TGIMMlast

	TOO MUCH PLEASURE

The Gospel

LUKE 8:11-15

[Jesus said:] "This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root: they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance."

The Media -- "Last Friday Night" (Katy Perry)

"There’s a stranger in my bed, there’s a pounding in my head, glitter all over the room, pink flamingos in the pool. I smell like a mini bar, DJ’s passed out in the yard, Barbie’s on the barbecue. Pictures of last night ended up on-line. It’s a blacked out blur, but I’m pretty sure it ruled. Last Friday night we danced on tabletops, and we took too many shots, think we kissed but I forgot. This Friday night, do it all again. TGIF."

Katy Perry's song "Last Friday Night” and the story as acted out in the official video of the song is this: a past Friday night was one of major celebration and it has left the person in the song confused, but nonetheless she is wanting more of it. The lady in the song should probably learn that even though our human natures will always want pleasure, sometimes we must control our pleasure more than we do.

Why should we control the pleasures we have? If we are people who are into as much pleasure as possible, the question makes no sense. But if we are people who realize that we must make some contribution to the good of society in some way, we will take the time to analyze the pleasures that we seek. Jesus wanted his followers to be people who thought carefully about listening to the word of God. In his story about the seed or word of God that was given to human beings, those who had heard the word came up against the pleasures of life, as Jesus called them. The result was that it choked the word, and the people therefore missed the chance to understand what God wanted.

Katy Perry's song is the story of a person who has enjoyed too much pleasure and now wants even more. There is nothing wrong with having a good time—it is absolutely necessary that we relax at times in our lives. But the mature person will be concerned about too much pleasure. What happens to people when pleasure dominates reasoning power? In general, the feelings of the moment become more important than what will happen as a result of the pleasure. We allow our reasoning power and our judgment to take second place to the feelings of temporary enjoyment. What happens as a result is that we may be hurt, or more importantly, perhaps, that others may be hurt—simply because we want to feel good for a moment or two.

One of the marks of the mature person is that we will allow our reasoning power to have a little stronger impact on the way we act and the way we speak. In Jesus' thought, it means that we will allow the word of God to be more important than the pleasures of life. We must bring ourselves to realize that even though feeling good and spending time at what makes us feel good is pleasurable and can make us enjoy life a little more, there are consequences.

Consequences matter because they will last much longer than the joy of a momentary pleasure.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we live in a world that encourages us to enjoy ourselves. We should indeed enjoy ourselves, but the enjoyment must be guided by your Son's word. Give us the grace to always follow your word even as we enjoy the pleasures of life. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Pleasure is good; too much pleasure can harm us and lead to undesirable consequences.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. In the Gospel, there are four categories of "the ways to listen to the word of God." Outline each one, and speak about the make-up and the obstacles of each.
2. In modern terms, what does it mean to have the "devil come and take away the word"?
3. What are some of the trials that cause a person to stop believing?
4. In your opinion, what are strongest pleasures in life?
5. In your opinion, do most Christians truly embrace the word of God? Yes or no and why?
6. Obtain a copy of the official video of the song, and study it. What is most striking about it?
7. There was obviously both drinking of alcohol and sexual activity at the party. Is it true that alcohol can enhance the sexual activity? Yes or no and why?
8. The song refers to on-line pictures. In your opinion, are young people too lax with sites like Facebook, Twitter and the like? Yes of no and why?
9. Even though the person in the song was confused about what happened at the party, she wants to experience it again. Why do young people want to do dangerous things?
10. There are such things as "good" parties. What makes a "good" party?
11. What do you think Jesus would say about a modern party?
12. As you analyze the pleasures that you enjoy, what guidelines should you use?
13. What are the best forms of relaxation and why?
14. Give an example of people getting hurt as a result of too much partying.
15. Do you believe that the party depicted in the song and video is an exaggeration? Yes or no and why?
16. What does the song "Last Friday Night" teach young people?

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