[media presentation below] GospelThink Thursday, April 27 JOHN 6:44-51 I compare the bread from earth and me in the Eucharist. Prayerthoughts a. God the Father draws me through Jesus. The Lord gives me graces throughout my life   to embrace the spiritual life more. Do I thank the Lord for the graces that I receive daily? b. God teaches me through Jesus. What are the three principal teachings that I should listen to more than any others? (This is the task of the meditation.) c. “Whoever believes has eternal life.” Am I showing my belief every day? d. Jesus is the “bread of life.” Do I receive the Lord in the Eucharist as often as I should? e. The bread of life or Jesus is given not only to me, but for the life of the world. In my own little world around me, do I try to bring about “life” through my actions? f. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will carry out letter b. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  THE EUCHARIST IS NOT ONLY FOR US  + John’s Gospel, chapter 6, is recognized to be the evangelist John’s treatment of the Eucharist in his Gospel           – he says some things that add to the theology of the Eucharist that you and I believe in totally                      – we believe that the Eucharist that we receive is the bread that comes down from heaven                                – and that we have eternal life if we receive this bread and let it act on us                                          – it is indeed a magnificent gift from God           – but one of the phrases that is especially important in John’s understanding of the bread of life, and therefore our theology of the Eucharist is the phrase from the Gospel today:           The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.                      – that is, this Eucharist is not only an individual gift for each of us—to give us eternal life, but it is a gift for the life of the world  + This bread of life should bring about life for that world           – and so, an important question that comes out of this theology is a spiritual question: is this Eucharist that you and I receive today giving life to the world around us—through us?                      – or another way of saying it:                                – is this world that you and I live in any better because of the fact that we have the privilege of receiving this bread of life today? + Our reception of the Eucharist should move us to do something           – if indeed this Eucharist is given for the life of the world, which Jesus says,                      – then the Christian must be moved, like Philip allowed himself to be moved by the Spirit in the book of Acts today                                – maybe not moved to baptize people like Philip was, but at least moved to interact with others in a Christian way by the very fact that we become good people because we have received the bread of life  + The fact that you and I receive the bread of life this morning carries with it an awesome responsibility           – we are the people now who have received the bread of life for the life of the world           – that world—outside and within—should receive life through us                      – the Eucharist should make us better people who will help the world wherever we are be the best that it can be. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Teenage Dream” — Katy Perry THE REALITY OF PLEASURE The Gospel MATTHEW 15:12-14 [Jesus’] disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He said in reply, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit.”

Gospelthink: The Pharisees were blind guides as they led people. Am I blind in the sense that I am not listening to the Lord the way I should?

“Let’s go all the way tonight; no regrets, just love. We can dance, until we die—you and I will be young forever. You make me feel like I’m livin’ a teenage dream; the way you turn me on, I can’t sleep. Let’s run away and don’t ever look back. I finally found you, my missing puzzle piece. I’m complete. My heart stops when you look at me. Just one touch; now, I believe this is real.”

In Katy Perry’s song “Teenage Dream,” she sings about enjoying life, having physical pleasures, drinking too much, and basically doing what the person in the song wants. She wants to feel good all the time. It is a guiding thought for many young people, but the reality is that everyone must grow up–no one can remain young forever. We must grow up physically, and we must grow spiritually as well. Spiritual growth involves an awareness of the difference between our raw basic desires to enjoy ourselves and the need to control them in light of some guide. In Jesus’ ongoing battle with the religious leaders of his time, he taught many lessons. One of them was that people need guides. He said that there were many “plants” that his Father had not planted, and one needs a guide to uproot the ones that were not good. The religious leaders should have been such guides, and they were not. In Jesus’ mind, they were blind and could not guide anyone.  Using the image of plants that God has not planted, one of them might be labeled “the selfish feelings that come from legitimate pleasures.” Young people soon discover as they grow that there are pleasures in their lives–God has planted them. God wants the human being to feel good about life. But those pleasures can be misused when they are used with the idea of no restrictions. And so we need a guide. The person in Katy Perry’s song is in such a state. She desperately needs a guide, but does not know it. She feels the legitimate pleasures, and she has turned to a selfish enjoyment of them. She enjoys the feelings of physical sexuality, being young, and her freedom, and she lets them govern her thought, allowing her to do anything that makes her feel good. What should be the guide for the person in the song? She might be singing it, even in the midst of all the things that she wants–she talks of what “is real,” saying that she has it. Pleasure is indeed “real,” but we must be aware of why the pleasure is there, and what it is all about, and, in the end, who has brought it about. God is in charge of our lives, and God is what is “real.” God is the guide that we must have. God has spoken to us through Jesus and other religious leaders, saying to us to enjoy the pleasures, but at the same time to understand that there must be control of them. When we do not, we only hurt ourselves and others. The “teenage dream” is just that–a dream. Dreams must be guided, and if they are not, they might destroy. We need God to show us how to enjoy our pleasures.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we like the feelings of the pleasures that you have given to us, and we thank you for them. But we also know that we must have a guide to help us understand our feelings a little more. May we truly accept the direction of your Son in our lives. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL FULFILLMENT Theme:  We need a guide as we enjoy the pleasures that are part of our lives.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. In the Gospel, why was Jesus not concerned that he was “offending” the Pharisees? 2. Speaking with the image of the Gospel, what are some “plants” that are in our lives which God has not planted? 3. Jesus tells the disciples to let the Pharisees alone.  Why did he use such an approach with the Pharisees? 4. In Jesus’ mind, why were the Pharisees “blind guides”? 5. Christian doctrine teaches that premarital sex is against God’s law. What are some reasons why? 6.The song describes “love” in terms of the sexual act that will have “no regrets.” Why is the statement not true? 7. Text analysis: “You and I will be young forever.” The author of the song implies that this earthly life is the only life that we will have. Explain how you feel about “life after death” and what it has to do with our lives right now. 8. Text analysis: “Teenage dream.” In your opinion, define a “teenage dream.” 9. Text analysis: “I’m complete.” What does it take to be a “complete” human being? 10. What or who are the guides of most people today? 11. What pleasures are most misused in today’s world? 12. The meditation says that “God is what is real.” Do you think most people really believe in God and allow the fact to affect their lives? Yes or no and why? 13. Christians have chosen God through Jesus and the Spirit, as the guide of their lives. What should such a choice mean for the individual in today’s world? 14. How could too much pleasure actually destroy us? 15. Do songs and movies that show too much pleasure have a significant effect on young people today? Yes or no and why? 16. What does the song “Teenage Dream” teach young people?