TGIMMthis

September 21
[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, September 21, Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time LUKE 16:1-13 Two Masters Prayerthoughts a. The steward was misusing the property of his employer. In my work right now, are there times when I am lazy and not following through with my contract? b. The dishonest steward comes to understand his position because the owner threatens to dismiss him. Are there some areas in my life right now in which I need to change? c. The steward does not cheat the owner; he gives up some of his own interest since the steward made his living off of the interest of the money the owner received. Am I too interested in myself, in my behavior, in my world? d. Jesus is praising the dishonest steward for acting prudently. The dictionary defines prudence to be “the state of being careful and sensible, marked by sound judgment.” Am I careful enough in my dealings with the things of this world? e. In Jesus’s story, he wants us to be careful and sensible with regard to eternal life. In what ways can I show that I believe in eternal life? f. In general, do I consider myself a trustworthy person, a person that others can trust? g. I want to consider God to be my master, but do my actions, words and thoughts show that in my life? h. My prayerthoughts... Today I will read 1 Timothy 2:1-8 and write an important thought from it.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy WHO IS OUR MASTER + Paul tells his disciple Timothy in the second reading - that we should pray for a quiet and tranquil life - we believe with all our hearts that God answers prayer, and we know that God will give us quiet and tranquil lives, but sometimes we wonder why they do not come quicker + In answer to that question, as we analyze our lives, our prayer, we may be part of the problem—we might have a “master” problem - we may be serving the wrong master - Jesus speaks of the idea of master in the Gospel today: No servant can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and mammon. - in Jesus’ mind, we have to choose God as master - and when we do that, we will have the quiet and tranquil lives that we desire - what many people do in our world, instead, is choose a man-created master that caters to selfish minds—have fun, make a lot of money, lord it over others—what Jesus called “mammon” in this Gospel translation, what spiritual writers call “the world” - and it has caused destructive chaos instead of bringing about quiet and tranquil lives + We are not familiar with the circumstances as described by Jesus in his story, so maybe it would be good to tell it with twenty-first century overtones - the man is very rich, needing someone to keep track of his wealth, the steward in the story - that steward is called on the carpet because he has been accused of cheating his master - he really wasn’t cheating; he was paid by taking part of the interest money from what the people owed his master; all he did was take less money for himself, giving the people more of a break; the master was not out any money at all - in fact the master could praise the steward because the master looked pretty good in the eyes of the people who owed him money because it looked like he was giving them a break - Jesus’s point: here you have a person who was smart--prudent--enough to deal with material things well - would that people would deal with SPIRITUAL things with this much prudence + It’s a matter of what is more important - there are two things in life presented as important--what we get here in the Scriptures and in Church - or what “mammon” gives us - translate “mammon” as the “world” - which do we pay more attention to? - there is a country song that I would recommend to you called “This Ain’t Nothin’” by Craig Morgan - I invite you to look up the words and video - a man loses his whole livelihood because of a tornado - a reporter asks him what he’s going to do - and his response was: this—pointing to the loss of his farm and material things, his whole life-savings—“this ain’t nothin’” and goes on to sing that losing people was the thing that should affect us - he had lost his Dad and brother in tragedies, and recently his wife had died—he sings that that is something - singing: “There’s things that matter and there’s things that don’t” + The man in the song’s insight is that it is people that matter - that is something that can be considered God’s perspective - when we learn to value people, then we have chosen God as master, instead of the things that we have created - God’s perspective means a number of things, of course, but fundamentally, at the very basis of how we should live, it involves how we treat people - and the way we treat them will lead us to quiet and tranquil lives + Today we pray for quiet and tranquil lives - such lives will come only when we have chosen God as our master instead of what we have created - and one of the principal ways that we see that we have chosen God as master is in how we treat the people around us.

MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: "This Afternoon" -- Nickelback HANGIN' WITH FRIENDS

The Gospel

JOHN 17:15-19

Jesus said: "I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth."

Gospelthink: For me, the truth is always important. Do I make it a practice to always tell the truth?

"I’m down with hangin' out this afternoon, I’m out on the couch this afternoon. Beer bottles layin' on the kitchen floor. If we take them all back we can buy some more, so I doubt we’ll go without this afternoon. You better hang on if you’re taggin' along, 'cause we’ll be doing this till six in the morning. Me and all my friends, we drink up, we fall down, and then we do it all again, just sittin' around hangin’ out this afternoon. I just love being with my friends."

Human beings are "into" pleasure, from relaxing with friends to wasting time in front of a television. "Slowing down" is necessary in a world in which we spend far too much time achieving more power or gaining more money. We must have some leisure time but sometimes we overdo the relaxation, and when we do, it can bring about harm to us and to others.

In John's Gospel, the "world" is a dangerous place. It can lead the follower of Jesus away from the teachings that Jesus gave us. And so, as Jesus prays his "high priestly prayer" at the Last Supper, he asks his Father to keep his Apostles from the "evil one" even as they must remain among the dangers of the world.

The "evil one" comes in various forms in that world of which the evangelist was speaking. Nickelback's song portrays two of them. One is drinking alcohol. There is nothing wrong with the legal drinking of alcohol according to the law of our land, but there is something wrong when there is a casual attitude toward it as if drinking too much is not going to affect us. We have to be aware of what it can cause. Secondly, in the song, the man and his friends spend the whole night partying. Often people who are partying do not understand the notion of moderation.

Jesus prays that his Apostles will be consecrated in the truth. The truth involves ideas like slowing down and relaxation, but it also means that we come to an understanding of the evils connected with having too much of a good thing. In Nickelback's song, friendship is a good to be desired. Part of the "evil one" in the world is enjoying ourselves too much as we spend time with friends.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, even as we know that we have to relax a little, we often disappoint you by enjoying ourselves too much. Give us the grace to understand moderation as we enjoy this world that you have created. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDELINES FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Too much of a good thing may no longer be a good thing.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. “The world” in John’s Gospel is always a place where Jesus’s teachings have little value, and is actually quite similar to the world that we know now. What are the principal dangers of the world as we know it right now?
2. Jesus prays that the Apostles will be consecrated in the truth. What are the greatest truths of the Christian religion?
3. Like the Apostles, we believe that we are sent into the world to help spread the message of Jesus. Primarily, what can a young person do to improve the world in a Christian way?
4. Much of the song “This Afternoon” is about beer and the importance of “beer” as we have fun. Some have said that alcohol is necessary for people to have a good time? Do you agree and why?
5. Do songs such as this one make people want to drink more alcoholic beverages? Yes or no and why?
6. The song presents the possibility of people drinking too much. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, number 2291 suggests that the use of drugs is a grave offense. Do you think that drinking too much alcohol is a misuse of “drugs”? Yes or no and why?
7. “Being with friends” is presented as a good thing in the song. What have been the most enjoyable times you have spent with friends?
8. Project: You might want to invite to your class a person who has given up alcohol in his/her life, asking the person to give his/her view on “the use of alcohol.”
9. How would you define “evil”; do you see it in your world? Yes or no. (See Catechism, numbers 310-311.)
10. The meditation mentions the idea of “moderation.” How do you understand “moderation”?
11. In what areas of our living is there excessive pleasure?
12. What does the song “This Afternoon” teach young people today?

WHO IS OUR MASTER