areal may9

May 9

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Saturday, May 9, Easter Weekday

JOHN 15:18-21

I have chosen you out of the world.

Prayerthoughts
a. “Hated” is strong word in English. The Lord is getting across the fact that people did not agree with him and showed it in their actions. There should be no one that I actually “hate.” In my life, right now, are there some people that I should show more kindness toward?

b. The world, that is the people against Christianity, are at odds with me because I follow Jesus. Is it clear from my actions that I am following the Lord?

c. Jesus has told me that “no slave is greater than his master.” Therefore in my actions, I should reflect the characteristics of Jesus. When other people judge me, do they see the person of Jesus in me?

d. Other people judge “Christianity” by the way I behave. That should have an influence on my behavior.

e. My prayerthoughts...

Today, I will read the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 16:1-10 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

BELONGING TO GOD / FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT OF JESUS

+ One of John the evangelist’s favorite distinctions is the distinction between those who belong to the world and those who are “out of the world”, that is, those belonging to God

- another way of saying it comes from how Luke described what happened to Paul in the Acts of the Apostles

- Paul is on the second missionary journey

- and Luke describes Paul’s actions as being controlled by Holy Spirit and what he called the “Spirit of Jesus”

- I think that that is an interesting way of saying that things happened in a certain way

- the Spirit of Jesus allowed it to happen or didn’t allow it to happen

- in this case, the missionaries were so completely filled with the Spirit of Jesus that it didn’t matter what happened

- they went with the flow and did what they could and the Spirit of Jesus remained with them

- in that way, whatever they did was done in the Spirit of Jesus, and therefore was done well

+ John the evangelist’s distinction together with Luke’s description can be expressed this way:

- when it comes to development of the spiritual life, there are two types of people:

- those belonging to the world, that is those who do not follow the Spirit of Jesus

- and those out of the world, or belonging to God, those who do follow the Spirit of Jesus

- it can easily lead to the question—what are the characteristics of those who belong to God, those who follow the Spirit of Jesus

- from the Liturgy today, we might see a couple of answers

1 – it is clear from the Gospel that those who belong to God or who follow the Spirit of Jesus

- will not have an easy time in the world

- words like “hate,” “persecute”, “not knowing” are in Jesus’ discourse

- which says that if people truly want to belong to God and accept the Spirit of Jesus as guide, then part of their destiny is rejection

- that is not a happy thought, of course

- but the clear implication is that those who belong to God or those who pursue the spirit of Jesus will have the reward of God in their lives

2 – from the first reading, with Paul and Luke (who probably joined Paul and Timothy—“we” sections of Acts begins here for a while) on the second missionary journey, if we belong to God and are guided by the spirit of Jesus, we will be missionaries of sorts

- our mission will be to spread the message of Jesus

- obviously not in the sense of missionaries in a foreign land as Paul and Timothy and Luke

- but as people committed to Jesus no matter what the situation—in word, in action, but especially in thought

+ As the Liturgy does so often, we have an excellent question for meditation here

- do our actions show that we belong to God, that is, that we follow the Spirit of Jesus?

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Suit & Tie" -- Justin Timberlake

THE SWING OF SHOWING LOVE

The Gospel

JOHN 2:1-3

JOHN 2:1-3

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.

Gospelthink: I celebrated life just like everyone else. Do I celebrate the moments of living that I am involved in with love?

"I can't wait 'till I get you on the floor; we don't mind all the watching 'cause if they study close, they might learn something. And as long as I got my suit and tie, I'ma leave it all on the floor tonight. And you got fixed up to the nines. Let me show you a few things. All pressed up in black and white, and you’re dressed in that dress I like. Love is swinging in the air tonight. Let me show you a few things about love. Now, we’re in the swing of love."

The Gospels never talk about romantic dancing, mainly because the preparation for marriage in Jesus' time did not include any personal choice of a future partner. But there was no doubt celebration with dancing after the choice for marriage was made. We know that Jesus and his disciples were invited to such a marriage at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, and Jesus also spoke of dancing during his stay with us on earth. He obviously knew that dancing was a way of showing love. He had studied King David, for instance who had such an overwhelming love for God present in the ark of God that "he came dancing before the Lord with abandon" (2 Samuel 6:14).

Dancing is still a part of wedding celebrations, of course. Justin Timberlake in his song "Suit & Tie" is not singing specifically of a wedding celebration (although the song seems to indicate that a wedding may be part of the couple's future), but he is singing of dancing as a statement of love. It is a love song, extolling the art of dancing and dressing up for that dancing.

In our society today, dancing is still a statement of love. It is only part of the showing of love, of course, but a common one for couples in love. Perhaps the lesson for all of us, whether we are involved in romantic love or not, is the need that we have to show our love after we have said it.

Taking the lesson from people who are romantically involved in love, people who follow Christian doctrine must see the necessity to do more than simply "talk love." If love really is present, we will show it by our actions, we will speak it in the words that we say, and most of all, certainly the more difficult, we will think it in the thoughts that we have.

Perhaps Jesus' lesson to us about love is what dancing is to romantic love. If we truly love another, we will show it in an external way.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, through your Son Jesus you call us to love. At times, it will be a romantic love if we think of marriage. Give us the grace to learn about true love and show it by our actions. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL FULFILLMENT

Theme: When we truly love another, we may show it in an external way like dancing.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. We know that marriages were "arranged" in Jesus' time. What are the advantages to such a practice? What are the disadvantages?
2. The Gospel of John never mentions the name of the mother of Jesus in his Gospel. In your opinion, what may be a reason?
3. Project: the presenter may want to give a short history of marriage. The Catholic Encyclopedia is an excellent source.
4. Text analysis: "If they study close, they might learn something." What can we learn from people in love?
5. Text analysis: "As long as I got my suit and tie, I'ma leave it all on the floor." What is the meaning of the sentence?
6. Text analysis: "Let me show you a few things about love." What are the things about romantic love that everyone must know?
7. Text analysis: "We are in the swing of love." What is the meaning of the sentence?
8. Project: the presenter may want to give a short history of the reason for dancing in our world.
9. The meditation quotes the Hebrew book of 2 Samuel and the fact that King David danced "with abandon" before God. What does the phrase mean?
10. In our world today, is every dance an expression of love of the other? Yes or no and why?
11. In our world today, what is the most important part of a wedding? What should be the most important part? Why?
12. In general, do Christians honestly show the love of Jesus to others? Yes or no and why?
13. What is the best way to bring about loving thoughts about others?
14. What is the best way a Christian has of "showing love"?
15. What does the song “Suit & Tie” teach young people?