may 23

May 23

[media presentation below]

Gospelthink

Saturday, May 23, Easter Weekday

JOHN 21:20-25

There are so many things that I have said that are not recorded.

Prayerthoughts
a. “The one whom Jesus loved” is an apostle usually identified as John the apostle although it may not be. Peter is thinking of that apostle in this passage. It may have been jealousy on his part. Is there any jealousy of others in my life right now?

b. Peter’s thought of the other apostle may have been one of admiration. Who is the person I most admire right now and why?

c. Jesus responds that Peter should follow him and not be concerned about anyone else. Do we spend too much time thinking about what others should or should not be doing, judging them in the process?

d. Are we critical of God in our thinking, and instead of thanking God for God’s gifts, we criticize with the thought that God should not be working in such a way?

e. The Lord’s directive: “You follow me.” Where in my life should I follow the Lord more?

f. The evangelist says that the whole world would not be able to contain the books written about him. If I were to write a book about Jesus, what are some of the titles I might use?

g. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read the Acts of the Apostles 28:16-20 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE CLOSE OF THE GOSPELS

+ As we close out the Easter season, the Liturgy discusses three close followers of the Lord—

- Paul, closing off his life of discipleship in prison, but a not a confining prison—

- he was free to preach and gather the Christians to speak to them

- he later was to die according to tradition under the persecution of the emperor Nero

- Peter and the apostle whom Jesus loved just before the Lord ascended into heaven

- Peter jealously looking at the other apostle, perhaps hoping that that other apostle will have the same fate as him

- and Jesus’s rather brusque statement to him that it is not his concern

- his concern was to follow the Lord: “You follow me”

+ And the liturgy gives us the close of John’s Gospel epilogue with a statement about what Jesus did and why

- “There are many other things that Jesus did…”

- the unwritten words are that Jesus’s character will never be matched

- studying Jesus from such an exalted point of view would lead a person to say that in John's opinion, no one would ever be able to define his character

- studying him from what he said and did in the world, one would have to say that no one loved people and cared for people the way he did

+ All of that can lead to a couple of conclusions as we anticipate the Holy Spirit’s presence with us tomorrow at Pentecost

1 – Paul was active at preaching the Christian message up to the very end of his life, never giving up even though he was in prison

- important for us to see that we are called as was Paul to “preach” the word by our lives, our thoughts, words and actions

- always making the Lord’s presence known in some way

2 – I think we should listen closely to Jesus’s somewhat of a rebuke to the impetuous Peter, namely “You follow me”

- our human natures have a tendency to judge others as we are going through something difficult

- we want others to feel the same, feel sorry for us or whatever

- the Lord’s statement to us—you follow the Lord’s teachings at every moment of your life and let God worry about others even as we pray for all

3 – the close of John’s Gospel is a great statement of the importance of Jesus in a Christian’s life

- the lesson for us is that we do not allow other things to be more important in our lives

- and we all know how difficult that is, given our world of plenty

+ The closing words of the last Gospel that was written give us the courage to proclaim that we are indeed a follower of Jesus.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Cake by the Ocean" -- DNCE

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

The Gospel

LUKE 4:1-4

LUKE 4:1-4

Filled with the holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

Gospelthink: The devil tempted me to satisfy myself. Do I tend to give in to my selfish desires too much?

"Oh no, see you walking 'round like it's a funeral. Not so serious, girl. You’re a real life fantasy, but you're moving so carefully; let's start living dangerously. Let's lose our minds and go crazy. I keep on hoping we'll eat cake by the ocean. See you licking frosting from your own hands, want another taste, I'm begging, ‘Yes, ma'am.’ I'm tired of all this candy on the dry land.”

If there is an encouraging part of Jesus's temptations before he began his public ministry, it may be that he was tempted. As we accept Jesus as our primary guide, we realize that he was tempted just as we are. Perhaps the first temptation as recorded in the Gospels had to do with something that everyone of us desires in some way, namely pleasure. Eating would be pleasurable especially after fasting for a significant time. The devil tempted Jesus by telling him to give in to the feeling of pleasure. Jesus teaches us a lesson as he dismisses the devil.

During Jesus' life with us, he obviously had pleasure in eating, drinking, having friends, helping others with his power, and so forth. But it must be noted that he was always in control, never allowing too much pleasure to dominate his thinking. One of the aspects of the songs of pleasure that are produced today is that enjoying ourselves a lot may be a good guide. Such is the thought of DNCE's song "Cake by the Ocean." The man in the song implores his girlfriend to "live dangerously," to "lose our minds," and to "go crazy." By any standard, such a description may imply going "too far" and wanting "too much" in the way we are living.

Jesus' reminder that we do not live by bread alone can easily be interpreted to mean that feeling good as a sole means of living happily leaves much to be desired. Pleasure and having a good time is part of our desire in life, even a necessary part of our desire. But too much can only lead to emptiness. Cake is enjoyable; but too much cake will make us sick.

Perhaps our goal as we live the life that God has given to us is to truly enjoy ourselves, but never to enjoy ourselves in such a way that we may cause hurt to ourselves or others.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we are tempted to give ourselves to too much of a good thing. May we learn the lesson that Your Son gives us, and enjoy what you have given us, but never in a way that causes pain. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Pleasure is a true force in people's lives, but we must understand that sometimes it is dangerous.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. The Spirit was active in Jesus' life. How do we see the Spirit working in today's world?
2. The meditation interprets the temptation to be a temptation to satisfy oneself. In our world today, how are we tempted the most?
3. Text analysis: "Cake by the ocean." In DNCE's explanation of the song, the phrase refers to "Sex on the beach." In your opinion, why are many of the songs of our current culture so deliberately explicit in their content?
4. Do you believe that a song such as this affects our young people in a significant way? Yes or no and why?
5. Do you believe that Jesus was tempted "just as we are"? Yes or no and why?
6. In your opinion, are there a lot of people in our world who give in to too much pleasure? Yes or no and why?
7. Why do you think the meditation says that "pleasure" is a necessary part of our lives?
8. Give an example of a situation in which "enjoyment" was a harm to oneself or others.
9. What does the song "Cake by the Ocean" teach young people?