we are to follow Jesus’s directives - it should be automatic for the Christian - and more often than not, the true Christian will see that his/her behavior leaves much to be desired, even in the area where the judgment is made + Seeing clearly also involves a true understanding that we have sinned - the message of the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 2 Kings (- it will be the same message of the Babylonian captivity which is upcoming in the Israelite history) - the Israelites sinned against God, and therefore were punished - Jesus corrected that mentality of “God punishing” - but whether God punishes or not, we still sin - and we must acknowledge it - and it must be sincere - our sins may not be specific, although more often than not, they are, especially in our speech - but we always know that we have the tendency to sin, and we must acknowledge that sinfulness before God + Our prayer today is to see clearly - to see clearly in order to make our judgments well - to see clearly that we have a tendency to sin and must ask for forgiveness.**
MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: "Royals" -- Lorde WE'LL NEVER BE ROYALS

The Gospel

LUKE 12:16-21

Then Jesus told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God."

Gospelthink: You must curb your desire for more and more wealth. Have I placed riches and money too high in my life?

"I’ve never seen a diamond in the flesh, I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies, and I’m not proud of my address in the torn-up town, no post code envy. But every song’s like gold teeth, grey goose, ball gowns, trashin’ the hotel room. We don’t care, we’re driving Cadillacs in our dreams. But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your time piece. We don’t care, we aren’t caught up in your love affair, and we’ll never be royals. It don’t run in our blood. That kind of lux just ain't for us. We crave a different kind of buzz. Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen Bee, and I'll rule. Let me live that fantasy."

In Jesus's mind, who was "rich in what matters to God"? He speaks of it in contrast to a person who stores up treasure for himself. Studying Jesus's life, it is not at all difficult to determine what he considers "rich." It has to do with love, love of God and love of others. He called it "his commandment," (John 15:12) and he spent his whole life living and preaching its meaning.

Translating "love" to be "romantic love," Lorde in her song "Royals" says that for the lady in the relationship, love is the "buzz" that she craves, more than the "diamonds in the flesh" that she has never seen. In fact, even though "every song" it seems, speaks of things associated with riches, she and her friends "don't care" because they are not caught up in the "love affair" of material goods that is so important to "royals," that is, those who have it all. She is caught up in being a "queen" for another.

Lorde's lesson is an important one for today's world. Jesus had a very good idea of what the world was like in his story--the people of the world often make their world the "land of more." We often want more of everything. We have a good harvest, and say it would be nice to have an even better one, to force us to build bigger barns. We love to have fun, and we say that it would be better to have "more fun,"--to eat, drink and be merry "more" than we are doing right now. We want more ipods, more ipads, more TV's, more phones, in general more enjoyment.

But what is "more" important? The lady in Lorde's song knew that romantic love was the buzz she wanted in life, and not a love affair with "royal" things. Jesus said that it was what matters for God. Life does not consist of how much we have; it is defined rather by the kind of life we are living.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son told us in striking images that what is important in life does not have anything to do with material things. Give us the grace to use the things of this world, but never to forget that love is more important than material goods. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Wanting to love is more important than material goods.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. In your opinion, why did Jesus use parables or stories so much in his preaching?
2. Jesus often criticizes the "rich" in the Gospels, as here in his story. In general, why do you think that Jesus had a difficult time with those who are "rich"?
3. What do you think is the main point of Jesus's story? How does it apply to today's world?
4. Analysis: give some examples of "what matters for God" in our world.
5. Text analysis: what is "post code envy"?
6. Text analysis: "We'll never be royals." What is your understanding of the text?
7. The meditation identifies "what matters for God" to be love. In general, do you think that love is a real "force" in today's world? Yes or no and why?
8. In general, why do most people want to be rich?
9. Thinking in today's world, who do you think Jesus had in mind with his story?
10. In general, besides love, what are the things that are more important than material goods?
11. What is the most important thing in your personal room at home? Is it expensive?
12. In our world, do you think that there are any people who "prefer" to have no riches? Yes or no and why?
13. What does the song "Royals" teach young people?