[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, June 26, Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time LUKE 9:51-62 I outline what it means to be a true follower of mine. Prayerthoughts a. Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem, and bring about redemption through his death and resurrection. What should Jesus’s act of redemption mean for me personally? b. The Samaritan village would not welcome them. Jesus rejects the possibility of destroying the village as his Apostles wanted. Am I a peaceful person, trying to bring about true peace in the situations in which I am involved? c. I should take the time to pray for the people involved in those parts of our world in which there is very little peace. d. Notice that Jesus simply goes to another village. He shows no criticism at all to the people who were against him. In my words, actions and thoughts, do I harbor desire for revenge? e. Jesus gives some direction about being a follower of his. I have said that I follow Jesus. What kind of a follower of Jesus am I? What evidence can I show of being a follower? f. There are no exceptions to following Jesus. In the past, have I done things that kept me from being a true follower. Perhaps, this is another time to ask for forgiveness for those things. g. My prayerthoughts…. Today, I will read Galatians, chapter 5 and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy THE TRUE FOLLOWER OF JESUS           There was a time in Francis of Assisi’s life when he had to separate from his father, one of the most difficult things he ever did. In the fervor of finally understanding what riches do, he had given away some of his father’s goods. His father, Pietro Bernardone was a cloth merchant and he did not agree with this fervor and was very angry at Francis. As was the custom in those days—1206 A.D.—his father brought his son before the Bishop of the city.           Francis believed that if he were to be a true follower of God, nothing could hold him back. And so, deliberately, in front of the crowd that had gathered, piece by piece, he took off his clothing, so that when he was finished, he stood totally naked in front of the stunned Bishop and the people of Assisi. Many of the bystanders no doubt walked away saying: “That man is crazy.” Commenting on it, one of Francis’ biographers wrote some prophetic words: “Saints tend toward an exaggerated sanctity when it is the only way to see exaggerated sin.” The exaggerated sin was the neglect of God that Francis saw. Francis wanted nothing to stand in the way of his approach to God.           That comment of being crazy could easily be said of Jesus when he spoke the words of the Gospel today. It is crazy to treat family the way that Jesus suggested, but we must remember, “Saints tend toward an exaggerated sanctity when it is the only way to see exaggerated sin.” Jesus did not mean his words literally, but he did mean to make his point perfectly clear by exaggeration: if a person is going to follow him, such a person cannot say: “I will follow you, but….” There are no “buts” in following Jesus—you either do, or you do not.            The first reading from the first book of Kings (1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21) gives us a really good example of how to follow someone completely: you burn your bridges so that you cannot change your mind. Or in Elisha’s case, you slaughter the oxen. The oxen brought about his livelihood, and to prove to Elijah that he was really going to follow him, Elisha destroyed his means of livelihood.            To become a follower of Jesus, a true follower of Jesus, we have to slaughter some oxen. Not in the sense of giving up our livelihoods, but in the sense of getting rid of some things in our lives that are holding us back. Paul says it very well to the Galatians in the second reading (Galatians 5:1, 13-18): “I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.”            For example, consider people that we do not like: living by the Spirit implies that we will do something about it—send them a card, apologize, whatever. Again Paul says it well: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.”             I was with a family a couple of years ago. Their young child—a third grader—told me that their family always did the “holy thing” on Sunday. When I asked “What is the ‘holy thing’?” she told me that it meant that they always went to Church on Sunday and they were supposed to be better on Sunday than on any other day. We might have to do the “holy thing” a little more in our lives—more than just Sunday. That is, we might have to exaggerate our sanctity a bit because we live in a world which has too much exaggerated sin. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Counting Stars” — OneRepublic NO MORE COUNTING DOLLARS The Gospel MATTHEW 22:17-22 [At that time, they said to Jesus:] “Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription? They replied, “Caesar’s.” At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” When they heard this they were amazed, and leaving him they went away.

Gospelthink: They try to trick me again, but I tell them to pay attention to all legitimate law. Do I respect both God and my country as I should?

“Lately I been losing sleep, dreaming about the things that we could be. But I been prayin’ hard, said no more counting dollars, we’ll be counting stars. I see this life like a swinging vine. Swing my heart across the line. In my face is flashing signs—seek it out and ye shall find. Everything that kills me makes me feel alive. Take that money, watch it burn, sink it in the river—the lessons I learned.”

Money and the use of money have always been problems for our world. No matter what time, what country, what kind of money, once money is established as a means of barter, it begins to interact with our human natures. We want more of it, we misuse it, we sin in order to have it, we like the feeling it gives us. It becomes an entity of its own, no longer a means, only an end. Jesus’ time was no different. However, in this passage of Scripture, Jesus was asked to choose whether to give money to the hated Romans or not. Jesus answer is a statement that the world must learn: you cannot mix money and God. They represent two different categories, and if people mix them up, only confusion will result. In OneRepublic’s song “Counting Stars,” the group sings a similar statement: you cannot mix money and love. Again, if people try to do it, it destroys everything. As the group sings, singing of a couple in a relationship, how much money they have cannot be a consideration. What they must count on is the love between the two of them. In fact, they sing with conviction: burn the money or sink it in the river. Generally, we will not do that. Nor should we. But the point is made. If money is the dominant thought in any relationship, be it with God or love, it is a mistake, and will usually mess up the relationship. The unfortunate fact in life is that we must have money as a means of connection with God and people. The usual way that we give back to God, for example, is with the use of money. Likewise, the love relationship of two people will involve the use of money in some way. But, if we want the relationship to work, we must keep money in its place. Money may make us feel alive, but in the end, as the group sings, it only kills relationships.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we have become people who hold money in the highest regard. Help us understand that our relationships with you and with others must be based on love and not on money. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT   Theme: The foundation of a good relationship is love and has nothing to do with money. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. In the Gospel, the Pharisees were trying to trick Jesus by making him say that he paid tribute to the Romans, an enemy of the Israelite people. What was the principal reason why the Pharisees did not appreciate Jesus? 2. What are the things that “belong to God”? 3. In today’s world, what are the things that “belong to Caesar”? 4. Text analysis: “counting stars.” What does the phrase mean? 5. Text analysis: “I see this life like a swinging vine.” What is the meaning of the sentence? 6. Analysis: “Everything that kills me makes me feel alive.” Besides money as suggested in the meditation, name some other things for which the statement is true.  7. Obviously, religion is an area of life in which “God and money” have come into play. Name some problems that this creates. 8. In your opinion, do most people have a good understanding of money in their lives? 9. Giving back to God is what the Church names “stewardship.” Describe “stewardship as you understand it. 10. What is the best way to “keep money in its place”? 11. What does the song “Counting Stars”  teach young people today?