TGIMMgood

	LOOKING GOOD AND TRUE LOVE

The Gospel

JOHN 4:27-30

[Jesus'] disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, "What are you looking for?" or "Why are you talking with her?" The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, "Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?" They went out of the town and came to him.

Gospelthink: I helped the Samaritan woman to see the evil of her ways. Do I see any evil in my actions, say, yesterday?

The Media -- "Good For You" (Selena Gomez f/ A$AP Rocky)

"I'm 14 carat, doing it up like Midas. Now you say I got a touch. So good, make you never wanna leave. So don't. Gonna wear that dress you like, skin-tight. Do my hair up real nice, and syncopate my skin to your heart beating. 'Cause I just wanna look good for you. Let me show you how proud I am to be yours, leave this dress a mess on the floor, and still look good for you."

Perhaps the most important aspect of an early love relationship is how one party of the relationship presents him/herself to the other party. Questions like "Do I look good?" "Am I presenting the best image of myself that I can?" "Am I doing what the other person wants?" are all questions that go through the mind when one gives time to another in a romantic way. It is a time when as Selena Gomez sings, "I just wanna look good for you."

The unfortunate circumstance with early relationships and the questions each has is that there is much more to a relationship than merely looking "good" for another. It often happens that one spends too much time on such questions and not enough time on what real love is.

Jesus dealt with problems like this during his lifetime with us, as can be seen with his interaction with the person that we have come to know as the "Samaritan woman." She had tried to look good for the different men in her life, and evidently had not succeeded since her life was not what it should have been as Jesus had pointed out to her. Luckily, she was able to face it since she went back into town and confessed "everything" that she had done.

Jesus no doubt explained to the woman that "looking good" may be necessary in order to set up a relationship, but it is never enough to understand love completely. The temptation is, of course, to concentrate on the "looking good" alone since it is a lot easier than really understanding the complete love that is necessary for a good relationship.

Romantic love, indeed love itself in any circumstance, is extremely important in the world in which we live and interact. But we must carefully guard against sacrificing the integrity of true love for the passing feeling of "looking good" for another.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Your Son was able to direct people like the Samaritan woman who were searching for romantic love. Give us the grace to understand our romantic involvements a little more, and learn the value of true love in whatever we do. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: In love, one must present a good image in a relationship, but he/she must be careful to have an understanding of true love.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. According to Jewish law, Jesus should not have been conversing with the Samaritan woman because Samaritan women were ritually impure. Why do you think Jesus deliberately broke the law?
2. What is your understanding of "the Messiah"? See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 436-440.
3. Text analysis: "I'm 14 carat." What is the meaning of the sentence?
4. Text analysis: "Syncopate my skin to your heart beating." What is the meaning of the phrase?
5. What should be the most important thought for a person as he/she begins dating?
6. What is your definition of "real love"?
7. What does it mean to "sacrifice the integrity" of true love?
8. What does the song "Good For You" teach young people?

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike