TGIMMadditionalStayRis

Song: "Stay" -- Rihanna

THE NEED FOR SERIOUS THOUGHT

The Gospel

LUKE 1:26-38

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Upon arriving, the angel said to her: “Rejoice, O highly favored daughter! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.” She was deeply troubled by his words, and wondered what his greeting meant. The angel went on to say to her: “Do not fear, Mary, You have found favor with God. You shall conceive and bear a son and give him the name Jesus.”… Mary said to the angel, “How can this be since I do not know man?” The angel answered her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you; … the holy offspring to be born will be called Son of God.”… Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say.”

Gospelthink: My earthly mother Mary was most willing to do what God wanted. Am I honestly trying to follow God's law?

"All along, it was a fever, a cold sweat hot-headed believer. I threw my hands in the air, said, ‘Show me something.’ He said, ‘If you dare come a little closer.’ Round and around we go. Tell me now you know. The reason I hold on ‘cause I need this hole gone. Funny you’re the broken one but I’m the only one who needed saving ‘cause when you never see the light, it’s hard to know which one of us is caving. Not really sure how to feel about it. I want you to stay.”

Since most people in our world get married, the question of who to marry and whether their personalities will match forever is a very important question. A couple's relationship will begin, as the lady in Rihanna's song "Stay" begins, with a desire to know: "Show me something" she says. Then it will become more involved, as the song indicates, with the man replying "Come a little closer." It is the natural progression of any deep relationship. Such deep thought must happen if people desire to know enough about each other in order to marry.

There is evidence of much deep thought in the Gospels because interaction with Jesus and the divine always leads to serious thinking about oneself. It was certainly part of Mary's preparation to be the Mother of Jesus. Reading into the Gospel of Luke, one can readily understand how profound Mary's consideration was before she finally said the words of complete acceptance of God's will: "Let it be done to me as you say." Her life was about to change, and she knew it.

Every marriage involves a significant change in lifestyle. Especially in our Western world where we choose a marriage partner, marriage preparation must involve deep thought and consideration. Such thought can be seen in the songs of love that grace our culture, and case in point, Rihanna's song "Stay." The couple in the song is deciding what their commitment will be in the future, and therefore there is a serious desire to know how each other feels. Unfortunately, the failure of permanent commitments in our world is a sad commentary on our lack of serious thinking.

We must generalize our marriage preparation to a thought about living well in our world. If we must change as we grow--and we all do--such a change should be met with sincere consideration about what the future might be. It means that we will spend some serious time of silence and thought about the consequences for the future. What should I do with my life? What type of preparation will it involve? Do I have the necessary requirements in order to help myself and others in the future? What is God's Will for me? The answers to those and similar questions are not easy.

Mary was able to say "yes" to God after she did some serious thinking about her situation. The couple in Rihanna's song are singing about deep thoughts as they consider their relationship. We should learn the lesson. Our future lives demand our deepest thinking.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Mary, the earthly mother of Your Son is a tremendous example for us in many ways. One of them is her thoughtful consideration before she said "yes" to You. May we learn her ability to prepare well for what we must do to live as You want us to. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Developing a love relationship involves deep thought.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Project: the presenter may want to present some material on "betrothal" and "marriage" in Jesus' time.
2. When the Lord is "with a person," as the angel calls Mary, what does it mean?
3. The annunciation about Jesus is similar to the annunciation about John the Baptist earlier in Luke's Gospel. Discuss why Mary's questioning the angel is different from Zechariah's.
4. Mary was a true servant of the Lord. What are the characteristics of a servant of the Lord?
5. The implication of the meditation is that Mary did some serious thinking about being the mother of Jesus. In your opinion, what would be Mary's first consideration as she considered her task?
6. Text analysis: The relationship was "a fever, a cold sweat hot-headed believer." What is the meaning of the phrase?
7. Text analysis: "If you dare come a little closer." What is the meaning of the phrase?
8. Analysis: What does the word "caving" imply?
9. In general, do you feel that most engaged couples know enough about each other to get married? Yes or no and why?
10. Give some examples in the Gospels of people who were thinking "seriously."
11. What is the best way to determine how another really feels?
12. Why do we have many divorces in our country? What can we do about it?
13. What is the next major change that you anticipate in your life? How much preparation time should you give it?
14. What does the song "Stay" teach young people?

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