[media presentation below] GospelThink Thursday, March 23 JOHN 5:31-47 I told the religious leaders that they did not have the love of God in them. Prayerthoughts a. Jesus says that John the Baptist “testified to the truth.” What do I consider to be the most important truth for me in my life? Why? b. Jesus praises John the Baptist. There are some people in my life right now that I should “praise,” that is, that I should thank a little more. Perhaps I can determine one or   two and “thank” them in some way. c. Jesus’ works testify to his mission from God. In my understanding of the Gospel, what is Jesus’ greatest work and how should it affect me now? d. Jesus is critical of the people who do not believe in him. Is it clear by my words and actions and especially thoughts that I believe in Jesus? e. The Lord says that he does not accept human praise. Am I trying to work on my pride, realizing that I want too much human praise? f. Jesus refers to Moses. I may want to take the time today to read from the Hebrew Scriptures, and see the importance of Moses to the Hebrew people. (This is the task of    the meditation.) g. My prayerthoughts…   Today I will carry out letter f, reading Exodus chapters 3-4, and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  I KNOW YOU  + There are some frightening words in Jesus’ tirade against the Hebrew religious leaders in the Gospel today         – Jesus faces them in what sounds like anger and says:         I know you and you do not have the love of God in your hearts  + For we who are interested in a deeper spiritual life, that should stir us and disturb us         – leading us to the possibility that Jesus could say it to us                 – I know you and you have to work at having the love of God in your hearts         – and that will mean a couple of things in our spiritual lives, using as a guide today’s liturgy in particular:  + 1 – our sinful human nature could lead us to worship the golden calves that infect our lives                 – primarily money and the things that money can buy                 – Moses had to implore God not to destroy the people                         – unfortunately there are a number of golden calves that we have introduced into our lives + 2 – recognize the testimony to Jesus Son of God                 – Jesus mentioning here: John, Jesus’ own works, the Scriptures, and primarily Moses                         – we must become more centered in Jesus by becoming more centered in the Scriptures  + 3 – allow the recognition to lead to action                 – what the Hebrew people of John’s Gospel did not do                 – we must work out of the presence of God, and bring the presence of God into sharper focus by actually allowing God’s presence to be something that others can see and learn from + What a challenging, frightening possibility: to have the Son of God turn toward us and say: I know you: you do not have the love of God in your hearts. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Be Alright” — Dean Lewis IT WAS NIGHT The Gospel JOHN 13:21-30 Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ side. So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.” So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After he took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or to give something to the poor. So he took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

Gospelthink: When Judas betrayed me, it was indeed a dark hour. Have I betrayed Jesus because of my sin?

“I look up from the ground to see your sad eyes. You look away from me, and I see there’s something you’re trying to hide. And then you say to me you made a dumb mistake. And I feel the color draining from my face. And my friend said, ‘I know you love her, but it’s over. It doesn’t matter, put the phone away. It’s never easy to walk away. Let her go, it’ll be alright. Nothing heals the past like time. They can’t steal the love you’re born to find.”

Did the human Jesus ever give up on anyone? From the Scriptures, it would seem that he did not. He was always interested in helping people as much as he could. The Scriptures are clear that Jesus had pity on the crowds, and healed as many who came to him. It would seem however that sometimes he could not help because the person in question did not have faith. It is in such a light that we should study the Last Supper with Jesus’ treatment of Judas Iscariot. Jesus had previously shown his Apostles the importance of service as he washed their feet. Then he told them that they were his friends for whom he would give up his life. Then he comes to Judas. Jesus knew full well that Judas was not accepting what Jesus had said, and he therefore had betrayed Jesus to his enemies. “It was night” is a symbolic way of saying that perhaps Jesus had given up on Judas after hoping that Judas would see the love that Jesus wanted to build toward him. Romantic love relationships are different, of course. They disappear with some regularity as people try to find the person with whom they would spend their lives. Dean Lewis sings of such a situation in his song “Be Alright.”  The man in the relationship had done something wrong, and as a result, the relationship ceased.  Luckily the man had a close friend who wanted to help as much as he could. He told the man in the relationship what he had to do–to “Walk away, let her go,” that “it’ll be alright.” The man’s friend was right on with his advice. Do not try to keep the relationship if the other does not want it.  Of course, it is not easy to let the relationship go–it means admitting that there were things that were just not right, perhaps some it due to one’s own fault. But if a relationship does not work out for whatever reason, the best approach is to try to get it back together, but as the man’s friend said, after giving it time, let it go. Jesus did not want to give up on Judas, but he had no choice, and he suffered because of it. Not unlike a human love relationship that does not work out.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, sometimes in our lives, we have to begin again because of something that did not go right. Help me see and understand what I must do in order to bring about true love. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Sometimes in love relationships we simply must start over because they did not work out. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song “Be Alright” teach young people? 2. Given that “taking time” is important in any relationship, what are the other important elements of a love relationship 3. From your knowledge of the Scriptures, were there any other relationships that Jesus had other than Judas’ in which it seemed that Jesus “gave up”? 4. In John’s Gospel, Jesus washed the feet of Judas before Judas left to betray him. What does the action mean for us today? 5. In many, if not most love relationships, we human beings do not marry the person we first “love.” It means some type of a break-up therefore. In the song, Dean Lewis says that “it’ll be alright.” Why is it so difficult to believe that? 6.  Why do we try to keep a relationship when we know that it is over? 7. In your opinion, how old should a person be in order to make a permanent commitment?