[media presentation below] GospelThink Saturday December 2 LUKE 21:34-36 Always conduct your life as I have told you. Prayerthoughts a. Am I fearful of the end of the world? Yes or no and why? b. Jesus wants me to realize that the end of the world means eternal redemption for me. How do I understand “redemption”? c. Have the “anxieties of daily life” drowned out my love of God? d. I should not be “surprised” that I will die, because everyone will experience it. But what is it about death that makes me fearful and what can I do about it now? e. Jesus wants me to be vigilant “at all times.” What does that mean for me given my busy life? f. In my life right now, what is the percentage of time that I will spend on “Christmas shopping” compared to the percentage of time in prayer? g. What adjustments in my life right now should I make in order to make this season of Advent a little more meaningful? h. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will write a prayer asking for the grace for a happy death.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  WORDS FOR FINAL DAYS  + The Gospel are the words of Jesus as he talked about the end of the world                      – and he is quite direct with his approach to our behavior                      – fitting since this is the last day of the Church year                                – speaking of the way to behave at the end of the world or at the end of our lives           – and the first reading from Daniel is the description of the end of the world which will end in triumph                      – the four kingdoms are defined earlier—Babylonian, Median, Persian and Greek                                – the fourth is particularly evil                                          – but it too will be conquered                                                    – and the holy ones—the faithful Israelites—will live forever  + Our challenge is to take the words of Jesus, and let them be a mirror           – to look and listen to them, and see how our lives are doing right now                     – and so we should listen to the Lord’s directives in that light:                                – that we do not become drowsy from having too much                                          – and having too much is exactly what could be happening to us                                – that the day doesn’t catch us off guard                                          – that is the day of the return of the Lord at the second coming or the day of our deaths, which ever comes first                                          – that we begin each day with a “thank you” for letting us have another day of life here, and a promise that if it is our last, we will be prepared for the Lord’s coming                                – that we pray to escape the tribulations                                          – sincere prayer that we have peace in our lives and in our families                                          – prayer that is real                                                    – that is, taking the specific time for it, as you are now, as well as time out for some thought directed to God during the day                                                    – and working for the peace that we want to have in the outside world, to be present in our own little worlds                                – that we pray to stand before the Lord                                          – that that is our first priority in life                                                    – to appear before the Lord the way he wants us to be  + The readings give us the whole Christian message today           – if we live the way the Lord wants us to,                      – then our reward will be great.

MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Easy on Me” — Adele THE GIFT OF TIME The Gospel JOHN 4:16-18,27-30 Jesus said to the woman, “Go call your husband and come back.” The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered he and her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” Jesus’s 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?

“There ain’t no gold in this river that I’ve been washing my hands in forever. I know there is hope in these waters, but I can’t bring myself to swim. When I am drowning in this silence, let me in. Go easy on me, I was still a child, didn’t get the chance to feel the world around me. I had no time to choose what I chose to do, so, go easy on me. There ain’t no room for things to change when we are both so deeply stuck in our ways. You can’t deny how hard I have tried. I changed who I was to put you first, but now I give up, go easy on me.”

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. Studying her situation leads us to conclude that she had many relationships that had failed. According to her, Adele’s song “Easy on Me” was written as a result of her divorce. Reversing our thinking then, it is an excellent song for anyone who is thinking of marriage because she explains what she did wrong. The person looking toward marriage can listen to her and “do it right.” Among her lessons, she tells us: She knew that she said “forever,” but she did not know its real meaning; When the marriage was a little shaky, she knew that there could be hope; She knew that he could still “let her in,” if she could convince him; In many ways, she was still a child with romantic love because she had much to learn; She knew that she should have spent more time to know what she wanted; She knew that she and her lover were often stuck in their ways, and wouldn’t change; She knew that she had to try harder; She knew that she had to change, but she had to sense that he would as well. It is difficult to summarize all of those thoughts into one direction, but if there is one guiding thought to all of it, it may be her words, “I had no time.” A person in love with another does not know the personality and feelings of another. The person has knowledge of how she/he feels in a situation in whatever circumstance they are in, but she/he really has no knowledge of how the other feels. And the only way of knowing is by giving themselves the gift of time. Then during that time, they would be able to communicate exactly what their feelings were, and change in need be. It is interesting in the story of the Samaritan woman in the Gospels that Jesus knew that she did not “have a husband.” In twenty-first century terminology, she had a number of divorces. Perhaps it was because she had not given enough time to each relationship.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, permanent commitments are very difficult to establish given our lifestyles, but if couples are to be happy, such commitments must be learned. In whatever role of life we choose, give us the grace to follow through on the commitments that we make. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: There are reasons why a relationship fails, and it is difficult to face those reasons. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song “Easy Son Me” teach young people?   2. What is most striking about the story of the Samaritan woman in John’s Gospel? 3. In your opinion, what is the biggest reason that there are divorces in our country? 4. Studying the lessons outlined by Adele’s song and the meditation text, which one is most important to learn? 5. The meditation suggests that “giving each other time” is most important for love relationships. Do you agree with this analysis and why or why not? 6. According to most counselors, lack of communication is the number one cause of marriage breakdowns. Obviously, the more time a couple has, the better the communication will be. Why do many couples not take enough time to build the relationship?