[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, March 7 MATTHEW 23:1-12 Study yourselves and see that you are not hypocritical in the way you behave. Prayerthoughts a. The Lord is outspoken and critical about the religious leaders of his time. No doubt there is some criticism that I have of religious and political leaders. Do I argue from facts as Jesus did? b. In general, I should practice what I preach. Do I say things that people ought to do and not do them myself? Think of your strongest criticisms of others. c. When I see people who are really hurting, do I try to remedy what I can? d. Do I expect others to honor me for whatever while merely searching for praise? e. Am I truly a servant to others? Think of the people you see every day.   f. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will write a prayer asking to be a humble servant. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  THE HYPOCRISY OF CHURCH-GOERS  + In today’s Gospel, Jesus sees that the scribes and Pharisees had the problem of hypocrisy—they said good things, worshiped God well, but they didn’t do too well in living their words             – and so Jesus says:             Do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. …  All their works are performed to be seen.  + Hypocrisy is an interesting phenomenon to study             – it is an automatic trap or problem area for anyone who gives direction to others:                         – priests, ministers, teachers, parents, legislators, anyone showing leadership of others—and automatically, anyone going to Church                         – for whatever reason, we are here today, and saying to the world:                                     – I believe in God through Jesus Christ                                                 – and Jesus in essence says: then some things should happen in your lives  + We should be very interested in what we say here in Church             – we say strong words during this service: we believe, we will, we do                         – do we even listen to the words that we say and supposedly make our own?             – we receive the Lord in this Eucharist—either physically or mentally—                         – how can someone receive the Lord and with the same mouth tear down someone else or allow foul language to come out of it?                                     – we may have allowed religion to be nothing more than something to be seen or performed, and that’s all—those are Jesus’s thoughts there  + What’s the antidote to hypocrisy, how do we stay away from it?             – the Gospel gives us that as well                         – Jesus says:             The greatest among you must be your servant.                                     – that’s the way to keep ourselves from the hypocrisy of saying one thing and doing another: work on behalf of others  + Isaiah the prophet implores his listeners in the first reading to set things right, and then calls the Israelites to be willing to obey the Law             – the Lord basically says in the Gospel to set things right with regard to what you say and do                         – if you say it, we have to mean it. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Problem” — Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea FACING THE PROBLEM The Gospel LUKE 10:13-15 [Jesus said,] “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.”

Gospelthink: If you realize who I am teaching you, you would surely repent. I am sorry for all of my sins, but do I say it enough?

“Hey, even though I hate ya, I wanna love ya, I want you! And even though I can’t forgive you, I really want to. Tell me, why can’t you leave me? ‘Cause even though I shouldn’t want it, I gotta have it. Head in the clouds, got no weight on my shoulders. I should be wiser and realize that I’ve got one less problem without ya!”

Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea sing of a love problem in their song “Problem.” The lady in the relationship realizes that she should leave the relationship, but because she is enamored with her boyfriend, she cannot bring herself to do it. Consequently, she could easily hurt herself by following her own desires. Taking the song out of the context of romantic love, we can study the general idea that we must learn to be people who will face the problems we have no matter what the external circumstances may be. Jesus once spoke about the people of the towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, telling them that if they had faced the problems that had plagued them, they would have been better off. They had disregarded what they should have done, choosing to follow what they wanted. And the result was that they would be condemned because they had not repented of their sinfulness. Human beings know that they should face the problems that they have. Instead, they often ignore the signs and warnings, choosing their own answers or ways of acting, thus causing more problems than they have already. In the Christian scheme of things, facing the problems usually means facing what we have done, and “repenting” for the things that we have done. If we learn to face the problems that we have in life “head on,” that is directly, our lives will be much better for it.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, your Son taught us to face the problems or sinfulness in our lives directly, thus choosing to repent for our sins. Give us the grace to face all the problems of our lives in such a way as to follow your will at all times. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: We must face personal problems in life “head on.”. THE GOSPEL 1. Analysis: “Sitting in sackcloth and ashes” is a way of describing “doing penance.” What is the best form of doing penance in our world today? 2. In your opinion, do most people practice “doing penance” in their daily lives? Yes or no and why? 3. Project: the presenter may want to do a presentation on what happened to Tyre and Sidon and why. See, for example, The Catholic Encyclopedia.   THE SONG   1. How is it possible to hate and love someone at the same time? 2. How is it possible to not forgive someone even though we really want to? 3. Text analysis: “Head in the clouds, got no weight on my shoulders” What is the meaning of the phrase? 4. What are the characteristics of a “wise” person in romantic love situations?  THE MEDITATION 1. What are the main reasons why a romantic couple would not want to break a relationship that really should be broken? 2. In general, what are some reasons why we will not face the problems we have? 3. What do you think is the meaning of “condemned” in the Gospel passage? 4. What are the largest problems in our world? What if anything can you do about them? 5. Give an example of facing a problem directly. 6. What does the song “Problem” teach young people?