| THE TOP 5 with “guides for classroom use” December 17, 2023 NEED A FAVOR Jelly Roll REAL PRAYERThe GospelLUKE 11:1-4Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.” Gospelthink: I teach you how to pray.“I only talk to God when I need a favor, and I only pray when I ain’t got a prayer. So, who the heck am I to expect a Savior if I only talk to God when I need a favor. But God I need a favor! I know Amazing Grace, but I ain’t been livin’ them words. Swear I spend most Sundays drunk than I have in church. Hard cover King James only been savin’ dust on the nightstand, and I don’t know what to say the time I fold my hands. I only talk to God when I need a favor.” [Lyrics adjusted] Scripture scholars tell us that this shorter former of the Our Father in Luke’s Gospel is closest to what Jesus actually taught. And it should be noted that in the prayer, petition is certainly part of it, or in terms of the song from Jelly Roll: “God, I need a favor!” But it must be noted that both Jesus and the song point out that petition is only part of prayer. Jesus teaches other parts of the prayer such as praise of God and forgiveness. And in the song, the person is forgetting about the other elements of prayer. He admits that he cannot expect a “Savior if I only talk to God when I need a favor.” Believing that God will answer our prayers is certainly part of a Christian’s belief. And so the Christian must confidently ask God for help. But the Christian must also understand that in asking for a favor, she/he will recognize that God knows more than we do, and thus, may not give exactly what we ask for, but the Lord will always answer in some way. The point of the song, however, is that we must be aware that this prayer of petition or asking for a favor is not the only kind of prayer that should be offered to God our creator. In our prayer pattern, there should be some prayer of thanksgiving and praise for the very gift of our lives and all the good things that we experience. And a prayer of forgiveness should be in order, as we acknowledge the fact that as people with free will, we do things that hurt ourselves and others. But the song points out something further. If a Christian offers a prayer, thus expressing a belief in God, then the Christians’ actions will be the actions of a truly committed Christian. As the song suggests, such a Christian will read the Scriptures and will be in control of the alcohol she/he consumes. In general, that is to say, the follower of Jesus will truly be a follower of Jesus. PRAYER Good and gracious God, we who believe in you will always talk to you directly in prayer, and much of the time we will be asking for something. Help us to confidently continue to do that, but at the same time, understand every element of true prayer. Be with us, we pray. +++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Praying the prayer of petition is good, but prayer is much more than asking for something. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song “Need a Favor” teach young people? 2. In your opinion, do most people pray to their Higher Power? Yes or no and why? 3. What is the most important kind of prayer, as we think of prayer in terms of petition, thanksgiving, forgiveness or praise of our God? 4. Do you agree with the Church teaching that God will answer all of our prayers? Yes or no and why? 5. Give an example of a prayer of thanksgiving. 6. Give an example of a prayer asking for forgiveness. 7. In general, why should Christians pray? NUMBER 1 USED TO BE YOUNG Miley Cyrus I TOOK ANOTHER ROADThe GospelMATTHEW 6:22-23Jesus said: “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”Gospelthink: The light of God should direct your whole life. “The truth is bulletproof. There’s no fooling you. I don’t dress the same, me and who you say I was yesterday have gone our separate ways. Left my living fast somewhere in the past ‘cause that’s for chasing cars, turns out open bars lead to broken hearts and going way too far. I know I used to be crazy, I know I used to be fun; you say I used to be wild, I say I used to be young. Left my living fast somewhere in the past, and took another road.” During the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus becomes philosophical as he teaches what happens when we allow either the positives, the light, or the negatives, darkness, to govern us. Using the thought of our body’s eye, that which allows into our minds light or darkness, he tells his followers that we are responsible for what we do, and if we choose the negative, the darkness, it will have a profound effect on everything in our lives. He instructs us, then, to choose the light, to choose the positive. Singing that she is choosing the light, or in her words “Left my living fast somewhere in the past,” Miley Cyrus goes a positive direction in her song, “Used to be Young.” She says of the song: “This song is about honoring who we’ve been, loving who we are and celebrating who we will become. I feel proud when reflecting on my past and optimistic when thinking about the future.” So, the past for her is a good thing, and her future is likewise good. She will not look at the past as a negative. As she says, she simply “took another road.” What is the place where life is always positive? Understood as a place that is located in our minds, it is an attitude of life. It is a decision on our parts–that we will enjoy the life that we have been given, no matter what that life consists of, the negatives as well as the positives. We will approach our lives with the overall conviction that we will be happy. In fact, we will pray to our God that we will be taken to that place, and that even though there are big and small problems, we will approach our lives with a smile and a belief that all is well. And it will indeed be well. The truth, she says, is bulletproof. For her the truth is that she has chosen a different direction to her life. Yes, it was not the same as the past, when she was young, but the past was important for her, a positive in the sense that she realized that she had to go another road. Now, everything is positive as she lives in that road. PRAYER Good and gracious God, you have created a world that is full of light, but which also contains darkness. We are responsible for much of the darkness. Help us choose a positive attitude in life, and dispel the darkness from our hearts. Be with us, we pray. +++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Life is a positive experience. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song “Used to be Young” teach young people? 2 What are the principal “darknesses” that take over a person’s mind in today’s world? 3. Text analysis: why do “open bars lead to broken hearts”? 4. Other than the obvious of choosing God, what are the “lights” that we should choose in life? 5. We have most probably done things wrong in the past. Why do some people “dwell on” those things and not “let them go”? 6. In your own word, define a good “attitude of life:” 7. What are the major “truths” that should direct our lives? CRUEL SUMMER Taylor Swift THE DIFFICULTY IN LOVEThe GospelJOHN 7:43-51So a division occurred in the crowd because of [Jesus]. Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?” The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this one.” So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, “Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?”Gospelthink: Nicodemus finally came to understand who I was.“Fever dream high in the quiet of the night. You know that I caught it. Bad boy, killing me slow, out the window, I’m always waiting for you to be waiting below. Devils roll the dice; angels roll their eyes. What doesn’t kill me makes me want you more. I’m drunk in the back of the car and I cried like a baby coming home from the bar; said, ‘I’m fine,’ but it wasn’t true; I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you. Oh, it’s a cruel summer. He looks up grinning like the devil.” One of the most difficult aspects of growing for an older adolescent and “twenty-something” is the act of developing love relationships, and ultimately choosing one of them for marriage. It is not easy because every one of us have different ways of doing things and different ways of acting that we have learned from our backgrounds. Everyone’s personality is very different, and struggling to allow our own personality to mesh with another is indeed quite difficult. Taylor Swift’s song “Cruel Summer” expresses those feelings quite well. The initial reaction of her meeting her boyfriend is extremely exhilarating: a “fever dream” that she “caught.” But, as usually happens, the early relationship is shaky and she has “secrets” that she is not sharing with him. And in terms of their relationship, then the summer is “cruel,” that is their time together is difficult. Searching the Gospels for the same feeling. There may not be a romantic feeling as young people have early on, but one finds a number of people who were attracted to the personality and thought of Jesus Christ, but needed time and patience to develop it. Nicodemus was one of them. He had come to Jesus only at night, no doubt a little afraid of what his fellow Pharisees might think of him. Then after the initial fear, he finally worked up the courage to defend him as he and his fellow Pharisees were discussing what to do concerning his ministry. It takes time to develop any type of love relationship. The lesson is absolutely necessary for our modern world in which too many love relationships fall apart in bitterness and hatred. Modern man and woman must spend time and patience as we develop our romantic relationships with one another. If we manage to consider our developing love relationships in a cautious way, our summers and our lives will not be “cruel.” Most of us choose to get married as we live our lives in our complex world. We must strive to see that our final choice will be one that is happy forever, and in order to do that well, we must give it time and patience. PRAYER Good and gracious God, it is difficult to develop true love in today’s world because of our individual feelings. Therefore, we need your help as we do it. Give us the grace to understand how to love well. Be with us, we pray. +++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Developing love relationships is difficult and takes time and patience. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song “Cruel Summer” teach young people? 2. Besides Nicodemus’ bravery in the Gospel, he brings up a good point: in general, why do people not listen to people before they accuse them? 3. Analysis: the lady in the song is obviously feeling strongly about the man. In general, do we tend to allow our emotions to dictate our behavior? Yes or no and why? 4. In general, how much time should someone spend before he/she makes a decision for a permanent commitment? 5. In your opinion, what is the principal cause of permanent commitment breakdown in our society? Why? 6. In what ways has “divorce” hurt our world? WHAT WAS I MADE FOR Billie Eilish under construction CALM DOWN Rema & Selena Gomez A MAJOR DECISIONThe GospelLUKE 15:11-13aJesus said to them: “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that is coming to me.’ So the father divided up the property. Some days later this younger son collected all his belongings and went off to a distant land.”Gospelthink: At the beginning of the story of the two sons, the younger son made his choice.“Baby, calm down, girl, your body is put in my heart for lockdown. You sweet like Fanta. If I tell you, say, ‘I love you’, you know they tell me ‘no.’ Finally, I find way to talk to the girl but her friends gum up the meeting like chewing gum.” And she says, “Yeah, I know I look shy but for you I get down.” [lyrics adjusted]Most of us live long lives and we make many decisions during those lives. Probably the most important decision concerns the way of life that we will choose as we live through that life. That decision translates to either “marry or not to marry” and the decision is not made, say, during our mid-life when there would be more time to prepare for it; it is made relatively early in our lives. And as we learn more and more about the human brain, the decision is made when the brain may not even be fully developed. What happens as a result? The answer is easy to come by. As we study Jesus’s story of the “Prodigal Son”, we see a younger son make the decision to leave his home and family. Anyone familiar with the Gospel of Luke, knows that the decision did not turn out so well. Many songs speak of the decision to make the feelings of love permanent by a commitment to marriage or the like. Rema and Selena Gomez’s song “Calm Down” speak of a decision of the man in the relationship which he should not have made according to his friends, but he makes it anyway. It is his personal choice, and given our free will, it cannot be questioned. The song does not say whether it worked out or not. The point must be made that if a decision is made which will affect the rest of our lives, such a decision must have a proper preparation. At the same time, perhaps, we must listen to the people in our lives who give us their opinions about our decision. Perhaps the overall conclusion to such a meditation as this revolves around when the decision will be made. When it comes to the decision to commit my life to something for the rest of my life, perhaps such a decision must be made after a significant span of time has passed. Such a significant span will include time to consider what might happen if I choose something that will hurt me in the long run. PRAYER Good and gracious God, we make many decisions concerning our lives, but perhaps the most important one is whether or not to make a permanent commitment that will affect all of our lives. Give us the grace to make the decision well. Be with us, we pray. +++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Choosing a permanent love relationship is a personal decision that must be made carefully. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song “Calm Down” teach young people? 2. When do most people make the decision “to marry or not to marry”? When should they make that decision? 3. Recall the story of “The Prodigal Son.” See Luke 15:11ff. 4. If our best friends tell us that we should not get married, is it a good indication that we shouldn’t? 5. What is the proper preparation for marriage? 6. What is the proper preparation for a life-long commitment such as religious life or priesthood?2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |
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