[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, November 26, Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe MATTHEW 25:31-46 Jesus as King tells us that the way we treat others is the way we are treating him. Prayerthoughts a. Is the end of the world something that I fear? Why or why not? b. Truthfully with no thought of feeling pride in what I may or may not have done, what is the principal reason that I should be placed with the sheep?..   c. Take time to go through each of Jesus’ situations asking what I am doing in the areas mentioned and what I can do better. d. Jesus words: whatever I did to the least of the people, you did to me. Without judging anyone, who do I consider the least in my life right now? Do I look at them as if they were the Lord? e. As Jesus goes through the list again (the opposite of those who are righteous), what should I be most concerned about as I live right now? f. I definitely should pray for those who do not have the necessities of life, but further, should I give a little more to food kitchens or charity establishments? g. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will give some money or time to someone in need, Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  YOU DO TO ME  + There a number of Gospels which can be labeled to be “most important”           – that is, if you live just this one Gospel, and forget about everything else, you would live a perfect Christian life           – today’s is one of them  + One of the best ways to improve our spiritual lives is to think about what should be guiding our behavior at the moment of our deaths, the topic of the Gospel today           – the Hebrew religious mind would expect Jesus to say that at the judgment at the end of our lives you should be following the Law of Moses                      – that which was the criterion of everything the devout Jewish person did in Jesus’ day                                – when Jesus spoke of the judgment, he did not mention the Law of Moses   + The religious person might expect Jesus to say that we should be thinking of God in some form           – the God whose name was so sacred to the Hebrew people that they would not even pronounce it                      – the religious people would have thought that Jesus would say something about that God, their approaches to God, their lives with God, the name they used for God                                – Jesus did not mention God  + In fact, Jesus did not mention the Law; he did not mention tradition, he did not refer to the prophets, the patriarchs, religious practices and prayers, synagogue, church, none of these           – instead, when it came down to the final analysis of a person                      -when judgment had to be made concerning what a person had done                                – at that moment, the most sacred of all moments in a person’s whole life                                          – Jesus says everything depends on how much the person has given to others                                                    – the whole after-life depends on giving to people                                                               – that is, how a person gives to others will be the measure that a person will be measured with for all eternity           – that was an absolutely incredible statement for a Hebrew religious leader to make  + And, as if that wasn’t enough to shock people, Jesus even goes further than that           – he talks about the least brothers and sisters                      -defining “least” as how we judge others to be “least” in our view of things:                                – that is, those who criticize us, those who don’t like us, those who refuse to understand us, those who are evil, those who do bad things, those who are terrorists, those who are unable to understand the evil of their actions, those who have serious addiction problems, those who hate our families, those who are so sick that they don’t know what they are doing, those who have no homes and look so helpless           – giving even to the least brothers and sisters  + This is the last Sunday of the Church year, the last time we will be using the Gospel of Matthew on Sundays for another three years           – this is the last portion of Matthew’s Gospel before Matthew considers the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus           – only Matthew of all the evangelists tells this story                      – it’s like Matthew is saying:                                – you have heard my history of Jesus Christ and what it means for humankind                                          – if there is one and only one thing that you should remember about Jesus, remember this:                                                    – our doctrine is based on love of everyone and giving to them                                                               – that should completely change our attitudes toward the way we treat others                                                                         – and the question that goes with it—does it? MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Memories” — Maroon 5 BUT EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT The Gospel   LUKE 24:13-24, 33-35 Now on the day of the Resurrection two of his disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” … “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and words before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us; they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.”…So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Gospelthink: I tell the two disciples of what I did, the redemption of humankind. Do I thank the Lord enough for what he has done for me?

“Here’s to the ones that we got. Cheers to the wish you were here but you’re not. ‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories of everything we’ve been through. Toast to the ones here today, toast to the ones we lost on the way ‘cause the drinks bring back all the memories and the memories bring back you. There’s a time that I remember when I did not know pain, when I believed in forever and everything would stay the same. Now my hearts feels like December when somebody says your name ‘cause I can’t reach out to call you. But I know I will one day. Everybody hurts sometimes, everything gonna be alright.”

We know little about the two disciples who were traveling to Emmaus on the day of Jesus’ Resurrection, except that they were searching for answers. As we read Luke the evangelist’s account of what happened, we read about their questions, questions that dealt with Jesus who had been crucified. But their questions went much deeper than that. Since they were followers of Jesus, they were “hoping” that things in life could be better. They were hurting because they felt that perhaps their “hope” had no foundation. As they traveled with this stranger, however, they began to feel a little better. Jesus was able to show people that “everything will be alright.” It is the story of the song “Memories” by Maroon 5. The man in the relationship was thinking of the memories of the past which had ceased because she had left the relationship. But there was still hope. He felt that he would be able to reach her some day, saying “Everybody hurts sometimes,” but “everything gonna be alright.” The statement he makes is a rule for human life, perhaps. There is pain in this life, sometimes immense pain, pain that one wonders whether we will get over it or not. It is not only true for people who are discovering love relationships. It is unfortunately true for everyone’s life. Because we are human, our natures are such that some things will cause us pain. The final part of this special rule is the statement of a Christian in this world. Yes, it is true that everybody hurts, but it is also true that everything will be alright. Usually it happens even in this life, but for the Christian, it certainly will happen after we die. Then everything will be alright for sure as we experience the life which we call “eternal.” Of course, like the apostles on the road to Emmaus, we have to do some work in order to experience the feeling of “being alright.” The apostles turned around and went back to Jerusalem when they discovered Jesus. You and I are called to “turn around” in our lives, do some work to make ourselves better. We will then see that everything really is “alright” both in this life and in the next.

PRAYER  Good and gracious God, we often feel down in our lives when it seems that everything is causing pain. Give us the grace to understand that no matter what, because of the action of Your Son, everything will turn out well. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Although there may be pain, there is always hope. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song “Memories” teach young people? 2. What is the overall message of the Scriptural passage of the disciples on the road to Emmaus? 3. What is your definition of “hope”? 4. Besides love relationships that do not work out, what are the greatest hurts that young people feel in their lives? 5. [personal meditation or if you want share with the group.] Give an instance in your life when there was a hurt, but it turned out alright. 6. The final “alright” is “eternal life” which Jesus promises to everyone who follows him. Why is this promise not enough to make some people feel better? 7. In order to “turn around” in life, what are the primary rules a Christian must follow?