TGIMMlive

	EVERY SECOND COUNTS

The Gospel

MATTHEW 5:17-20

Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven."

The Media -- "Live Like We're Dying" (Kris Allen)

"Sometimes we fall down and can’t get back up; we’re hiding behind skin that’s too tough. How come we don’t say 'I love you' enough 'til it’s too late. It's not too late. If your life flashed before you, what would you wish you would've done. We gotta start looking at the hands of the time we’ve been given here. This is all we got and we gotta start pickin’ it. Every second counts on a clock that’s tickin’, gotta live like we’re dying. We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to turn it all around or to throw it all away. We gotta tell them that we love them while we got the chance to say—gotta live like we’re dying. You never know a good thing ‘til it’s gone. And if your plane fell out of the skies, who would you call with your last goodbye? You never see a crash 'til it’s head on. Gotta live like we’re dying."

Jesus knew that his followers had to have some type of law that would guide their lives. They were too weak not to have it. They had been given the law of Moses, the ten commandments, as well as the example of the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures, but as he set up his Kingdom, he knew that they had to have more. It had to be a law that went further than any other, and so he set up his own law as a fulfillment of all others. Eventually, he would summarize it to be a law of love.

American Idol Kris Allen's song "Live Like We're Dying" takes the law of love and expresses it in an unique way, saying in effect, "Since every second counts in our lives, we must live the law of love as best we can." The title of the song sums up his thought: "Live like we're dying."

If we live like we're dying, every second will count as we live our day. Knowing that we can either turn life to something very good or throw it all away, we choose the way of love. We will open ourselves to others who need help; we will say "I love you" to our parents, to our children, to our friends, to our teachers, to the people who mean something to us; we will understand that it is never too late to become the loving people we once hoped to be; we will determine the people who are special to us and thank them right now; we will understand the good things that we have today without thinking about the future; we will live each moment like it will be our last. Love will become a way of life.

Every second counts as we grow into maturity, and if every second is governed by the law of love, maturity will be assured.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son Jesus gave us your law, primarily a law of love. Give us the grace to understand that every second of our lives must be spent with the idea of love as a guide. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: If we live like we’re dying, we will follow the law of love.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. In the Gospel, Jesus came to reveal the true meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures, to express what the law and the prophets wished to say, to bring it to fulfillment. As presented in the meditation, Jesus fulfilled the law by introducing the law of love in a stronger way. What do you think the “law of love” entails?
2. From your understanding, how did Jesus “fulfill” the law?
3. Jesus refers to people who will be “greatest” and “least” in the Kingdom. In your opinion, who are the “greatest” in Jesus’ Kingdom, and why? Likewise, who are the “least” and why?
4 Text analysis: Kris Allen sings that we are hiding behind “skin that is too tough.” What is his meaning?
5. To whom should we say say “I love you”, and why?
6. Test analysis: “You never know a good thing till its gone.” What is the best thing that has happened to you so far in your life?
7. If you knew that you were going to die within the next hour, what would you do right now?
8. What is most difficult about keeping Jesus’ “law of love” and why?
9. Do most people live like “every second counts” in their lives? That is, do you believe that "love" is the force it should be in our world? Yes or no and why?
10. The meditation gives examples of living the law of love. What is the best example that you have seen in your life of someone “living the law of love.”
11. If love really would become a “way of life,” what would be the first thing that would change in the world?
12. The meditation mentions the word “maturity.” What is your understanding of “a mature person”?
13. What does the song “Live Like We’re Dying” teach young people today?

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