[media presentation below] GospelThink Friday, July 1 MATTHEW 9:9-13 I called Matthew who followed me immediately. Prayerthoughts a. In my chosen way of living right now, in what ways am I following the Lord? b. Matthew’s call ended in an immediate response to follow the Lord. How can I follow the Lord right now? What can I do better? c. Answer the Pharisees: why did Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners? What can I learn from this? d. How can I show more mercy toward the people around me? e. In many ways I see myself as righteous in what I do, but in reality, there is sin in my life. How can I be better in the very near future? f. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will read Amos, chapter 8 and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  WE ARE SINNERS AND NEED JESUS  + Listening to the Lord’s dialogue with the Pharisees in the Gospel today, Jesus places us in one of two categories           – and it is not a placement that we like                      – we are either sinners or righteous, what he calls elsewhere self-righteous                      – if we are in the category of the self-righteous, then in Jesus’ eyes, we cannot be called to follow him                                – these are the people who feel that they do not need God because they are self-sufficient                                          – like the Israelites of Amos’ time—acting like they don’t need God, and yet they do, and the prophet Amos warns them that they will find out too late                                                    – predicting once again—as he does throughout his prophecies—that the Israelite people will be led to captivity—the Babylonian captivity  + The only other choice is to call ourselves sinners—and even though our human natures don’t like it, Jesus reminds us that that is what we are           – and there are a couple of things about that fact of our being sinners that we should think about                      – first of all, we have to recognize it                                – really understand that we are, because if we don’t acknowledge it, then we fall into the category of contradiction—only saying that we are sinners without wanting to do anything about it                      – secondly, if we are sinners, we will understand that we need Jesus—or as he says understand that we are sick and need a doctor who will help cure us                                – and just as we take medicine for physical health,                                          – we have to take medicine for our spiritual health                                                    – we absolutely need the words and actions of Jesus—the medicine to grow spiritually                                                               – making it as much a priority to absorb the life of Jesus into our own as we do to take medicine for physical health                      – and thirdly, if we are sinners, taking the medicine of the example of Jesus, one of the primary medications—if we can call it that—is mercy toward others                                – Jesus reminding us today that it is mercy that God wants, not sacrifice                                          – mercy toward others—real love toward them—is more important than sacrifice, more important even than our worship of God  + If we are honest with ourselves, we will see that we are not or have not been what we should be           – or in other words that we are sinners                      – and therefore we will want the help of Jesus who will lead us to spiritual health. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Intentions” — Justin Bieber featuring Quavo COMPLIMENT FOR NO REASON The Gospel LUKE 1:39-45 Thereupon Mary set out, proceeding in haste into the hill country to a town of Judah, where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out in a loud voice, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. But who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who trusted that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled.”

Gospelthink: Elizabeth recognized the importance of my earthly mother. Do I recognize the importance of my own family enough?

“Picture perfect, you don’t need no filter, gorgeous, make ‘em drop dead, you a killer. Shower you with all my attention–these are my only intentions. Shout out to your Mom and Dad for making you, standing ovation, they did a great job raising you. When I create, you’re my muse, that kind of smile that makes the news. Can’t nobody throw shade on your name in these streets. You make it easy to choose, you got a mean touch I can’t refuse.”

John the Baptist leaped in his mother’s womb because the world was about to change. Elizabeth could sense it as Mary visited her, and so she showered her with true compliments. Mary was indeed blessed among all women, she was to be the mother of the Son of God, and she trusted that the Lord’s words would be fulfilled in her. Elizabeth knew that Mary would help her as she gave birth to John the Baptist, but she knew most of all who Mary was and what she meant to the world. Justin Bieber and Quavo’s song “Intentions” sings a man’s compliments to his girlfriend. The man in the relationship wants to shower her with all of his attention and that was his only intention. There was no “ulterior motive.” He did not want anything in return. He wanted to simply say what he believed–the lady deserves to have compliments simply because they were the truth in his eyes. In a love relationship, perhaps one of the actions that a couple will overlook is the simple statement of a compliment to the other. Giving a compliment is easy to do, but it must be honest; the one making the compliment must want nothing for him/her self as a result of the compliment. The compliment must be “free standing” so to speak, that is, a statement that is the honest truth and no other reason for saying it. As they sing in their song, “these are my only intentions.” The situation applies to every day living as well, maybe even more so than in a love relationship. There are many situations in our own lives when we could give compliments to someone else, whether romantically involved or not. In fact, an argument could be made that the reason why there is so much anger in a person’s life is that he/she does not receive or give enough compliments for the good things that are part of every life. In the thought of wanting better relationships with people, giving compliments to others is important. If we were better at doing it, perhaps our lives would be better.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, the example of Mary the mother of Jesus is so important for a Christian. She deserved the compliments that were given to her. Give us the grace to recognize when we should compliment another.  Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Part of every good relationship includes true compliments to each other. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song “Intentions” teach young people? 2. In the Gospel passage, it is clear that Elizabeth knew the importance that should be given to Mary. There are important people in my life: do I give them the attention they deserve? 3. Is it true that when we compliment someone else, we are looking for something in return? Yes or no and why? 4. Do you believe that people in a love relationship compliment each other as much as they should? Yes or no and why? 5. What are some situations in our everyday living in which we can compliment others? 6. Is the meditation correct in saying that an angry person has a difficult time giving compliments?  Yes or no and why? 7. [Personal suggestion: today give a compliment to someone whom you have not complimented for a while.]