[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, May 7, Fifth Sunday of Easter JOHN 14:1-12 I am the way, truth and life. Prayerthoughts a. One of the most frequent lines in the Gospels is “Do not be afraid,” here, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” What are some things that I am most fearful of and why? Perhaps I should pray about them.   c. Although Thomas says to the Lord that he does not know the way, Jesus tells us that we do know it. We know what the Lord has taught us and what we should do. What is the most important idea that Jesus has given me in the Scriptures? d. John’s Gospel gives us the famous quote of Jesus: that he is the way, the truth and the life. As I study the way of Jesus, in what ways in particular am I following it? e. As I think of the truth of Jesus, what truth is most important for the world in general? f. As I think of the life that Jesus gives, how do I define the “Christian life”? g. Jesus refers to the works that He and His Father have done. As I study the actions of this past week, which ones were truly “Christian” and which ones were not worthy of the name “Christian”? h. I can do works that are greater in the sense that I am still alive as a human and can do the works of God. What “works of God” do I do in my living? i. My prayerthoughts…   Today I will will read the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 6, and write an important thought from it.   Some Thoughts on the Liturgy THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM           One of the facts of human living is this: if we want to find real solutions in life, we have to first admit that there is a problem. After the tragedy that enveloped Columbine High School in Denver a number of years ago, an editorial in the New York Times said this: “We’ll move on from this, just as we did after the riots and the assassinations of the 1960’s, and the soaring crime rates of the 70’s and 80’s, and the massacre on the Long Island Rail Road and the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in the 1990’s. We’ll move on until the next time, when another dozen or so kids are killed, or something worse happens. Then we’ll throw up our hands again and ask what went wrong. It’s like that with an addiction. Nothing happens until you admit you have a problem.” And tragedies have happened again, and we moved on again. And tragedies will continue to happen. Perhaps we still have not completely admitted our problem yet.            What is our problem? Many people have different answers to that question and I cannot pretend that I have an answer. But studying it long enough, I think the best answer is that problems always begin with a person somewhere, somehow. To study the problems that are present is to study some personal situation. The problems themselves are merely the symptoms of a problem of a person or personal situation. Killings in high schools and colleges are symptoms; the evil of our world is a symptom of the problem.            Consequently, stating the problem is easy enough—people cause the problems. As the famous popular philosopher Pogo says: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” But doing something about it is the difficult thing because we do not like to admit that we are the cause of any problem. We constantly say “it’s not my fault” to any evil.            I say all of this by way of introduction to arguably the most important statement that Jesus makes to us in the Gospels about the way we should behave in our lives, and therefore the answer to problems. He said to us; all we have to do is do what he did—period. Jesus said:           I am the way and the truth and the life. There it is: if we manage to accept him, truly accept him, we will have no problems, and we will not be the cause of any of the problems in our world.            We will have personal situations: we will have life, but we will not cause problems, and we will be able to handle anything that comes because we will live and act and speak and behave as he has taught us. We have all promised that we will do this, by the way, and we say it over and over in this Easter season.             We must completely accept what we have been promised. I think that that means one basic thing: we adults must convince ourselves personally about what Jesus has done:           – not the people who do not go to Church for whatever reason;           – not the people who are so selfish out there in the world;           – not just teach it to our kids, although that is important;           – not even the person whom I will meet in the next moment;           – no. Me—the enemy who is us—I must convince myself that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life—in my personal life, right here, right now, in my circumstances, with the situations that I have.            Is this too simple of a solution for the problems of the world, namely to make Jesus the way, the truth and the life for us? I do not think so; our problem may be perhaps that we have not tried it enough to see if it will work. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Hello” — Adele SORROW AND FORGIVENESS The Gospel MATTHEW 18:21-35 Peter…asked Jesus, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!  I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”

Gospelthink: I tell a story that explains what happens when a person does not forgive. I have forgiven you. Have I learned that I must forgive others?

“Hello, it’s me. I was wondering if after all these years you’d like to meet, to go over everything. They say that time’s supposed to heal ya, but I ain’t done much healing. Hello, can you hear me? I’m in California dreaming about who we used to be when we were younger and free. I’ve forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet. There’s such a difference between us and a million miles. Hello from the other side. I must’ve called a thousand times to tell you I’m sorry for everything that I’ve done. But when I call you never seem to be home. Hello from the outside. At least I can say that I’ve tried to tell you I’m sorry for breaking your heart. But it don’t matter, it clearly doesn’t tear you apart anymore.”

Jesus’ parable concerning forgiveness is one of the most powerful teaching stories that he spoke. The obvious conclusion is that we must forgive others, and if we say that we are sorry for something and receive forgiveness, then we are bound to forgive others when they say that they are sorry. The theological conclusion is that God has forgiven us and will continue to forgive us; it should be a spiritual principle then that we will forgive anyone who asks our forgiveness. Adele’s song “Hello” is about a person asking to be forgiven. She has “gone over everything” in her mind, and her conclusion is that she was wrong and must call to tell her once-upon-a-time boyfriend that she was. He does not seem to respond, and so she seems to make the difficult decision to move on after apologizing. It is a wonderful lesson that can lead to better relationships and better moments of understanding our romantic pursuits. In essence, it is what true love is all about–the ability to let the other live his/her own life. It is not easy, of course. No one likes the feeling of rejection. The natural tendency is to want to retaliate, and unfortunately, many do. But the Christian way of responding is at least to say that we are sorry, and then move on in life. The person in Adele’s song is doing just that. At the same time, Jesus reminds us that we must forgive others if they say that they are sorry.  Seeking sorrow for past actions and forgiveness are two elements of the same action. Christians are called to say sincerely that they are sorry when they realize that they have done something wrong. Once it is said, they hope that forgiveness will be given them, but no matter whether they have received it or not, they must learn at the same time that they will forgive others when forgiveness is asked of them.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we know that You forgive us whenever we ask for it sincerely. Give us the grace to forgive others no matter what the circumstances. Be with us, we pray.

— +++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: One of the marks of true love is the ability to say and mean “I am sorry.”DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Gospel text analysis: “Seventy-times seven” means limitless forgiveness. Do you think that this is possible in today’s world? Yes or no and why? 2. There is much exaggeration in Jesus’ story. Why do you think Jesus used exaggeration in his sermons? 3. In your opinion, are there many situations like Jesus describes in his story happening in our world today? Yes or no and why? 4. Text analysis: “Time is supposed to heal ya.”  Is it a true statement that time should heal a situation?  Yes or no and why? 5. In your opinion, Is there ever a time when someone should stop trying to ask for forgiveness? Yes or no and why?  6. What is your definition of true love? 7. In your opinion, do most people turn to revenge when a wrong has been committed against them? Yes or no and why? 8. What is the best way to show forgiveness to someone that you know fairly well? 9.  What does the song “Hello” teach young people?