[media presentation below] GospelThink Friday, June 23 MATTHEW 6:19-23 I want to be your treasure and your light. Prayerthoughts a. Because of my human nature, I tend to collect the things—treasures—of earth. Do I  spend too much time and energy on those things? Perhaps I should give some things to the poor. b. I am involved in the treasures of heaven right now as I pray. Do I place trust in the Lord even as I do what I have chosen as my life’s work? c. It is a significant statement from the Lord: “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” Do I show by my actions that I have chosen treasure in heaven as a true guide for me? d. I should be spending time on making the eye sound, that is on the teaching of Jesus, because if I do, then there will be no darkness in my life. Which teaching of Jesus should be most important to me as I live right now? e. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will read 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION  + The Gospel continues to consider Matthew’s arrangement of Jesus’ principal doctrines in the Sermon on the Mount          – after six moral principles, and the three religious acts of Old Testament Israelites, Matthew and Jesus go into a section on how to love God and people better                   – here, using two images that are easy to dwell on that are really saying the same thing:                            – the way to become good people is to concentrate on heavenly treasure, not earthly treasure                            – the way to become good is to remain in the light of the good, thus avoiding the darkness of evil  + The first reading is from Paul’s so-called second letter to the Corinthians          – most probably a combination of a number of letters          – here, Paul is defending himself against Jewish enemies who have tried to discredit what Paul was doing                   – and he feels that he must prove to the Corinthians that he is a true minister of Jesus Christ  + The question that the liturgy puts for our consideration today probably revolves around the idea of the general direction of our lives          – of course, you and I have chosen the general direction of the Christian, saying that following Jesus is the way that we will approach this world          – as you are thinking of that, the liturgy suggests a couple things:  + From the first reading and Paul’s reflection          – we have done some things of religion—some sacrifice, good works—that we can be proud of                   – but we have to remember at all times why we are doing them                            – we are weak human beings and we absolutely must have the presence of God in our lives if we want to be good  + From the Gospel          – first, where is our treasure?                   – in what do we place the most hope?                            – from the way that we think, say and do, is it clear that we have chosen the general direction of Jesus?          – and secondly, is there some darkness in our lives that is bringing about some evil?                   – it won’t be a gigantic darkness because we are here, but some little darkness—some grudge, some thought about someone that we won’t let go of—that is hurting us  + We have examples of great saints that have gone before us—Paul          – their fundamental direction in their lives was to be as good as possible in what they were doing                   – it should be our guide as well. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Style” — Taylor Swift FLAMES OR PARADISE The Gospel JOHN 4:27-30 [Jesus’] disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, “What are you looking for?” or “Why are you talking with her?” The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?” They went out of the town and came to him.

Gospelthink: The Samaritan woman saw who I was. Is it clear from my life that I have chosen the Lord?

“Midnight. You come and pick me up, no headlights, long drive, could end in burning flames or paradise. It’s been a while since I have even heard from you. I should just tell you to leave ’cause I know exactly where it leads but I watch us go ’round and ’round each time. You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye and I got that red lip classic thing that you like, and when we go crashing down, we come back every time ’cause we never go out of style. He can’t keep his wild eyes on the road, takes me home, lights are off. He’s taking off his coat. I say, ‘I heard that you’ve been out and about with some other girl’. He says, ‘What you’ve heard is true but I can’t stop thinking about you,’ and I said, ‘I’ve been there too a few times.’”

The lady and the man in the relationship described in Taylor Swift’s song “Style” are still beginning a love relationship. They have dated in the past, and both of them discovered that there were other people in their lives with whom they could have a relationship. Their own relationship was one that had magic moments in which they thought that they had found the perfect match for themselves. But there were other times when just the opposite was true, when they were going “round and round” trying to discover how their relationship together would be. Dating always involves such thinking because early on, we just never know what the other person is going to be like. It is a discovery process, and we will always find ourselves “second guessing” our thinking. We realize that the decision is a momentous one, and early on, generally speaking, we are simply not able to find the love the way we want it. These meditations have often pointed out that Jesus did not have anything to say about the process of discovering “romantic love.” Life commitments to each other were arranged rather than discovered in Jesus’ time. Consequently, the person searching the Gospels for how to work with romantic love will never find it. But the Scriptures give many examples of people searching for love in their lives. Studying the lady in John’s Gospel who has been described as the “Samaritan woman,” we see a person who was searching for love in the life she was leading. The fact that she had several lovers is a statement of a person trying to discover true love. No doubt, the lady had found that discovering such love was not at all easy, exactly the same conclusion of the two lovers in Taylor Swift’s song. They both were continuing to discover love elsewhere even as they were involved in discovering love with each other. The lesson for the twenty-first century Christian is a lesson of caution when one is discovering romantic love, that is, when one is dating. At all times, the potential marriage partners must be totally aware of the commitment that they intend to make.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, you taught us that love in every form was the desire that you had for us. As we grow in love and romantic love in our lives, give us the grace to always understand your idea of love, both in a general way and in a romantic way. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Discovering who to love as a romantic partner has difficulties that we must face. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. In he Gospel, Samaritan women were considered as ritually “impure” by the Hebrew people. Is “prejudice” still part of our world today? Yes or no and why? 2. The woman left the water jar at the well, saying, in effect, that what was originally important was no longer important. In general, are most Christians concerned at the “important” things in life–God and how to live a good life? Yes or no and why? 3. What is your understanding of the “Messiah”? See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 711-716.  4. Text analysis: ” I watch us go ’round and ’round each time.” What is the meaning of the sentence? 5. Are couples who are beginning love relationships usually as honest with each other as the song portrays? Yes or no and why? 6. Should beginning love couples be totally honest about their former dating patterns? Yes or no and why?  7. In general, is it a good thing to date a person that one has dated before? Yes or no and why? 8. Is there such a thing as “love at first sight,” that is, a love relationship that will end in full commitment and marriage after only one date? Yes or no and why? 9. Much of the time, “discovering love” means that the couple was involved in premarital sex. Why is this not acceptable? See Catechism, number 2353. 10. What are the dating patterns in your locale right now? In particular, what do couples usually do on dates? Is “dating around” acceptable?  When do couples start dating exclusively? 11. What is your opinion of the meditation’s thought that young people have to be “cautious” in their dating patterns. Is it a true statement? Yes or no and why? 12. What does the song “Style” teach young people?