[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, June 20 MATTHEW 5:43-48 I say it directly to you: love even your enemies. Prayerthoughts a. This has been called “the unique” doctrine of the Christian, to love one’s enemies. In general, do I “love” those who disagree with my way of thinking, even though they disagree with me and would never “love” me? b. There are a number of believers in God, especially in special circumstances such as war, who still believe that they should do harm to enemies. I should pray for them as well. c. “Pray for those who persecute you.” Generally, I do not have persecutors as such, but I should think in terms of the early Christians or those who are persecuted in our world. Would I have the thought to pray for them? d. The reasoning behind loving everyone is that God created everyone. I should look at all creation as God’s gift. I should take the time to praise our God for creation. (This is the task of the meditation.) e. I should think in terms of doing “more” than merely acknowledging them. I should “love” them. Studying my actions with others, say yesterday, did I show that I truly accepted them as people that I “loved”? f. Jesus tells me to be perfect as God is. As a human, obviously I cannot accomplish that, but do I come close to it in the way I speak, act and think? g. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will list the gifts of creation that for which I am most grateful. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  GENEROSITY AND LOVE OF EVERYONE  + There are many virtues that “prove” that we are the offspring of God,             – that is, that we really want God to be part of our lives             – two of them are mentioned here in today’s liturgy                         – both essential to the spiritual life, both among the most difficult things to accomplish as we strive to follow Jesus’ directive to be…             …perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.                         – that directive is obviously an ideal since we will never reach it, but we can have it as a goal, something that we are always striving for, and realizing that we will never quite reach it  + Of the two virtues mentioned today, the first comes from the letter to the Corinthians: the Christian directive to be generous             – Paul writing about the churches of Macedonia: “they gave themselves first to the Lord.”             – giving of what we have                         – giving of time, talent and treasure to God who has given to us so much through the Son                                     – and the reason for this “giving” must be completely understood                                                 – we are giving of what we have, not because we are being kind or even generous                                                 – but because we are absolutely convinced that we are alive and well because of God, and therefore we must give back to God in some way, somehow, and in a significant manner                                                             – it is a matter of justice                                                                         – we owe God, and therefore we must be generous  + The Gospel gives us the second virtue of the Christian to consider today: honest love of others, this coming from the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount—             – he has spoken of anger, adultery, divorce, oaths, revenge, and now love of enemies                         – most of us can love those who love us                                     – that is easy enough, but it is not so easy to love those who don’t love us                                                 – those who would be categorized as “enemy”                                                             – people who do not agree with us                                                             – people who do not like our families                                                             – people who have spoken out against us                                                             – people upon whom our natural tendencies is to take revenge                                                             – people who continue to “not like” us + Two virtues that deserve some serious meditation are presented to us today             – they might serve as a practical gateway to the way of perfection:                         – generosity and true love of everyone, even enemies. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “See You Again” — Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth THE BIGGER PICTURE: A BETTER PLACE The Gospel JOHN 3:14-16 Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

Gospelthink: I came into the world to save it and save you. Have I responded the way I should in my life?

“It’s been a long day without you, my friend, and I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again. We’ve come a long way from where we began. Oh, I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again. Who knew? All the planes we flew, good things we’ve been through, that I’ll be standing right here talking to you about another path. I know we loved to hit the road and laugh, but something told me that it wouldn’t last, had to switch up, look at things different, see the bigger picture. Those were the days, hard work forever pays. Now I see you in a better place.”

The familiar passage from John’s Gospel gives both the fact of eternal life, and the way to get there. Jesus assures a true follower of his that if she/he truly believes in what the Lord Jesus stands for, then the gift of eternal life is theirs. What it says is that, provided the believer has accepted the Lord, then there will never be anything called “death.” Death will only mean passing from this life to eternal life. Such is the belief of the song “See You Again” from Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth who sing the song as a tribute to Paul Walker. They believe that their friend is in a “better place” now as they study what they call the bigger picture. He is no longer with them, but his memory lives on with them while they are here on earth, and they will be together again when they are with him in heaven. Perhaps the only way that we human beings can explain death is by accepting “the bigger picture,” that is, that life really goes beyond this life, and takes in the truth of eternal life. Considering the love that God has for us, it is totally in “character” for God to give us that possibility of life that lasts forever. A good God will give what we want with all our hearts, and the thought of living well is the one thought that every human being desires. The one requirement that the Lord gives us is that we “believe in him.” The question arises of course about the exact meaning of the phrase. The Lord spells it out in the Gospels, by giving us very direct statements about the way to conduct ourselves in today’s world–the love, forgiveness, repentance, peace, and so forth that he preached. That is to say that we will believe in Jesus if we know what he stands for and we try to do our best to carry out the belief. The Christian religion is a very hopeful religion. We have the assurance of life here on earth, and when we die, we will have the eternal life that Jesus promised.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, You have given us one life that begins here and lasts forever in eternity, an eternity that will be spent in happiness with your people who have been your Son’s followers. Give us the grace to truly believe in your Son, and therefore live our lives forever with You. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Perhaps the only way to explain death is by believing in eternal life. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What is your understanding of “belief in Jesus”? 2. John 3:16 is often used by evangelical Christians as a reminder that we must choose Jesus as our personal savior. In your opinion, is the use of the slogan “John 3:16” a good way to remind us that we should be better Christians? Yes or no and why? 3. What does the phrase “condemn the world” mean? 4. Text analysis: “had to switch up.” What is the meaning of the phrase? 5. What is your definition of the “bigger picture” in life? 6. In your opinion, do most people believe in a life after death? 7. Guided by our belief in heaven and hell, in your opinion, are there more people in heaven than in hell? Yes or no and why? [Note: In his life, Jesus never answered this question directly. 8. How would a non-believer explain “death”? 9. What is your opinion concerning the doctrine of “purgatory”? [See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 1030-1032.] 10. In your opinion, what was Jesus’ most important doctrine? Why? 11. Do most Christian people read portions of the New Testament often?  12. What does the song “See You Again” teach young people?