TGIMMwant

March 24

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, March 24, Lent V

JOHN 8:21-30

I AM

Prayerthoughts

a. Jesus tells the Jews that they will live and die without believing in Jesus. Granted that I believe in Jesus, does it show in my words, actions and thoughts?

b. Jesus makes the distinction of what is below and what is above. What percentage of time during a week do I spend on things that are “below”—the things of this earth? And what percentage of time a week do I spend on “God-ly” things?

c. The expression “I AM” is a direct statement that Jesus is God (the name given by God to Moses). I am obviously convinced that Jesus is God. What material things have people treated as “god” in our world, and have I given in to them?

d. Jesus says that he has much to say in condemnation. What things that I do, say or think should be condemned?

e. When Jesus is “lifted up” is a reference to Jesus’s crucifixion. It is then that they would realize that he is God. “Realize” is a good word for meditation. As I study my faith, what should I realize most of all?

f. Jesus tells the Jews that the Father is always with him. God is always with me. What effect should that fact have on me?

g. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read Numbers 21:4-9 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

WHAT IS BELOW AND WHAT IS ABOVE

+ The theology of the liturgy today is the theology of Jesus’s redemption

- the Book of Numbers: God’s directive to mount a serpent on a pole and then everyone who looks on will be saved, is a clear statement of the future cross on which Jesus was to die

- and Jesus’s statement: when you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM

- and the theological reasoning: we will die unless we come to believe in the Lord Jesus

+ Believing in the Lord Jesus, according to Jesus in John’s Gospel is a matter of belonging to what is above

- and it presents a good thought for meditation on our spiritual life

- the contrast between belonging to what is below and to what is above

- what is below breeds selfishness

- what is above breeds holiness

+What is below---

- what John keeps referring to as “the world”

- is our concentration on what the world holds as important?

- namely, the rise of power, pleasure and money

- how much emphasis do we place on these things in our daily living?

+ What is above---

- namely, our whole involvement with God, that is, our spiritual development

- our real desire to place the Gospel virtues into action in our lives

+ The problem involved in this contrast is that we want what is above, but we’re not willing to sacrifice what is below

- that is the continual problem of Christianity, especially us in first world Christianity

- we want what Jesus promises us, but we’re not willing to do much about it that deals with sacrifice

+ The Israelite people had to look on the seraph serpent mounted on a pole in order to live

- that is the type of urgency that you and I should develop for the spiritual life

- an urgency in which we are willing to sacrifice what is below for what is above.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Birds of a Feather” – Billie Eilish

ARE YOU SURE?

The Gospel

MATTHEW 19:3-6

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said, ‘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: Married couples should keep their word and live together forever.

“I want you to stay 'til I'm in the grave 'til I rot away, dead and buried, ‘til I'm in the casket you carry. If you go, I'm goin' too 'cause it was always you and if I'm turnin' blue, please don't save me. Nothin' left to lose without my baby. Birds of a feather we should stick together. And I don't know what I'm cryin' for; I don't think I could love you more. It might not be long, but I'll love you 'til the day that I die, ‘til the light leaves my eyes, ‘til the day that I die.”

Sarah and Wayne will never forget their wedding day for several reasons, but especially how it started with the Church ceremony. They had asked a friend of Sarah’s mother to be the minister of their wedding in the local Methodist church. Everything was going as planned up until their answer to the question, “Will you love and honor each other as long as you both shall live.” They had answered as they had been instructed with the words “We will.” It was after that that things became different from anything they had ever expected.

The minister was supposed to say to them to join their hands for the vows as they had practiced, but he let everything become quiet. He didn’t say a word, almost like he forgot what he was to say. Then, after about 30 seconds—it seemed like 30 minutes to them and everyone in church—the minister looked at both of them directly and said “Are you sure?” And he went on to say that this was their last chance before they died to make a choice of a partner for life. “You’d better be certain,” he said, “or your life will be miserable.”

Jesus did not have the occasion to offer a lesson as the minister did, but He meant the same. If you are going to be married, you have one choice to make and that is all you get. There is no such thing as divorce. Billie Eilish’s song “Birds of a Feather” is the statement of the choice that the person in song is making, and it is exactly what Jesus commanded in his words. Speaking the choice, they say, “I’ll love you til the day that I die.”

One is not certain of the setting of the words of the song, but it sounds like wedding vows. And if both of them mean it, the choice is made forever. Perhaps if more weddings were celebrated with the words inserted in the ceremony, “Are you sure,” the word “forever” might mean more than it does in every marriage ceremony.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we pray for people who are married. May they live and love as true partners for life. Be with them, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: The word “forever” must mean something.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Birds of a Feather" teach young people?

2. In today’s custom, is the church service the most important part of a wedding day?

3. What is most needed to make a marriage happy and why?

4. If a person chooses to have a divorce, what is most needed for the person?

5. In the song, it is presumed that both people agree on the thought “til I die.” Is it possible that one of the couples might not think that way? Yes or no and why?

6. In your opinion, does getting a divorce affect a person’s attitude toward life? Yes or no and why?

7. What can be done to help a person who has gone through a recent divorce?