[media presentation below] GospelThink Friday, May 26 JOHN 21:15-19 I wanted to make sure that Peter would continue to love me and follow me even though his life would prove to be difficult at times. Prayerthoughts a. Consider Jesus turning to you directly saying, “Do you love me more than anything else in your life?” What is my response? b. Jesus tells Peter to feed his people, signifying Peter’s vocation. In what ways do I feed the people that I meet during my day? c. Consider that the Lord is saying to us that “Yes, you have said that you love me, but I need more proof.” What should I do today that proves beyond doubt that I love the Lord? d. The reference is to Peter’s death and the difficulties with it. Of course, there will be difficulties when it comes to my own death. I prepare for it by continually asking for the Lord’s help to have a “good death,” that is, to “glorify God.” e. Perhaps the most “out of place” words in Scripture are the Lord’s directive to Peter to follow him. He had up to that point followed the Lord already. When the Lord tells us to follow him, we have and have tried. But we can do better. f. My prayerthoughts…  Today, I will read Acts of the Apostles, chapter 25 and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  TRULY FOLLOWING JESUS  + The closing words of Jesus during this scene in John’s Gospel seem to be out of place in the Scriptures:         – after a significant amount of time of interaction between Jesus and the Apostles         – after a likewise significant amount of time of Jesus instructing the Apostles concerning his kingdom, and the approach to it         – after a friendship that had fostered during that time,                 – Jesus says to Peter:         Follow me.         – it would seem that Peter had followed him already                 – but as one studies the passage, it becomes clear what John the evangelist and Jesus wanted Peter to understand  + During Peter’s preparation to lead the Apostles and the new Church, he had denied Jesus         – he had said that he would follow him till the end, and he didn’t                 – and so Jesus asks him the three times that most probably correspond to Peter’s denial         – the question itself is important                 – not: do you believe that I am the Messiah                         – or do you accept the office of chief shepherd even though you will die, a fact reflected in this passage of Scripture as well                         – or will you be the example that the early Church will need                 – but very simply: do you love, and do you love me         – there are two nuances in the question that should be studied for the Christian:                 – 1 – loving implies accepting the doctrine of Jesus and especially what he stood for, namely love, unconditionally                 – 2 – and “me” – it also implies a willingness to make Jesus the center of one’s life, which implies a relationship with him in prayer and studying his words  + Both of these nuances are significant in the following of Jesus         – there must be a real desire on our parts to accept Jesus’ doctrine—unconditionally, that is, especially the difficult parts of it                 – doctrines such as love and forgiveness of others, even enemies         – and secondly, there must be an acceptance of Jesus to be the center of our lives, that is, Lord and Savior                 – the way Paul did in Rome in the Acts reading                 – an acceptance that is shown in a real prayer life and in reading his words in the Gospels  + Only after we have agreed to accept Jesus’ teaching and have allowed it to affect our words and actions can we say that we are truly following Jesus as a spiritual person. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Dancing with a Stranger” — Sam Smith featuring Normani LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO The Gospel MATTHEW 7:1-6 [Jesus said:] “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother: ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

Gospelthink: I tell you that you must clearly see other people to understand them. In my understanding of people, do I make false judgments?

The lady in the relationship says: “I don’t wanna be alone tonight. It’s pretty clear I’m not over you. Can you light the fire. I need somebody who can take control. Look what you made me do: I’m with somebody new, I’m dancing with a stranger.” And the lady sings, “I wasn’t even going out tonight, but I need to get you off of my mind. I don’t wanna be alone tonight. Look what you made me do: I’m dancing with a stranger.”

One of the guides that Jesus used in his life as he taught his followers about the kingdom was the guide of seeing clearly. It had to do primarily with how he wanted people to treat others, how he wanted everyone to be united in one way or another. He knew that the block to love and unity was the way people went about judging others. He also knew that when people judged others, they often forgot about the fact that they themselves were guilty of the very thing that they were judging in others. And so he used his splinter/beam image to bring his point home. The human condition does not like to blame ourselves. When it comes to a situation that has created some problems, our tendency is to place the cause on something or someone else. It is especially clear in romantic situations when something has gone wrong and we cannot feel good about it. So, with the case of the couple in the song “Dancing with a Stranger,” they tend to see the other as having caused the problem. Both sing “Look what you made me do” as if to say that each of them are innocent of anything wrong. They both want to be together as it was in their past, but both understand that the fault lies with the other and not with themselves. When Jesus spoke his condemnation of those who could not see clearly during the Sermon on the Mount, he was not speaking of romantic situations as such. But it was part of his thought. He was speaking of the many situations in which the beam in our own eyes blocks the clear sight of what is really happening. Love situations easily fit into what he said. In the song, both will remain unhappy as long as they do not consider themselves to be the possible source of the problem.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we do not like to blame ourselves. Your Son realized that fact. Consequently, he spoke his truthful words that we often do not look at the beams in our own eyes when it comes to seeing clearly. Give us the grace to study the possibility that we have caused some of the problems in our lives. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: When we place blame, we must look at ourselves.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song “Dancing with a Stranger” teach young people? 2. In your opinion, is “judging others” a common fault among people? 3. Is being “alone” always something bad?  Yes or no and why? 4. In our lives, what can we do to better “see clearly”? 5. Is it a true statement that most people will not place the blame of something wrong on themselves? Yes or no and why? 6. If you were counseling this couple in the song, what would be some of the things that you would suggest? 7. Why is the future for this couple an “unhappy” one?