[media presentation below] GospelThink Wednesday, July 6 MATTHEW 10:1-7 I wanted my disciples to preach the Gospel first to those who were close to me. Prayerthoughts a. Jesus gave his Apostles authority to drive out evil. I must drive out the evil in my life.  Identify the evil around me and determine a way to conquer it in my own way. b. The Lord appointed specific people to be his Apostles. I am a person He has appointed in the sense that I am His creation. In my work, am I honoring the Lord who has created me by doing my work with love? c. Jesus chose Judas who betrayed him. In what ways have I betrayed Jesus in the past? Perhaps this is the time to renew my asking for forgiveness. (This is the task of the meditation.) d. Jesus restricts his Apostles to work only with Israel, the thrust of his ministry on earth. Most of my “missionary activity” will be with people whom I know. How am I treating those in my acquaintance whom I know best? e. Jesus’ first directive is to preach the Kingdom, that is, that God is present in our world. Do I show my belief in God as I go about my daily work? f. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will write a prayer asking for forgiveness for any sins of the past. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  TIME TO SEEK THE LORD  + The prophet Hosea prophesied during a very rough time in Israel’s history           – the kings were corrupt                      – and Hosea kept warning against the influence of pagan gods           – constantly his message was the reading today: “It is time to seek the Lord.”  + More or less, that was the basic command which Jesus gave to the Apostles as he begins his missionary sermon in Matthew’s Gospel           – the Apostles’ mission was to announce:           The kingdom of heaven is at hand.                     – that is, in general, it is time to seek the Lord                                – it is time to seek the kingdom of God,                                          – along with certain characteristics that should be developed  + As people interested in the spiritual life, we are constantly involved with that kingdom           – and for us the fundamental message of these two readings is quite real:                      – we know that every day it is time to seek the Lord and that the kingdom of heaven is at hand                                – that understanding should move us to a stronger spiritual life  + As we look at Hosea’s message, we know that our times are not as turbulent as Hosea’s,           – but it is still time to seek the Lord                      – because we still have the idolatry of pagan gods—pleasure, money and power which can manage to infect us                                – there must be only one God in our lives, and that is the God that we have promised to serve  + As a spiritual person looks at Jesus’s message in the Gospel, we know that our mission is not so much to the lost sheep of Judaism, but now, to the lost sheep of Christianity           – we must thoroughly believe that it is time to seek the Lord, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, is quite alive in our world, and we ought to behave that way   + There are two strong fundamental messages for our consideration today that are really the same:           – it is time to seek the Lord right now by announcing the Kingdom, that is the presence of the Lord. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Say You Won’t Let Go” — James Arthur EVIDENCE THAT IT IS PERMANENT The Gospel MATTHEW 3:7-10 When John the Baptist saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good that is evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Gospelthink: My friend John reminds you that if you are good, you have to produce evidence of it in your life. What evidence am I showing that I am a good person?

“I knew I loved you, but you’d never know ‘cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go. I knew I needed you but I never showed. But I wanna stay with you until we’re grey and old. Just say you won’t let go. So I wrote this song for you. Now everybody knows that it’s just you and me. Just say you won’t let go.”

John the Baptist knew all about permanent commitments because he had made one even to the point of death. Called to be the precursor of the Messiah, he was committed completely to his job. Consequently, he demanded such a commitment of people who said that they were committed to religion and the pursuit of virtue. He called the Pharisees and Sadducees to such a permanence because in John’s mind, their job was to do what they could to promote religious authenticity. So, he tells them “Produce good that is evidence” of your job. Comparable commitments should be treated with the same respect. In romantic situations in our lives, commitments are made all the time. But only some of them will be regarded as permanent. Some are said to be permanent, but because of the human condition, they do not remain permanent. One of the signs that it will remain is to make a promise that is impossible to break. In a sense that is what the man in the relationship of the song “Say You Won’t Let Go” does as he dedicates a song to his beloved. By doing it, he says that the commitment will be permanent because the song will never be “un-written.” Permanent commitments are serious business. They cannot be made carelessly. Only too often we find ourselves saying “permanent-like words” such as “forever” and “without end” and we do not mean them at all. Romantic heartaches are evidence that the permanent commitments are not kept much of the time. John the Baptist made a commitment that could not be broken; his life was evidence that he would keep it; he wanted the religious leaders to do the same. James Arthur sings of a permanent commitment in his song that he can never break if he means what he says in the song. As we consider our permanent commitments of romantic love or love spelled out in lasting friendship or the like, we must review our intentions to see if our permanent commitments are as permanent as we say they are.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, Your Son’s precursor John gave us an example and a guide to make permanent commitments to You. May we imitate His example, always giving evidence of the permanent commitments we make.  Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: When one makes a condition that is impossible to break, the relationship will be a permanent one. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1  What is your understanding of “repentance.” 2. Do most Catholic Christians show the “repentance” they should? Yes or no and why? 3. What are some signs that a person is showing true repentance? 4. Analysis: In general, why are people “scared of letting go” of a relationship? 5. Why do many married couples not understand the permanent commitment connected with marriage? 6. In general, counselors argue against using words like “forever” and “never” by young people.  Why do you think they argue this way? 7. In general, do you see any “exceptions” that can be made to permanent commitments? If so, what are the conditions for those “exceptions”? 8. What does the song “Say You Won’t Let Go” teach young people?