May 28

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Wednesday, May 28

JOHN 16:12-15

The Spirit that I will send will instruct you.

Prayerthoughts
a. The apostles were not ready to hear the complete message of Jesus. I have the advantage of having the whole message. As I study the Christian message, what are the most important messages and how do they apply to me?

b. The Holy Spirit will guide us to truth, meaning the truth of Jesus. But speaking in general of truth, am I a truthful person always? What are the times when I am not truthful and honest?

c. The Holy Spirit will guide us to the message of Jesus. What are the different guides to my life right now? The Christian message should be the most important guide, but is it truly? Who or what do I truly follow?

d. Once we have received the Christian message, we will be part of the Trinity—God, Son and Spirit. Do my actions, say yesterday, show that I am truly part of God’s direction?

e. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will list the different guides that I have in my life right now.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

KEEPING OURSELVES IN JESUS’ NAME

+ Today’s Gospel is taken from what Scripture scholars call Jesus’ high priestly prayer to his Father

- Jesus prays for his apostles and by extension, all of us, saying:

I do not ask that you take them out of the world.

- it is quite a significant statement because for John who is recording Jesus’ words here, the world is not good at all, and in fact, evil

- therefore, we are called to remain in the world, but all of us are called to be holy as well

- Jesus again:

Keep them in your name.

- in terms of spirituality, we are all to remain in God’s name, that is, all of us are called to be holy, even as we stay in the world

+ And, if a person is going to do this well, if a person is to stay in the world and at the same time develop a deeper spiritual life, I believe that there are certain things that have to be done

- every liturgy of the Word—that is the readings of the Mass—suggest something to be done to remain in Jesus’ name

- there are actually several things to help us, but today’s readings might suggest these:

- if you are going to remain in Jesus’ name while we are in this world,

- 1 – from the reading from Acts, we must work hard to “help the weak” as Luke writes

- and the way that you do that, according to Luke, is to remember one of the principal doctrines that Jesus gave us: “It is more blessed to give than to receive”

- we have to learn to give of ourselves to others

- really one of the more difficult virtues to develop well in life

- 2 – a second way to develop a spiritual life for all of us comes from John’s Gospel again and might be phrased: you must have the truth

- Jesus prays about that on behalf of his Apostles and us in the high priestly prayer in the Gospel:

Consecrate them in the truth--your word is truth.

- the “word” is, of course, Scripture,

- the Scriptures must be read and assimilated and acted upon

+ So, while we develop a spiritual life, Jesus prays that we not be taken out of the world

- and we set about developing the spiritual life by giving of ourselves and reading closely the Lord’s word in Scripture.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "As It Was" -- Harry Styles

IT'S JUST US

Te Gospel

LUKE 13:1-5

LUKE 13:1-5

Some people who were present there told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did."

Gospelthink: Accidents happen; it is not a sign of punishment. It is a sign to be aware that you need to repent, and there is still time. How much time do I spend on improving my life?

“Holdin' me back, gravity's holdin' me back. I want you to hold out the palm of your hand. Why don't we leave it at that? Nothin' to say when everything gets in the way. Seems you cannot be replaced and I'm the one who will stay. In this world, it's just us. Answer the phone, "Harry, you're no good alone. Why are you sitting at home on the floor? What kind of pills are you on?" Ringin' the bell, and nobody's coming to help. Your daddy lives by himself. He just wants to know that you're well. In this world, it's just us. You know it's not the same as it was."

Studying Harry Styles' song "As It Was" is an interesting endeavor. According to the people who write about such things as they study a song, the song is about his relationship with fame and how his life is not "the same as it once" since he has entered the public eye. That certainly is a plausible explanation. But there may be another way to interpret it.

There is no doubt that something in the person in the song's life has called for a change. "In this world," he sings, "there's just us." He has had a relationship with something or someone in the past, and it is over now, and so he must change. It can be viewed as a call to be better now that the change is made. He will have to accept the situation and then move on. Hopefully, he will move on to something better.

In the Gospels, Jesus was confronted with evil and the accidents of life. His attitude was one of acceptance by trying to change what he could. But mainly Jesus was interested in what could be learned. He is told of the deaths brought about by Pilate and the accident at Siloam and he taught his followers that such things will happen in life. The important thing is that we learn from it, and be willing to change as a result. In Jesus's mind, it amounted to repenting for sin.

There are difficult moments in life. Change has been brought about for some reason. The follower of Jesus will accept those changes, but especially she/he will learn from them--what does it teach me? Why am I reacting the way I am (sitting on the floor by myself, taking pills, as Harry Styles sings)? But especially what should I do in the future to make myself and my situation better?

Our personal worlds can be better than they were before the change that has happened. But it is up to us. We must make the effort.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, there are many things in my life that change the way it was before. Help me to adjust to those changes well, learn from them, and then move on to something better. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Change happens in our lives and we must be accepting of the new direction, and make our lives better.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "As It Was" teach young people today?
2. What evil or wrong has happened recently in our world, and what can we learn from it?
3. The song could describe a breakup of a relationship. What can be learned from a breakup?
4. In general, do most people handle "fame" and "stardom" well? Yes or no and why?
5. How does one "accept" a change that is unexpected?
6. In your opinion, do we try to be better after a change has happened in our lives?