[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, May 28, Pentecost JOHN 20:19-23I give you the Holy Spirit. Prayerthoughts a. The Lord wishes his disciples “peace.” Do I always bring peace to the situations that I am in or am I more argumentative? b. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Jesus gives his task to his disciples. What was that task, and how am I involved in it at the present time. c. Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to his disciples. I have also received the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation. Has the Spirit made me a person of love toward all? d. It is significant that the Lord immediately centers in on forgiveness after He gives them the Holy Spirit. Do I forgive others well? Am I able to forgive myself when I think of my sins? e. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will think of the “gifts of the Holy Spirit” (usually labeled Wisdom, Understanding, Reverence, Knowledge, Courage, Awe of the Lord, and Right Judgment) and see how each can be a part of my life right now. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy USING THE GRACES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT            There are many stories connected with Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, and my guess is that many of them are not true. But according to this legend, there was a man by the name of Pietri Bandinelli whom da Vinci used as a model for Jesus in his painting of The Last Supper. He had an excellent profile, strong appearance, and was the picture of holiness.            A little later da Vinci was also looking for an image of Judas. The image of Judas was one of the last ones he painted, and it took him some time to find a model for him. Not being able to find one, da Vinci finally decided to go to the slums of Milan in his country of Italy. After a while, he found the person he was looking for—cloudy eyes, harsh face, evidently had a hard life. Da Vinci obtained the man’s permission and was sketching him, getting Judas ready for his painting. As he did it, he thought that he had seen the man before, so he asked him “Have we met?” Very embarrassed, the man said, “Yes, I’m Pietri Bandinelli; much has changed since you chose me to be your Jesus.”            In a sense, every one of us decides whether we are a Jesus or a Judas because we have the choice to be either. Because we have the Lord’s promise that he will give us the Holy Spirit to be what we should be, we either use the Holy Spirit’s graces or we do not.           It boils down to whether we want to receive those graces or not. All of us would say right now: “Of course, I want them”—as we are thinking of the Holy Spirit in a spiritual way. But do we really? When it comes to the tough Christian virtues—love and forgiveness, and the like, do we want to have those virtues in our lives and show them toward everyone, even if it means that we have to change some things that we are doing right now? It is a good question that we should think about in a deep way.           When I was teaching sixth graders at a school a couple of years ago, I was considering the Book of Genesis’ first story which is the creation story. A young girl who knew her Bible very well—she had actually worked with her parents who were very strong in Bible education—she pointed out to me that in the story of creation after every day of creation, God looked at the creation and saw that it was good. On the sixth day after God created all the animals, God looked at the creation and saw that it was good, but after God created man and woman on that day, God did not say that it was good. Her question to me was why did not God say that it was good? Of course, I made up something but did not know.            So I had to look it up. And there is an interesting spiritual reason, perhaps as we consider what the Bible says in a spiritual way. The Bible does say a general statement—that, at the end of the sixth day everything that was created was very good. But the word for “very good” in Hebrew is tov and is better translated “complete” rather than “very good.” So God was finished with all of creation—God had completed the task—but the one set of created beings that was not mentioned as “good” was indeed the human being. Our job or spiritual task, if you will, is to collaborate with our creator in fulfilling the potential that each of us has in order to be good, that is to use the graces of the Holy Spirit. Like I say, interesting spiritual reasoning.            We are not good yet because of our human nature. As Pietri Bandinelli, we have choices to make. On this Pentecost Day, we are reminded to make the correct ones. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “As It Was” — Harry Styles IT’S JUST US The Gospel LUKE 13:1-5 Some people who were present there told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them–do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did.”

Gospelthink: Accidents happen; it is not a sign of punishment. It is a sign to be aware that you need to repent, and there is still time. How much time do I spend on improving my life?

“Holdin’ me back, gravity’s holdin’ me back. I want you to hold out the palm of your hand. Why don’t we leave it at that? Nothin’ to say when everything gets in the way. Seems you cannot be replaced and I’m the one who will stay. In this world, it’s just us. Answer the phone, “Harry, you’re no good alone. Why are you sitting at home on the floor? What kind of pills are you on?” Ringin’ the bell, and nobody’s coming to help. Your daddy lives by himself. He just wants to know that you’re well. In this world, it’s just us. You know it’s not the same as it was.”

Studying Harry Styles’ song “As It Was” is an interesting endeavor. According to the people who write about such things as they study a song, the song is about his relationship with fame and how his life is not “the same as it once” since he has entered the public eye. That certainly is a plausible explanation. But there may be another way to interpret it. There is no doubt that something in the person in the song’s life has called for a change. “In this world,” he sings, “there’s just us.” He has had a relationship with something or someone in the past, and it is over now, and so he must change. It can be viewed as a call to be better now that the change is made. He will have to accept the situation and then move on. Hopefully, he will move on to something better. In the Gospels, Jesus was confronted with evil and the accidents of life. His attitude was one of acceptance by trying to change what he could. But mainly Jesus was interested in what could be learned. He is told of the deaths brought about by Pilate and the accident at Siloam and he taught his followers that such things will happen in life. The important thing is that we learn from it, and be willing to change as a result. In Jesus’s mind, it amounted to repenting for sin. There are difficult moments in life. Change has been brought about for some reason. The follower of Jesus will accept those changes, but especially she/he will learn from them–what does it teach me? Why am I reacting the way I am (sitting on the floor by myself, taking pills, as Harry Styles sings)? But especially what should I do in the future to make myself and my situation better? Our personal worlds can be better than they were before the change that has happened. But it is up to us. We must make the effort.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, there are many things in my life that change the way it was before. Help me to adjust to those changes well, learn from them, and then move on to something better. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT   Theme: Change happens in our lives and we must be accepting of the new direction, and make our lives better. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song “As It Was” teach young people today? 2. What evil or wrong has happened recently in our world, and what can we learn from it? 3. The song could describe a breakup of a relationship. What can be learned from a breakup? 4. In general, do most people handle “fame” and “stardom” well? Yes or no and why? 5. How does one “accept” a change that is unexpected? 6. In your opinion, do we try to be better after a change has happened in our lives?