[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, May 16 JOHN 16:5-11 The Spirit that I give helps you distinguish right from sin. Prayerthoughts a. One of the tasks in the spiritual life is to ask questions of the Scriptures. Here Jesus wanted his disciples to ask questions so that they could learn more. Whenever I read a particular Gospel, my question should be: “What are you telling me, Lord?” b. The Advocate is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit guides me as I study the Gospels. My prayer ought to include a prayer asking for the guidance of the Spirit in all that I do. c. The Spirit among other things will prove the world wrong about what sin, righteousness, and judgment mean. In John’s understanding, sin deals with a lack of belief in Jesus.  Do I show sincere faith in the Lord in everything I do? d. Understanding righteousness reveals understanding the truth about Jesus’s resurrection.  Once again, I should thank the Lord for redeeming me and continue to ask the Spirit’s guidance in living out his redemption in my life.  e. The world has condemned the Lord, and it is the world that should be condemned. Do I tend to pay too much attention to the goods of the world? f. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will read the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 16:16-40 and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT  + As we liturgically move closer to Pentecost, we will hear more talk of the Holy Spirit           – or as Jesus talks of here, the Advocate                      – the role of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, is to be the grace whereby we live our lives as Christians                                – the Holy Spirit is that person of the Trinity who moves us to follow what Jesus wants of us  + In the Gospel, in the language of John the evangelist, Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit during the Last Supper           – there are three elements of the Holy Spirit’s role described here—this is John’s interpretation at this point of his Gospel:           – 1 – the Holy Spirit, the Advocate will help us understand sin                     – the sin is the refusal to believe in Jesus                                – Paul knew that, and that was his whole preaching pattern as we can see in the Acts today during the second missionary journey                                          – the central thrust of the miracle story is the belief in Jesus                      – we don’t have that problem of not believing in Jesus                                – our problem lies more in being too complacent in our belief of Jesus           – 2 – the Holy Spirit, the Advocate will help us understand righteousness                      – and that which is truly right, that which is truly “what should be” that is, based on justice                                – in this context here, that which “should be” in Jesus’ eyes is that he returns to the Father, allowing the Holy Spirit to continue Jesus’ work by giving us the grace we need to follow Jesus           – 3 – the Holy Spirit, the Advocate will help us understand the condemnation of evil, the “ruler of this world” as this translation puts it                      – one of the primary gifts of the Holy Spirit is the ability to understand the evil of life                                – the Holy Spirit moves us to see that we do evil                                          – quiet moments like now as we do serious reflection about ourselves                                          – the Holy Spirit is at work making us understand our lives if we allow that serious time for reflection  + Jesus gives us three specific areas of the way the Holy Spirit works today in John’s Gospel:           – basically what we are doing now is asking that Holy Spirit to guide every action of our lives. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Mirrors” — Justin Timberlake THE CAUTION IN COMING BACK The Gospel MATTHEW 16:13-16 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Phillipi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Gospelthink: Peter finally understood who I really was. Have I shown that I believe in Jesus by the way that I act, speak and think?

“I don’t wanna lose you now. I’m looking right at the other half of me. The vacancy that sat in my heart is a space that now you hold. Show me how to fight for now, and I’ll tell you it was easy coming back into you, once I figured it out—you were right here all along. It’s like you’re my mirror, my mirror staring back at me. I couldn’t get any bigger with anyone else beside of me. And now it’s clear as this promise that we’re making, two reflections into one.”

Peter the Apostle is one of the most interesting people to study in the Gospels because he was so unpredictable. Jesus called him in the first place, and he responded whole-heartedly, but then he had doubts. He came back to total acceptance of Jesus when he professed that Jesus was the Messiah, but then he was to deny him completely a little later, only to come back to the love relationship once again. Perhaps he was so unpredictable because he was constantly aware of how cautious he had to be in order to make a permanent commitment. We see a similar situation in Justin Timberlake’s song “Mirrors,” but here are completely different circumstances, of course. It is a song of the man in a relationship returning to a previous relationship after being away for a while. In his mind, it was a mistake to leave, and now he is not about to change his mind again. Using commitment-type language, he assures the lady in the relationship that this time, he will stay and will not leave. As he says, he now considers her to be his other half, the filled vacancy, the mirror of himself who was with him all along even though he did not realize it, the one reflection instead of two. What is not mentioned in the song, however, is the caution that both must have as they begin the relationship again. There was a breakup at one time–whether his fault, as he hints at in the song, or hers–but it was a parting of the ways. Whenever such a breakup has occurred at one time, the couple must be very cautious as they begin again. There is no doubt that it can work again, and it is a wonderful feeling of love. But they must be careful. Entering relationships is serious business, especially relationships that once were vibrant and fell apart. Any person who comes back into a situation after a time must have the same type of caution. Just as a couple must choose a renewed love relationship with a certain wariness, a person who re-enters into a renewed spiritual life must do the same. Peter the Apostle discovered that fact in his life, but eventually chose to make Jesus the center of his life. It is a lesson that any spiritual person must learn.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, modern music can easily direct our thinking when it comes to relationships. Your Son wants us to choose his way of life as he wanted Peter to choose it, and we as Peter honestly want to accomplish it. Give us the grace to carefully choose it in our lives. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: It is a great feeling to move back into a relationship that we have left by mistake, but we must be very cautious. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. From your knowledge of the Gospels, describe the character of Peter the Apostle. 2. Project: the presenter may want to study with the class, the persons of John the Baptist, Elijah and Jeremiah, showing how they were prophets at the time they lived. 3. Obtain a copy of the video to the song and study it. What is most striking to you about it? Why? 4. The person in the song does not mention any “apology.” Why would some type of apology be necessary in the song? 5. The song uses excellent imagery about making a commitment. What is most striking about the texts? 6. It seems a bit early to make this type of commitment after only recently coming back to the relationship. How much time should a person give before he/she makes a permanent commitment? 7. In your experience, can there be some type of “easy” reconciliation between a couple after they have had a breakup? Yes or no and why? 8. In your opinion, do most people have a clear idea of a permanent commitment when they enter it in our world today? Yes or no and why? 9. What is the fundamental reason why people must be careful as they re-enter a relationship that failed at one time? 10. How is the caution that the meditation suggests “worked out” in a relationship? 11. What does the song “Mirrors” teach young people?