TGIMMrumour

	THE EVIL OF A RUMOUR

The Gospel

JOHN 2:18-22

[They] said to him. What sign can you show us for doing this?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." [They] said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.

The Media -- "Rumour Has It" (Adele)

The song "Rumour Has It" by Adele is a love song that tells the history of one particular relationship. The lady in the relationship is now leaving the man, as can be discovered by the last line of the song, and how it all transpired is the topic of the song. It began with another lady. Adele begins: "She ain’t real, she is a stranger, you and I have history or don’t you remember? Is that really what you want? Bless your soul, you’ve got your head in the clouds. She made a fool out of you. Now rumor has it she ain’t got your love anymore." And the one who does have his love, he thinks, is her: "Rumour has it," she sings, "I’m the one you’re leaving her for." But, the lady does not necessarily want that. "Just 'cause I said it," she sings, "don’t mean that I meant it," and she closes the song by leaving him—her words: "Rumour has it: he’s the one I’m leaving you for."

John the evangelist knew about rumours. When Jesus had made a statement about the resurrection of his body after his death, he knew that people would misunderstand it. So, John explained it in his Gospel. Indeed, it happened exactly the way John had guessed it might, because at Jesus' death, people misquoted Jesus about what he said here. Misquoting someone is part of what creates rumours, something that Jesus had to contend with in his life on earth.

Rumours play a very large role in any relationship, mainly because people love to talk. Often people love to talk about what they think about a situation, and they tend to misquote or add their own little twists because it makes things so much more interesting. And so we talk about what they say, about who’s going with whom, who likes another, who does not like another, why they do not like them, what’s happening with another, and so forth. Rumours might be able to make conversation more enjoyable, but they can be deathly for developing love situations.

The evil of spreading and listening to rumours especially in love situations is cleverly expressed in Adele's song "Rumour Has It." She shows that rumours may or may not be true and the man in the relationship is totally surprised by the outcome. Developing love cannot depend on rumours of what others think.

An important ingredient in any love relationship or indeed any relationship is the truth. Obtaining such truth may be difficult, but it is the only way to find out what is truly happening. If a couple wants their love to develop, and in general, if people want to interact in an honest way with each other, they must begin and end with the truth. Rumours may be more interesting, but they mean nothing.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we often misuse our speech. We say things that are not true; we imply things that in the end could hurt other people. Give us the grace to study and understand how we could be the source of rumours, and help us always be truthful. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Developing romantic love as well as developing a good life, can be destroyed by paying attention to rumours.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. In the Gospel, Jesus is predicting his future resurrection and therefore the redemption of humankind. In your opinion, do most Christians understand what Jesus truly accomplished for us? Yes or no and why?
2. Why did many of the people of his time deliberately misunderstand what Jesus said?
3. Text analysis: "You and I have history." What is the meaning of the statement?
4. What causes a person to "have your head in the clouds"?
5. In terms of Adele's song, define "rumour."
6. In a love relationship, what rumours cause the most harm?
7. If spreading rumours is evil, then it is sinful. Do most Christian people consider "spreading rumours and gossip" about others to be sins? Yes or no and why?
8. Do some people have a tendency to spread rumours more than others? Yes or no and why?
9. If developing love cannot depend on rumours, what is the one thing that is necessary for developing love relationships well?
10. The meditation says that discovering the truth may be difficult. Why is it a true statement?
11. What is the most important truth that must be discovered in any relationship?
12. What does the song "Rumour Has It" teach young people?

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