[media presentation below] GospelThink Wednesday, June 22 MATTHEW 7:15-20 If you are a good tree, you will bear good fruit. Prayerthoughts a. Jesus tells us to beware of false prophets, namely those people who claim to be giving the truth of the Gospels, but are not. As I listen to the prophets of our day—those in authority, the Christian ministers, etc.—do I always seek the truth? b. In Matthew’s mind, the proof of a good prophet is the type of person that they are—  people acting on the truth of the Gospels to become good people. In my actions, am I showing that I believe in the Lord? c. Jesus uses the example of trees, good trees and bad trees. In my growing up, I probably saw proofs of both. Have I made peace with the difficulties of my youth and early life? d. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit. Obviously, I want to be good, but am I taking the pains to work toward it, that is, by prayer, spiritual reading, and meditating on the Gospels? e. What evidence do I have in my life that indicates I am bearing good fruit? f. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will send a note to a married couple telling them that I am thinking of them in prayer. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  WHAT WE DO  +  The Gospel passages of our daily readings are considering the summarizing statements in chapter 7 of Matthew, and we have heard Jesus describe:           – the Golden Rule: treat others as you want to be treated           – the narrow gate: you really have to work hard to enter the kingdom of God           – now we have another summarizing statement, namely, the fact that we should be producing good deeds                      – Jesus saying to us that our deeds give us away                                – his reasoning is this: a sound tree, that is the person who understands the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus’ principles will produce good fruit                                          – a decayed tree, one who doesn’t accept his rules and directives, is going to produce evil                                                    – and the fact is that there are many who claim to be good, but it is clear from what they produce that they are not: they are false prophets  + So the truly spiritual follower of Jesus Christ will carefully observe his/her deeds           – we see the importance of what has been called the particular examination of conscience in religious and spiritual life                      – at the end of the day, carefully studying whether we have done anything that could be classified as evil                                – because if we have, then we are not following Jesus  + One of those good deeds is listed in the first reading, namely spiritual reading           – probably the part of the law that was found as related in the second book of Kings in the first reading was a portion of the book of Deuteronomy                      – generalizing this, if we are reading the law of God, or the spiritual life of a saint, or a spiritual book, or the directives that Jesus gives us, that deed is a good one, and we are following what God wants  + Thinking about what Jesus said in the Gospel and Sermon on the Mount is a pretty easy indication of whether spirituality has taken hold in our lives           – very simply: what are we doing                      – that is, how do we rate our deeds: good/bad           – we are doing a very good deed now if our intentions are pure                      – the question is: what about the rest of our lives? MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Royals” — Lorde WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS The Gospel LUKE 12:16-21 Then Jesus told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.“

Gospelthink: You must curb your desire for more and more wealth. Have I placed riches and money too high in my life?

“I’ve never seen a diamond in the flesh, I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies, and I’m not proud of my address in the torn-up town, no post code envy. But every song’s like gold teeth, grey goose, ball gowns, trashin’ the hotel room. We don’t care, we’re driving Cadillacs in our dreams. But everybody’s like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your time piece. We don’t care, we aren’t caught up in your love affair, and we’ll never be royals. It don’t run in our blood. That kind of lux just ain’t for us. We crave a different kind of buzz. Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen Bee, and I’ll rule. Let me live that fantasy.”

In Jesus’ mind, who was “rich in what matters to God”? He speaks of it in contrast to a person who stores up treasure for himself. Studying Jesus’ life, it is not at all difficult to determine what he considers “rich.” It has to do with love, love of God and love of others. He called it “his commandment,” (John 15:12) and he spent his whole life living and preaching its meaning. Translating “love” to be “romantic love,” Lorde in her song “Royals” says that for the lady in the relationship, love is the “buzz” that she craves, more than the “diamonds in the flesh” that she has never seen. In fact, even though “every song” it seems, speaks of things associated with riches, she and her friends “don’t care” because they are not caught up in the “love affair” of material goods that is so important to “royals,” that is, those who have it all. She is caught up in being a “queen” for another. Lorde’s lesson is an important one for today’s world. Jesus had a very good idea of what the world was like in his story–the people of the world often make their world the “land of more.” We often want more of everything. We have a good harvest, and say it would be nice to have an even better one, to force us to build bigger barns. We love to have fun, and we say that it would be better to have “more fun,”–to eat, drink and be merry “more” than we are doing right now. We want more ipods, more ipads, more TV’s, more phones, in general more enjoyment. But what is “more” important? The lady in Lorde’s song knew that romantic love was the buzz she wanted in life, and not a love affair with “royal” things. Jesus said that it was what matters for God. Life does not consist of how much we have; it is defined rather by the kind of life we are living.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, your Son told us in striking images that what is important in life does not have anything to do with material things. Give us the grace to use the things of this world, but never to forget that love is more important than material goods. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Wanting to love is more important than material goods.    DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. In your opinion, why did Jesus use parables or stories so much in his preaching? 2. Jesus often criticizes the “rich” in the Gospels, as here in his story. In general, why do you think that Jesus had a difficult time with those who are “rich”? 3. What do you think is the main point of Jesus’ story? How does it apply to today’s world? 4. Analysis: give some examples of “what matters for God” in our world.   5. Text analysis: what is “post code envy”? 6. Text analysis: “We’ll never be royals.” What is your understanding of the text? 7. The meditation identifies “what matters for God” to be love. In general, do you think that love is a real “force” in today’s world? Yes or no and why? 8. In general, why do most people want to be rich? 9. Thinking in today’s world, who do you think Jesus had in mind with his story? 10. In general, besides love, what are the things that are more important than material goods? 11. What is the most important thing in your personal room at home? Is it expensive? 12. In our world, do you think that there are any people who “prefer” to have no riches? Yes or no and why? 13. What does the song “Royals” teach young people?