[media presentation below] GospelThink Friday, March 24 JOHN 7:1-2,10,25-30 I truly am the Lord and should direct your life. Prayerthoughts a. There is no one out to kill me as his enemies wanted to do to Jesus. But there are people who do not like me and perhaps would hurt me. Do I think ill of the people who I consider “enemies”? b. Jesus went to Jerusalem in secret. According to John the evangelist, Jesus chose when he was going to redeem us. A prayer of thanksgiving would be in order for Jesus’s act of redemption. c. The authorities or religious leaders knew what they were doing, trying to find something to accuse Jesus of. Do I accuse others wrongly without knowledge of why they are doing certain things? d. They believed that they would not know where the Messiah was from. Do I accept the condemning words of others concerning a situation without knowing the facts? e. Jesus says that he is from the Father, namely that he is divine. Do I truly believe that Jesus is God and that I must follow the direction that he gives, as shown in my actions, say, yesterday? (This is the task of the meditation.) f. My prayerthoughts… Today I will spend some time going through my day yesterday and determining why I did what I did. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  DO WE REALLY KNOW JESUS?  + The Gospel brings up an interesting question for the person interested in the spiritual life:             – Jesus is reflecting on the questions of some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem                         – and he responds basically with the question: “do you know me?”                         – that is, Jesus saying, do you really know who I am?                                     – and the question for the spiritual person then becomes: do we really know Jesus as much as we should?                                                 – as we consider that question, we run into a description of how we act from the Book of Wisdom—                                                             – in our spiritual lives, there is the possibility of being blinded by wickedness, and therefore we won’t answer well to the question of who Jesus is,                                                             – and at the other extreme, there is the possibility of the recompense of holiness, that is, we can be guided by holiness to answer the question  + Our knowledge of Jesus is obviously blocked by wickedness             – our wickedness is not so much defined as terrible wickedness                         – but what might be called “accepted wickedness”                                     – wickedness that good people fall into                                                 – the minor revenges against others                                                 – the words that we say about situations that we really don’t know anything about                                                 – the thoughts that we don’t challenge in our own mind                                                             – thoughts that are often filled with prejudice and judgment of others  + On the other hand, our knowledge of Jesus is enhanced by the recompense of holiness             – that is, the reward of holiness             – holiness is defined in terms of an attitude of Jesus                         – serious time for prayer, where we alter our schedule so that prayer time becomes a reality                                     – and extra times of prayer like making the Stations, etc.                         – serious consideration of the way we interact with people                                     – meditation on ways that we can be better, given the things that we do every day                                     – use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation  + We are called to know Jesus by overcoming the possibility of wickedness and adopting the way of holiness. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Want to Want Me” — Jason Derulo WANTING WHAT IS GOOD The Gospel LUKE 13:22-28 [Jesus] passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where [you] are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out.”

Gospelthink: My concept of the “narrow gate” is a difficult one. Do I discipline myself enough so I can easily enter the Lord’s Kingdom?

“It’s too hard to sleep, I got the sheets on the floor and I can’t take it no more; it’s a hundred degrees. I got one foot out the door. Where are my keys? ‘Cause I gotta leave. In the back of the cab, I tip the driver ‘head of time, get me there fast. You’re the one I want to want me, and if you want me, you got me. There’s nothing I know I wouldn’t do just to get up next to you.”

The man in Jason Derulo’s song “Want to Want Me” presents an interesting romantic concept. If he can manage to bring his friend around to the idea that her being part of his life is good for both of them, his life (and presumably his friend’s life) would improve. You and I will automatically want things in life: some of them are good for us in the long run; some of them are not, and should be avoided. But if we manage to truly desire what is good for us, then our lives will be better for it. It is not unlike what Jesus wanted to accomplish with his teaching. He knew that if people would want what Jesus felt was good for humankind, then their lives would be better. He tells us to enter by the narrow door, that is, to discipline our lives in such a way that we will choose a guide that will be good for us always. He tells us in his story that we cannot just allow an association with Jesus to mean that we are truly listening to him. The person who claims Jesus as guide must want the good that Jesus is offering all the time, and if he/she does, then their lives will improve. One of the things that we want in romantic life is the good feeling that comes with sexual romantic love. Jason Derulo’s song calls this to mind. The unfortunate thing about the strong emotional feelings connected with sexual feelings is that those feelings often serve as a guide for a couple too soon in a relationship. Then the involvement it is not good for the relationship at all. But if we can manage to enter the “narrow door” of discipline, and wait until our reasoning allows us to choose a permanent relationship like marriage before we choose to be involved sexually, then we are wanting what is good for us in romantic love. Such was the psychological reasoning behind the Lord’s spiritual directive to choose the “narrow door” in life. His “narrow door” is nothing more than following the directives that are present in the Gospels. Good psychology is always good religion. If we manage to truly want what is good for us–what the “narrow door” has led us to, then our psychological and spiritual lives will grow.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, your Son gave us the concept of the “narrow door,” and if we chose it, we would be truly wanting what is good for us. Enable us to see that this concept is true in all of life. Give us the grace to always accept the narrow door that leads to what is truly good in everything that we do, especially in romantic love. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: If we manage to truly desire what is good for us, our lives would improve. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. The sayings on discipleship present in the Gospel have a sense of urgency about them because they who were chosen, the Jewish people, seem to be rejecting them. In general, do you think that the Christian and Jewish people of the world truly accept God the way they should? Yes or no and why? 2. Notice that Jesus does not answer the question of “How many,” but only the question of “How” when it comes to salvation. Why are people generally interested in how many will be saved? 3. Give your own understanding of the “narrow door.” 4. The man in the song has a strong desire to have his girlfriend. What are the strongest desires that we have as human beings? 5. The man in the song changes his mind and travels by cab to her place, saying “get me there fast.” Is it true that we want what we want too fast in our world today? Yes or no and why? 6. What are the things that we should personally give up in order to have a friend be interested in us? 7. The sexual overtones that the meditation referred to are present here. Why does the Church say that a person should wait until marriage in order to experience the full sexual experience? 8. In your opinion, why are the “good feelings” connected with men/women romantic relationships good for us? 9. The meditation refers to the concept that the “narrow door” is nothing more than choosing what Jesus gives us in the Gospels. As you study the Gospels, what are the three most important teachings that Jesus gives us? Why did you choose them? 10. Why is it a true statement that “good psychology is good religion”? 11. What does the song “Want to Want Me” teach young people?