TGIMMtreat

October 13
[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, October 13, Twenty-eight Sunday in Ordinary Time Mark 10:17-30 Possessions and ‘Being Rich” Prayerthoughts a. In my opinion, what is most important for me to gain eternal life? b. Jesus points out that “good” is an attribute of God. Do I look at the present direction of my life as “good”? c. Which of the commandments that Jesus mentions are most important for me? d. Can I reply with the young man that I have kept all of those commandments from very young? e. Obviously, the Lord wants me to look at my “possessions.” Do I have too much? Should I give some of my “stuff” away? f. Jesus is so strong against the rich because the rich often lose sight of what is truly important in life. What is truly important for me? g. Jesus promises three things for those who sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. First he promises rewards even in this life. As I study my life, what good things have been given to me? Have I been as thankful as I should be? h. The Lord also promises “persecutions.” There have been difficult things in my life so far. Have I reacted to them as a Christian should, namely accepting them as the Lord’s will? i. Thirdly, the Lord promises a true follower of his that he/she will have eternal life. What is my understanding of “eternal life” and why? j. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will read the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 4 and write an important thought from it.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy [Mark 10:17-27] THE PRIORITY OF LOVING GOD + I have always felt—and still do—that this is one of the most powerful, most “easy to meditate on” stories in the Gospel - it says so much and especially it says so much to us Americans who possess so much - and therefore, I think it says a lot to young people especially who want more and more things - so when I was giving a homily to young people on this Sunday a number of years ago, I prepared a pretty strong statement - I talked about stereos and the need they had for them - about the 8-track and cassette tapes they had (no CD’s yet) - all the gadgets they had from hair-dryers to electric toothbrushes - pretty strong, telling them that the Lord was pretty adamant against riches - I got no feedback as usual, so I asked one of the freshmen what they thought about what I had said - he said: “It was okay, but you weren’t talking to me” - I said: “What do you mean, of course, I was talking to you” - he said, “No you weren’t, you were talking about the rich: I’m not rich—it doesn’t apply to me at all.” - so, I learned not to use the word “rich” in the future with them, and instead used the words that Jesus uses in the Gospel—“many possessions” + My guess is that most of us here today will not call ourselves rich either - but I’ll bet most of us will fall into the category of “many possessions” - and it is to us that Jesus talks in this very straightforward Gospel today - most of us resemble the rich young man - we have many possessions - and we are here: that means we know those commandments that Jesus gave, most of us being able to say with the rich young man: “all of these I have observed from my youth” - with that parallel, then, there is a very important sentence here from Jesus that we must hear: - the one thing that proves we are keeping the laws of Jesus – Go and sell what you have and give to the poor,…then, come follow me.. - study that sentence: the following of Jesus—“follow me”—is only after the selling and giving away takes place + Obviously, Jesus is not calling us to go and sell all of our possessions - Jesus is speaking in exaggeration here as he does when he wants to bring home a point - and he is calling us to make God important in our lives - as important as any material possession that we have - that is, it must be able to be measured by something - by the time I give, by the money I give away + That is what the Church world calls stewardship - making ourselves stewards of what we have been given—that is, life—using what we have as if it is God’s / because it is - making sure that God gets a portion, then, of what we have and do because it is all God’s in the first place - the priority for the Christian must always be God and God-related activities because the Christian realizes that everything is God’s since God is keeping us alive in this world + The Gospel says that Jesus looked at the young man with love - Jesus always looks at us with love - and says that there is only one thing you have to do - and that involves priority - you have got to place God as a measurable priority in your life - if we do, then we are in a solid position to truly follow the Lord.

MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: "Treat You Better" -- Shawn Mendes I CAN TREAT YOU BETTER

The Gospel

JOHN 13:14-17

Jesus said: "If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it."

Gospelthink: I want you to wait on others the way I waited on my disciples. In general, how do I treat others?

Shawn Mendes’ song "Treat You Better" is a song that shows some domestic violence in the video, and at the end of the video, the domestic violence hotline is listed. It is the story of a young man who knows that the girlfriend that he would like is dating someone else, but that someone else is not treating her correctly. He sings that he knows the other person is not right for her, and he senses that she knows it also. "I know I can treat you better than he can," he sings, "And any girl like you deserves a gentleman." He asks her why she’s spending time with him, and begs her to come over to him. In fact, he sings, "I’ll stop time for you the second you say you’d like me to; I promise I’ll never let you down."

In the area of how we Christians should treat one another, perhaps the most poignant example that Jesus gave to his Apostles and therefore to us, is his action at the Last Supper as recorded by John the Evangelist. Jesus became a true servant as he washed his Apostles' feet. Then he told his followers to "wash one another's feet" since he was their model and teacher. That is to say, the way we should treat one another is with the utmost respect, as a good servant ought to treat his/her master.

Another way to view showing respect for others is with the thought of how we want others to treat us. We most definitely want others to show us the virtues that we deem important. We like to be treated with kindness, with respect, with honor even if at times with more than we deserve. It makes us feel good and ready to face a world that at times is somewhat hostile. And if we learn to treat others the same way, our world may become a little less hostile.

Whatever our motivation, it is a truly Christian message that we must treat others well. In Shawn Mendes' song, "Treat You Better," someone is not treating the girlfriend of the man in the song with the respect and honor that she deserves. He therefore tells her quite correctly that she should get out of the relationship. Of course, he wants her to come to him, but whether she does or not, she should follow his advice and leave that relationship. It is a good rule to say that if either in the party becomes physical in a negative way--slapping, hitting, grabbing someone with too much force or the like--then the relationship must stop.

The fact is that too often we treat others well only when we think we can get something from the other. Jesus reminds us that in any relationship we must treat others well by becoming their servants and allowing that to be our guide.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Your Son has taught us the lesson to treat others well by telling us to become servants to all. Give us the grace to accept His lesson a little more into our lives, romantic and otherwise. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: We are called to treat everyone well.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Of course, we do not literally "wash one another's feet." What does the phrase mean in our modern world?
2. In your opinion, do most Christians try to follow the example of Jesus in their lives? Yes or no and why?
3. If you are aware of domestic violence among your friends, what should you do?
4. Analysis: many songs use the word "never"--"I'll never let you down." Do you believe that we should use the words like "never" and "forever" to describe our relationships? Yes or no and why?
5. How does one treat another with the utmost respect?
6. What does the song "Treat You Better" teach young people?

THE PRIORITY OF LOVING GOD