TGIMMrfadio

Song: "Radioactive" -- Imagine Dragons

THE SUN HASN'T DIED

The Gospel

LUKE 15:8-10

[Jesus said:] “Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Gospelthink: Repentance is necessary for you to turn to me. Have I completely repented for my sins?

"I’m waking up to ash and dust, I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust. I’m breathing in the chemicals. I’m breaking up, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus. This is the apocalypse. I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones, enough to make my systems blow. Welcome to the new age. I’m radioactive. All systems go, the sun hasn’t died, deep in my bones, straight from inside."

Jesus told this simple story of finding what was lost. A woman had lost some coins, and finally finding them, she had a celebration. Studying its meaning, it can be a story of a person who had lost his/her way for a while, and finding that way again leads the person to happiness. Jesus applies it to discovering a life of sin, and then repenting.

The group Imagine Dragons uses the same thought in their song "Radioactive." The man in the song has had a difficult past, it would seem--"ash and dust" is how he describes it. He wakes up from that past, and now he is looking forward to a life of happiness, as he says, "all systems go, the sun hasn't died." The man has been able to recognize what held him down in the past, and he has now awakened to a new age, the apocalypse, a radioactive feeling straight from his inner being.

The song is a conversion story. There are often many difficulties in our lives before we finally "wake up" to discover how bad we were. Unfortunately, we find that there are many addictions that plague us--gambling, as portrayed in the excellent video to the song--alcohol, other drugs, anger, hatred, selfishness, disregard of parents, pride, allowing the desire for power to overtake us. They are addictions that can make us "ash and dust," make ourselves "rust," as the group describes it, if we do not "wake up" to what is happening.

But the good news of life is that we can "wake up" "to the new age." Jesus calls it understanding that we have sinned, and then repenting. The followers of Jesus can turn their lives over to the virtues described by their leader. A person can see where the past has led them and do something about it in the future. Indeed, the "sun hasn't died," and life can be so much more than we have had.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son has moved us to wake up to the reality of what sin has caused. May we not only acknowledge our sinfulness, but give us the grace to enter his world with a new life. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Once we understand what we have done wrong in the past, we can shape a good future.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Jesus tells his story because of his concern for the lost in society. As you look at the world today, who is most in need of help?
2. Jesus wants us to turn away from sin. What is the greatest sin that people commit in today's world?
3. Studying your answer to number 2, specifically, what can you do about it?
4. Text analysis: "waking up to the ash and dust." What is the meaning of the phrase?
5. Text analysis: "I sweat my rust." What is the meaning of the sentence?
6. Text analysis: "I'm breathing in the chemicals." What is the meaning of the sentence?
7. Text analysis: "This is the apocalypse." What is the meaning of the sentence?
8. What do you think the song means by "the new age"?
9. Text analysis: "I'm radioactive." What is the meaning of the sentence?
10. How would you describe the "perfect" life of happiness?
11. The presenter may want to relay a "conversion" story like Paul the Apostle, asking the question: "What is most important about the story?"
12. Obtain a copy of the video to the song, and analyze the story presented by it.
13. What are the worst addictions in our world at the present time?
14. No one can "make" another "wake up." What are the ways that we can help other people "wake up" to a good life?
15. What does the song “Radioactive” teach young people?

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