media presentation below] GospelThink Saturday, August 12 MATTHEW 17:14-20 I once again call you to strengthen your faith. Prayerthoughts a. Kneeling is a sign of respect. Do I respect everyone the way I should? b. The Lord mentioning the suffering that the young man had. There is much suffering around me. Do I show sufficient concern (and help if I can) for those suffering around me and in my world? c. Jesus once again speaks of a lack of faith, even though the man had faith enough to come to Jesus. Two points here: my faith—is it as strong as it should be? And, coming to the Lord: do I approach the Lord in prayer with every one of my problems? d. Jesus cured by casting the demon out of the boy. There are many demons that have been part of my life for which I should be repentant. Consider the demons that have been part of my life and the demons that are part of our world. What can I do to cast them out of my life and (if possible) of the world? e. Again, the Lord refers to my faith, and that if I had faith, I would be able to do amazing things. In what areas of my life should I show more faith in God? f. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will list all the evils that I see in the world, and say a prayer for those afflicted. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy                                                WHEN GOD IS PRIMARY IN OUR LIVES…  + The readings combine to give us a picture of what happens when we truly place God into our lives             – 1st: from the book of Deuteronomy, the Shema—                         – the statement that was to begin every Hebrew synagogue service             “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!  Therefore…”                         – it is the statement of how we should look on God—with total trust             – in the Gospel: Jesus answers the disciples who ask why they couldn’t do the healing                         – his answer deals with trust and faith in God                                     – with faith, everything is possible  + The pattern of the readings might be looked at this way             First, the statement:             1 – The Lord must be primary in our lives             – if every Hebrew service begins with that thought                         – it also should be a guiding thought for the Christian                                     – everything we do ought to reflect the fact that God is alive and well in our lives                                                 – there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind                                                             – we truly believe in God and what God has done for us             – no other god like power, pleasure or money dominate us             2 – God is working for the good in our lives all the time             – statement after statement in this reading from the Book of Deuteronomy brings this home                         – everything in the Promised Land has been given to you without you doing anything:             “…that you did not build…that you did not garner…that you did not dig…that you did not plant…”                         – even though we do not see the Lord at work in our life for one reason or another—with the Israelites, they were too occupied in getting to the Promised Land through the desert—                                     – the Lord is involved in bringing about the good things             3 – From the Gospel and Jesus’ words, we see that with faith, everything is possible                         – faith defined as trusting that as long as I work with God, things will work out                                     – miracles will happen, eventually                                     – God is working for us: all we have to do is truly believe it, and live that belief                         – which means: we have to learn to trust in God more                                     – to do our part in bettering the world and our small worlds,                                                 – but leaving everything ultimately up to God             4 – What is good for us may take some time to be accomplished                         – the cure for the boy took a while                                     – his father had tried everything, even the disciples of Jesus                                                 – but he was patient and persistent, and was able to accomplish his goal                         – the things that we hope for in this life may not happen right away                                     – but the good will be accomplished                                                 – as we place our trust in God  + God expects us to make God primary in our lives, and when we do, and have faith, the good we want will be accomplished. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Girls Like You” — Maroon 5 featuring Carli B MAKING THINGS RIGHT The Gospel MATTHEW 20:1-7 Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just. So they went off. (And) he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’

Gospelthink: This is the beginning of a story of a generous person, but the point here is that they had to work to get a reward. Do I give my best in the work that I do?

“Spent 24 hours; I need more hours with you, you spent the weekend getting even. We spent the late nights making things right between us, but now it’s all good, play me close ‘cause girls like you run ‘round with guys like me ‘til sundown when I come through. I need a girl like you—girls like you love fun and me too. I need a girl like you.”

The point that Jesus wanted to make in his story of the people working in the vineyard was that no matter how much they worked, they had the possibility of gaining eternal life. But what is important in all of the situations that Jesus gave was the work that had to be done. They all had to work in the vineyard in order to receive their reward. They all received the same reward, but they all had to work for it first. Laboring to receive a reward is part of our life. We believe strongly that a “laborer is worth his wage” as Jesus once said. There are all kinds of problems with the attitudes of people with regard to work–laziness, complaining about other workers, not enough pay for the amount of work done as in Jesus’ story, but be that as it may, the bottom line is *that someone must do the work. Likewise in any relationship, romantic or otherwise, if we are to accomplish the end goal, we must work in order to get it. The good thing about Maroon 5 and Carli B’s song “Girls Like You” is that the couple was willing to work at their relationship. They had to “make things right between” them, and once that happened, then the man in the relationship could come through with loving the way he should. The key to any job that demands action from a group of people is that everyone works together to get the job done. In a romantic relationship, it is the same. Both have to be willing to give, to care, to listen, and to understand. We live in a world where interaction between people is necessary to accomplish goals. At times, the interaction is between two lovers who are questioning whether they should live their lives together in marriage or a permanent commitment. The question can only be answered if both intend to work at it. It should be noted that the excellent video of the song honors women leaders in our world in a special way.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we all interact with people around us, one of whom we may choose in a permanent relationship.  Help us in our different interactions to always be willing to work at making them better. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: People involved in a relationship must work at it to make it last. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song “Girls Like You” teach young people? 2. Gospel analysis: Jesus’ story implies that we must work for eternal life. What is the best way to gain eternal life? 3. Song analysis: What are the principal ingredients of “making things right” in a love relationship? 4. What is the most common complaint when it comes to working in our world? 5. What are the ways to insure a good love relationship? 6. Do you feel that both parties in most love relationships know the importance of “working” to make the relationship real? Yes or no and why? 7. Why is there such a high percentage of marriages that do not work out? 8. In general, do you feel that women are honored enough in our world? Yes or no and why?