GospelThink Friday, June 10 MATTHEW 5:27-32 I give you some directions about sexual behavior. Prayerthoughts a. It is obvious that the Lord did not feel that the old law went far enough with regard to restrictions on behavior. Do I find that I am too lax with certain laws of good behavior? b. The Lord does not talk specifically about “sex” in the writings of the Gospel. As I study my life right now, is my sexual behavior what it should be? c. Looking at the past with sexual behavior, there may be times that I did not behave the way that I should have as a follower of Jesus. Perhaps I should take the time to renew my sorrow, always knowing that the Lord does forgive. d. The Lord goes into exaggeration as he speaks of this subject which means that he feels strongly about it. His feeling is in direct contradiction to the world in which we live. Do I pay attention to the world’s values more than I should? e. My prayerthougths… Today I will read 1 Kings, chapter 19 and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  WE MUST LEARN TO STUDY OUR INTENTIONS  + The First Kings reading today contains one of the best statements about the way God works in our ordinary lives          – the traditional manifestations of divine presence according to the Scriptures are given: the strong and heavy wind, the earthquake, the fire                   – but the way God speaks to Elijah is by means of a tiny whispering sound                            – that is, the silent voice within us, our conscience guided by God’s law                                     – exactly the way God talked to Moses  + Jesus helps set up that tiny whispering sound called his law for our conscience in the Sermon on the Mount          – today’s Gospel gives us two more moral spiritual principles to live by                   – yesterday, we had the moral principle against anger                   – today, again in Matthew, chapter 5, we hear Jesus’ thoughts on adultery and divorce                            – changing both of them from the way they were understood in the Hebrew Scriptures                                     – pointing out with adultery and infidelity the additional consideration of the problems connected with intention                                     – and changing the law of divorce which Moses and the Hebrew Scriptures allowed                                              – changing it to a “zero tolerance” idea of divorce except for one case which probably deals with prostitution                                                       – there is much written in the commentary literature concerning this one case, which is called “lewd conduct” or here “unlawful marriage”, “porneia” in Greek  + In the Gospel today, as usual there are a couple of things to learn for our own consciences, i.e., the tiny whispering voice of God within us          – 1 – we have to study our intentions all the time                   – not only in sexual matters                            – note that this does not deal with thoughts                                     – we cannot do anything about thoughts                            – it deals with real intentions—what are we intending to do by our thoughts, words and actions          – 2 – while we have Jesus’ desire that there be no divorce                   – I believe it is a good thing to look at the possibility of an exception as Matthew does                            – given our human natures, we make mistakes and therefore in something as difficult as Jesus’ law concerning divorce, we must have the possibility of having a way to correct the mistakes                                     – and in this matter, we always have to watch our judgment of others who have gone through divorces  + Our consciences are being formed by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount with the tiny whispering sound of his law          – the very make-up of our spiritual lives depends on how well we listen to it. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Lean On” — Major Lazer featuring DJ Snake and MO SOMEBODY TO LEAN ON The Gospel JOHN 1:35-42 The next day John the Baptist was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Kephas” (which is translated Peter).

Gospelthink: I chose people that I could depend on in my ministry. The Lord has chosen me as well. Am I showing the Lord that he can depend on me?

“Do you recall, not long ago? We would walk on the sidewalk–innocent, remember? All we did was care for each other. But the night was warm. We were bold and young; all around the wind blows. We would only hold on to let go. What will we do when we get old? Will we walk down the same road? Will you be there by my side, standing strong as the waves roll over? Blow a kiss, fire a gun? All we need is somebody to lean on.”

We all know what it is like to have someone to lean on, that is, to depend on in life. Life is often complicated and we get ourselves into so much that often we can become overwhelmed with what is happening. At those times, we desperately need someone who is “there” for us. We need friends, we need parents, we need counselors, ministers, and people who have it all together in order to help us, to lean on during those moments when things are not going our way.Not only that. We need someone that we can count on in the future. Major Lazer’s song “Lean On” speaks not only the thought of the present, but is most interested in the future. They are saying in effect: “Yes, you are here for me now, but what will happen later, when we get old? Will you still be there; will you blow a kiss in love or fire a gun in hate?” The song speaks of the desire that we all have for a person we can lean on forever. What were the Apostles thinking when Jesus asked them the question “What are you looking for?” No doubt they were looking for someone who would be a friend to them, someone they could lean on right at that moment, but they were looking for something else. They were looking for a person that could help them in the future as well. And so, they chose Jesus as a friend and the person they could lean on in the future. There are two lessons to be learned here. One is the obvious–that we need friends who will be with us at the present and perhaps even more importantly, in the future. We expect the person we are counting on to be “there” for us no matter what. And we implicitly say to our own friends that we will do likewise, be “there” for them as much as we want them to be “there” for us. The second lesson is the lesson of a person of faith. We believe that we have a friend who will be with us, who has asked us “What are you looking for?” Our response is the same as that of the Apostles: not only someone we can lean on right now, but someone we can lean on forever. Jesus says to us, “Come and see.” If we turn to him in faith, He will be with us.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we need people that we can lean on in our lives. Give me the grace to understand that there are people in my life that I can lean on. Especially, give me the grace to understand that You are always present to me. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Everyone needs someone we can count on all the time. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What is your understanding of “The Messiah”? 2. In your opinion, what are the people of the world looking for in today’s world? 3. Text analysis: “We would only hold on to let go.” What is the meaning of the sentence? 4. Text analysis: “Standing strong as the waves roll over.” What do you think the phrase is referring to? 5. What happens when someone does not feel that they have someone to lean on? 6. Speaking practically, how do we lean on Jesus as we live in the world? 7. The prayer says that we will always have someone in this life to lean on. In your experience, is this a true statement? Yes or no and why? 8. What does the song “Lean On” teach young people?