[media presentation below]
GospelThink
Monday, May 8
JOHN 14:21-26
If you keep my words, the Father and I will come to you.
Prayerthoughts
a. The Lord talks of my love for Him and therefore the Father’s love for me. In my life right now, what is the best way for me to show my love for the Father and the Son?
b. What does it mean when Jesus says that he will make our dwelling with Him?
c. If we love Him, we will keep His words. What are the most important words that the Lord has spoken to me? (This is the task of the meditation.)
d. The Lord mentions the Holy Spirit. From what you have learned, what is the main function of the Holy Spirit in your life?
e. What teaching of the Lord must I be reminded of the most?
f. My prayerthoughts….
Today, I will carry out letter c.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy
THE HOLY SPIRIT REMINDS US
+ In the Gospel Jesus continues his discourse during the Last Supper, as John the evangelist remembers it
– part of it has to do with a reference to the Holy Spirit whose job it is, Jesus says, to….
…remind you of all that I told you.
– the Holy Spirit’s function, according to Jesus here, is to make the Apostles remember the true significance of Jesus in their lives
– and therefore for us, now, after Jesus’ Resurrection, the Holy Spirit’s function is to make us remember the true significance of Jesus today
+ What is the significance of Jesus for us today, that is, how should the Holy Spirit lead us to understand all that Jesus told us?
– as Jesus intimates in the Gospel, it should lead us to obey his commands and be true to his words
– therefore, there must be a careful concentration on what Jesus has instructed us to do by his words and deeds
– this is a common conclusion to any reflection on the Gospels, especially with John’s Gospel, and Jesus’ words in John’s Gospel
– in practice, it means time spent with the New Testament, especially with the Gospels
– it should also lead us to the understanding that even though we are only human beings—as Paul and Barnabas stressed in their sermon on Paul’s first missionary journey
– with God on our side, great things can be accomplished
– for the apostles on their missionary journey, as we heard in the first reading, it was the ability to heal
+ One of the common themes of leadership literature is this:
– we really can accomplish great things if we are willing to put forth the effort
– for those of us who are involved in Christian leadership, all of us, it translates to:
– if we put forth effort that involves accepting Jesus’ life and principles, there’s no telling what can be accomplished in our lives and the lives of others who come into contact with us
+ Our belief is that we have received the Holy Spirit in one form or another
– we have received the gift which should help us understand the importance of Jesus in our lives, to remind us of everything that he told us
– if we have received that Spirit, then our daily lives must be affected by the fact that Jesus is part of it.
MEDIA PRESENTATION
Song: “Habits” — Tove Lo
STAYING IN THE “PLAY PRETEND”
The Gospel
JOHN 18:25-27
Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with [Jesus]?” Again Peter denied it. And immediately the cock crowed.
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| Gospelthink: Peter denies that he knows me. Do I fall into the temptation of not showing that I am a follower of Jesus? |
| “I gotta stay high all the time to keep you off my mind.” In the process, the person in the song mentions all of the bad habits that keeps her high–among them are binge eating on bad food, drinking too much and sexual pleasure–but she realizes that it will get her nowhere. As she sings, “I’m staying in my play pretend where the fun ain’t got no end.” |
Habits are described as routines of behavior that are repeated regularly. They tend to occur subconsciously without directly thinking about them. We have all set up habits in our lives in which we do something that we always do, and it becomes comfortable to do them the way that we do them, and so we keep at it. There is nothing wrong with that, of course.
Sometimes we establish habits that dictate our behavior, and a person interested in living well might want to study such behavior patterns to determine a possible change. Tove Lo’s song “Habits” is a very interesting song to study because its conclusion although unwritten is that bad habits will never take away a problem. Her problem is that her boyfriend left and the lady of the once-upon-a-time relationship sings that she has to stay high all the time because she misses him so much. But she realizes that it does no good because as she sings, “I’m staying in my play pretend.” She has discovered that trying to rid herself of a problem by following bad habits will never solve the problem.
Peter the Apostle had a bad habit of lying when he saw that things were not going the way he wanted. Even though he had said that he never would desert Jesus, he denied that he knew him at the end of Jesus’ life. Lying was no doubt a habit that he had fallen into, and he discovered once again that such a bad habit would never solve a problem. It may have given him temporary relief, but in the end he understood that he had denied his Lord and master. In terms of Tove Lo’s song, he was living in a “play pretend.”
We like to live in a “play pretend” because it is easy, and it allows us to use the bad habits that we have chosen to ease our pain. The bad habits that Tove Lo sings of are habits that our twenty-first century know only too well, and many people use those bad habits to pretend that everything is okay with their lives. The thought of Peter in the Gospels and the messed-up lives of so many people ought to teach us that bad habits will never solve a problem. It is a lesson we would do well to never forget. |
PRAYER
Good and gracious God, we are people who are into establishing habits of behavior. Help us follow your Son’s direction as we choose our habits of doing things so that they will always be good habits . Be with us, we pray. |
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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT
Theme: Trying to rid ourselves of a problem by following bad habits will never solve the problem.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. From what you know of Simon Peter’s character in the Gospels, how would you describe him?
2. If Peter would have acknowledged that he did indeed know Jesus, what do you think would have happened to him?
3. In what ways do people “deny” Jesus in our modern day?
4. As you study the bad habits mentioned in the song, what are the opposite good habits that should replace them?
5. What are the reasons why people get “high” in our society?
6. What is your definition of “play pretend.”
7. What are some regular habits that are neither good nor bad that we get into as human beings?
8. In the place where you live, what are the bad habits that young people choose most often?
9. Besides the reason given in the song, why do we get into bad habits?
10. What is the best way to solve a serious personal problem?
11. Drugs and alcohol are a serious problem for young people today. What is the best way to treat the problem?
12. Peter the Apostle chose “lying” as a way to solve a problem. Why is “lying” such a common problem among young people?
13. If you have a friend who has a serious bad habit, what is the best way to help him/her?
14. What does the song “Habits” teach young people |
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