[media presentation below] GospelThink Thursday, December 7, Advent I MATTHEW 7:21,24-27 I want you to listen to these Scriptures because they become the foundation of your life. Prayerthoughts a. Do I look at myself as “wise and learned” or “childlike”? b. Do I truly “listen” to ALL the words of Jesus? c. Are my actions fundamentally following the mind of Jesus? How can I make them more so? d. Thinking of the story of Jesus, give an example of something that is built solidly on rock. e. Thinking of the story of Jesus, give an example of something that is built on sand. f. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will read Isaiah, chapter 26 and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  HEARING THE WORD OF GOD  + The Gospel easily lends itself to a deeply spiritual philosophical question:          – what kind of a foundation are we building our lives on—rock or sand                   – and the way to find the answer is to ask ourselves: how are we hearing the words of Jesus?                            – Matthew has Jesus summarize his whole moral code in the Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5-7 of his Gospel                                     – here at the end of the Sermon, he says that if we hear those words and put them into practice, we have built the solid foundation and we can await the Kingdom  + We can hear Jesus’ words in a couple ways          – in general, there might be three ways that we hear the Lord’s words:                   – here we are not considering the special case of those who have not heard the word of God for whatever reason                            – that is a situation that deserves special treatment          – here, three ways we listen to the word of God          1 – we hear, but we do not follow through                   – this is a sinful position                            – because these people hear and know the word of God and they know what direction they should be going, but they simply don’t or won’t          2 – the opposite extreme: the category where we hear and follow-through perfectly                   – those people for whom the Lord is an “eternal Rock” as Isaiah says in the first reading                   – never totally attainable on earth with a few exceptions because we are human beings                            – a person who hears and follows through completely, who trusts in the Lord forever as Isaiah brought up in the first reading          3 – but by far the majority of people in our world—and probably you and me—would be in a middle position                   – it is the category in which we hear, and follow through only partially                   – it is a hopeful category for the Christian because the chances are good that we will be able to improve—we are here!                            – the important part of this category is that we keep trying and never give up                                     – the spiritual life is not an easy life to form                                              – it takes real effort, and we have to really want to achieve it—it means wanting to do that day after day after day. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Can’t Stop the Feeling” — Justin Timberlake SHARING ONE’S JOY The Gospel LUKE 5: 24-26 Jesus said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”

Gospelthink: When you believe in me, you will see incredible things. Do I recognize that the Lord has given me unbelievable things because of my faith?

“I got this feeling inside my bones. It goes electric, wavey when I turn it on. All through my city, all through my home, we’re flying up, no ceiling, when we in our zone. I got that sunshine in my pocket, got that good song in my feet. I can’t take my eyes off it, moving so phenomenally. You gonna like the way we rock it, so don’t stop. I can’t stop the feeling, so just dance.”

It is not too difficult to get into the minds of the people that Jesus cured. Their lives were not happy before they met Him. In fact, there were no doubt many difficulties that their ailments caused. The man who was paralyzed for some reason in Luke’s Gospel could not do anything on his own, and had to rely on the generosity of others to help him. Suddenly, his whole life changed, bringing about good things for him, and astonishment for the people who witnessed the miracle. The man expressed it by glorifying God, perhaps keeping his stretcher as a remembrance of the good feelings that he had. When we feel good about something, we will want to show it in some way. Sometimes, it may not be something that we are proud of, but we feel the need to express it. The man in Justin Timberlake’s song “Can’t Stop The Feeling” feels good about the feeling he has–it is sunshine in his pocket, causing an electricity in his body that he never has felt before. He knows that the reason for his feeling is the person he is with, and so he shows it by his dance with her, wanting to make her feel good as well. There certainly are difficult things that happen in our lives, and too often we tend to dwell on them too much. But the fact is that there are good things in our lives also: we experience them every day. We can turn selfish and enjoy the moment ourselves, not sharing it with others. Or we can become interested in allowing others to experience our good feelings, encouraging them to enjoy the good that we have. The man that Jesus cured had a good feeling about what happened to him. His action was to glorify God. Our reaction to the good feelings that happen to us ought to be one of helping others to see our joy, and share it with them in a good way, maybe even by dancing with them.

PRAYER  Good and gracious God, Your Son gave many people reason to have good feelings in their lives. Continue to give us the opportunity to turn to Your Son, and thus feel good about our lives, and to share our good times with others. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: When we feel good about something, we should express it in a good way. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What are some incredible things that we have seen in the lives of others? 2. Text analysis: “Sunshine in my pocket.” What is the meaning of the phrase? 3. Why is dancing a good way to express our concern for others? 4. Why do people often express their good feelings by doing things that are not good? 5. Why do people tend to dwell too much on negative happenings in their lives? 6. What are some good ways to share our good feelings with others? 7. What does the song “Can’t Stop The Feeling” teach young people?