[media presentation below] GospelThink Thursday, June 22 MATTHEW 6:7-15 I teach you how to pray by suggesting the thoughts of what you have come to call the “Our Father.” Prayerthoughts a. There are no doubt many prayers that I “read” or “recite by heart” and I do not pay attention to the words that I should—what might be called “babble.” I should review the formal prayers that I pray and determine to pay attention to the words that I use. b. Our God knows what we need. When we pray to God, we are the ones that change, not God. Our prayer in every instance is something that should help us understand that God is working for us. c. Our prayer should include praise of God. For what things should I praise God most of all? (This is the task of the meditation.) d. I pray that my place on earth be made into the kingdom in heaven. What should I do in my life to make it more in tune with the heavenly kingdom? e. I pray for what I need daily. What are the daily needs that I must have? Do I thank God enough for them? f. I pray the word “forgive.” The Lord even reminds me at the end of the prayer. Who should I forgive most at this time of my life? g. I pray that my life may be free from evil. What are the evils that surround me most that I should avoid? h. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will carry out letter c. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  JESUS TEACHES US HOW TO PRAY  – As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he was most anxious that the true Gospel be taught             – an understanding of Jesus that was true                         – the Corinthians in Paul’s day did not understand completely, and there are many in our own day who do not                         – part of the understanding of Jesus is understanding what he says about prayer  + He wanted his followers to pray to God for what they wanted with the assurance that God knows what they want and need already             – that is no insignificant statement                         – because God knows what we need in our lives, it really doesn’t matter what we say                                     – we are phrasing our prayer for our sakes, not for God’s  + And Jesus tells us exactly how we should be thinking as we address God in prayer as we analyze the Our Father             – there must first of all be praise of God                         – God is more important than we are, and we must humbly and intentionally acknowledge God’s importance up front                                     – not easy since we want to dictate to God what should be done  + And once we have praised God, only then should we petition God for the things that we think we need             – primarily spiritual, that is, for the Kingdom of God to be alive in our hearts             – then, we must ask for daily help for ourselves and deliverance from the evil around us                         – with the implicit statement that we will avoid that evil             – also when we pray, it may not seem like we receive, but it really happens, as the Lord tells us in another place of Scripture                         – it must all be understood with Jesus’ statements about what is good                                     – God will give us only good                                                 – and only God knows what is really good                                                             – stone/loaf; snake/fish                         – the prayer of petition will always be answered                                     – and part of the prayer of petition is that we understand that God’s answer will be good for us  + Also, as we pray, we must remember the Lord’s directive to love others                         – Jesus places the forgiveness idea both in the prayer itself                                     – and then reiterates it afterwards, as if to bring home the point  + Jesus wants us to pray, but he wants us to understand the prayer that we pray. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Royals” — Lorde WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS The Gospel LUKE 12:16-21 Then Jesus told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.“

Gospelthink: You must curb your desire for more and more wealth. Have I placed riches and money too high in my life?

“I’ve never seen a diamond in the flesh, I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies, and I’m not proud of my address in the torn-up town, no post code envy. But every song’s like gold teeth, grey goose, ball gowns, trashin’ the hotel room. We don’t care, we’re driving Cadillacs in our dreams. But everybody’s like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your time piece. We don’t care, we aren’t caught up in your love affair, and we’ll never be royals. It don’t run in our blood. That kind of lux just ain’t for us. We crave a different kind of buzz. Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen Bee, and I’ll rule. Let me live that fantasy.”

In Jesus’ mind, who was “rich in what matters to God”? He speaks of it in contrast to a person who stores up treasure for himself. Studying Jesus’ life, it is not at all difficult to determine what he considers “rich.” It has to do with love, love of God and love of others. He called it “his commandment,” (John 15:12) and he spent his whole life living and preaching its meaning. Translating “love” to be “romantic love,” Lorde in her song “Royals” says that for the lady in the relationship, love is the “buzz” that she craves, more than the “diamonds in the flesh” that she has never seen. In fact, even though “every song” it seems, speaks of things associated with riches, she and her friends “don’t care” because they are not caught up in the “love affair” of material goods that is so important to “royals,” that is, those who have it all. She is caught up in being a “queen” for another. Lorde’s lesson is an important one for today’s world. Jesus had a very good idea of what the world was like in his story–the people of the world often make their world the “land of more.” We often want more of everything. We have a good harvest, and say it would be nice to have an even better one, to force us to build bigger barns. We love to have fun, and we say that it would be better to have “more fun,”–to eat, drink and be merry “more” than we are doing right now. We want more ipods, more ipads, more TV’s, more phones, in general more enjoyment. But what is “more” important? The lady in Lorde’s song knew that romantic love was the buzz she wanted in life, and not a love affair with “royal” things. Jesus said that it was what matters for God. Life does not consist of how much we have; it is defined rather by the kind of life we are living.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, your Son told us in striking images that what is important in life does not have anything to do with material things. Give us the grace to use the things of this world, but never to forget that love is more important than material goods. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Wanting to love is more important than material goods.    DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. In your opinion, why did Jesus use parables or stories so much in his preaching? 2. Jesus often criticizes the “rich” in the Gospels, as here in his story. In general, why do you think that Jesus had a difficult time with those who are “rich”? 3. What do you think is the main point of Jesus’ story? How does it apply to today’s world? 4. Analysis: give some examples of “what matters for God” in our world.   5. Text analysis: what is “post code envy”? 6. Text analysis: “We’ll never be royals.” What is your understanding of the text? 7. The meditation identifies “what matters for God” to be love. In general, do you think that love is a real “force” in today’s world? Yes or no and why? 8. In general, why do most people want to be rich? 9. Thinking in today’s world, who do you think Jesus had in mind with his story? 10. In general, besides love, what are the things that are more important than material goods? 11. What is the most important thing in your personal room at home? Is it expensive? 12. In our world, do you think that there are any people who “prefer” to have no riches? Yes or no and why? 13. What does the song “Royals” teach young people?