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March 27

[media presntation below]

GospelThink

Thursday, March 27, Lent III

LUKE 11:14-23

I tell the religious leaders and you that the Kingdom of God is upon you.

Prayerthoughts
a. The Lord was in control of the evil. I too am in control of the evil in my life if I call upon the Lord to help. Do I continually call on the Lord to be present in my life?

b. Some people misunderstood Jesus whether deliberately or not. Am I patient with the people who do not understand what I am trying to accomplish?

c. Jesus realized the fact that nothing can be accomplished if a group is divided. In general, do I try to bring about unity in the places where I am?

d. Other people were exorcists in Jesus time. Jesus controls evil by the hand of God. Is it evident by my life that I call on God in what I do?

e. As I study the good and evil in my life, can I show evidence, say yesterday, that I have chosen the good?

f. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read Jeremiah, chapter 7 and write
an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

LISTENING TO THE LORD

+ The idea of listening is presented to us today:

- Jeremiah: if the people listen, then God will be God

- but they did not listen

- and as a matter of fact, they will not listen to you, Jeremiah, the Lord tells him

- you are to call them on it and say: this is a nation that does not listen

- the Gospel: the crowds, mainly the religious leaders, did not want to listen to Jesus

- and so they set up “straw” arguments, the whole Beelzebul accusation

- they simply did not want to listen

+ A couple of things about listening to God for anyone interested in the spiritual life from these readings:

1 – we do not listen well to difficult words

- as with Jeremiah

- difficult words are never met with open arms

- when people live lives that speak God’s desires

- when people try to bring God into their work setting

- they will meet resistance

2 – from the Gospel, as the crowds, we make up reasons not to listen to what Jesus says in the Scriptures

- we may not be accusing Jesus of consorting with evil,

- but it may be things like “I’m too busy”, “I’ve got important other things to do”, “I don’t understand the Scriptures”, etc.

- human nature does not like to hear criticism of itself, and therefore we will make up excuses not to listen to difficult words

- the fact is that we should be listening to the words of Scripture, and often we are not

3 – Jesus’ closing words bring to mind the strength of evil

- if evil overcomes us—in molding our minds in jealousy, complaining, hurting others, etc.

- it can be stronger than the thoughts that should be in our lives

- and we will become evil even though we might profess goodness

- we absolutely need the Lord’s help

+ Listening to the Lord is a must before any conviction can happen, before true spirituality can develop.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "How Long" -- Charlie Puth

TELL ME HONESTLY

The Gospel

MATTHEW 26:20-25

MATTHEW 26:20-25

When it was evening, Jesus reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”

Gospelthink: My betrayer Judas bothered me so much that I told all the disciples that it would happen. I haven't totally betrayed the Lord, but have I turned away at times?

"She said, 'Boy, tell me honestly. Was it real or just for show?' She said, 'Save your apologies, I just gotta know. How long has this been going on?'" The man admits it is his fault, and she is just about to leave if it continues to be a problem.

The study between Judas and Jesus in the New Testament Scriptures is an interesting one. Judas was a confidant of Jesus as can be seen in that Jesus chose him to be the keeper of their necessary money. One would also assume that as one of Jesus' disciples, he cured people and preached the Kingdom of God as the Lord had instructed. What the Lord wanted from him was loyalty and most of all honesty. At the Last Supper, Judas could have admitted his fault and been honest with Jesus. If he had, quite literally, Christian history would have changed.

In Charlie Puth's song "How Long," after the man had made a mistake, his girlfriend wants to know whether it is the end of the relationship or not. She asks him to tell him "honestly." If he responds in an honest way, they will be able to discuss the future of the relationship. If he does not, she should probably get out of the relationship forever. She has "gotta know," she says, and in a true relationship, both should know the honest feelings of the other.

Perhaps one of the most common faults of young people is not telling the truth.They usually are not large lies, but ones that are often named "harmless." Sometimes they are harmless and no one gets hurt except maybe the one who tells the lie. The one who tells the lie often can develop a habit of telling lies, and in the end becomes less of a person as a result.

Telling lies is not only a fault of young people, of course. Adults also fall into the habit, and for them, most of the time, it is not harmless. Generally speaking, adults fully understand what they are doing when they tell a lie. Often the lie is nothing more than a cover-up for an action that they do not want to admit, or a way to make themselves appear better than they are.

Honesty is an important quality for a romantic relationship as can be seen from Charlie Puth's song, but as one studies Jesus and Judas, we learn that it is an important quality for all of our lives.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Your Son wanted honesty from all of his disciples, a desire that we should be aware of as we study His life. May we have the grace to accept honesty as a virtue that we practice all the time. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDELINES FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: The most important part of communication is being honest with the other.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What is the greatest sin that human beings commit today? Why?
2. When is the best time to give up on a relationship?
3. Besides honesty what are some other characteristics of good communication?
4. From your understanding of the Scriptures, what was Judas' main problem?
5. What was the main difference between Judas and the rest of the Apostles?
6. In your opinion, are there some exceptions when a person does not have to tell the truth?
7. If a person finds himself/herself constantly lying about some issue, what is the best remedy to correct it?
8. What is your definition of "being an honest person"?
9. What does the song “How Long” teach young people today?