[media presentation below] GospelThink Wednesday, July 19 MATTHEW 11:25-27 I tell you to be childlike in your approach to me, totally trusting in me. Prayerthoughts a. “These things” refer to the “important things in life.” What are the three most important things in my life right now? In what way is God helping me with them? (This is the task of the meditation.) b. The Lord wants us to be “childlike.” It means that we must become vulnerable and marginalized so as to want to receive the Lord’s message. In what ways can I pay more attention to the Gospel in my life? c. Being childlike implies that there is no deception in the way I speak. Is there any situation in my life in which I should be more honest? d. Being childlike implies that I will honestly listen to the Gospel of the Lord. Do I spend time with the Gospel every day? e. Being childlike implies that there are no “ulterior motives” as I work with others, that my intentions are “pure.” Do I do and say things so that I will receive more honor or the like? f. Continually in the Gospel Jesus refers to his closeness with the Father. Who are the people that I am closest to in my life? I should tell them how special they are sometime this week. g. My prayerthoughts… Today I will carry out letter a. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  THE POWER OF NO POWER  + This is the same Gospel that is used in the Franciscan lectionary for Francis of Assisi           – tomorrow’s part of “Come to me / put on the yoke of Jesus” is also part of the Gospel                      – but I think this first part here is the essence of the feast of Francis                                – and so I always think in a Franciscan way every time I see the Gospel  + Francis’ main stress in his religious life, no doubt, came from his love for poverty          – but the idea that perhaps should be stressed for Franciscans is the one that comes from this Gospel                   – of all the saints in the Church, Francis made himself more “child-like” than anyone                            – that is, he was not wise and learned in the ways of education and the life                                     – but he was the person to whom God revealed himself  +Using that idea of a call          – the way that Moses was called in the first reading                   – Jesus is calling all of those who follow him to be “child-like”          – and right away we have something that is foreign to the world in which you and I live                   – the world works well with power, wanting to be first                            – we know of many people in this world that are into power                                     – and anyone who gets in their way are pushed aside                                              – much of their life is based on their own power, retaliation and revenge  + One of the characteristics of Christians must be the opposite of power and the hatred that power can bring          – too often the world’s idea of power and “lording it over others” finds its way into a Christian way of life                   – our Christian history is loaded with examples                   – our recent histories, unfortunately, as well  + Some of the best spiritual fiction books is the Joshua series of a number of years ago by author Thomas Girzone                   – they are stories of a Jesus-figure coming into our modern world and how people reacted to the things that he did          – one of the books is Joshua and the Children                   – in it, Jesus comes into an Ireland-type conflict of people                            – and Joshua believes that the secret of overcoming conflict and bringing about love and gentleness is with the children of the country                                     – and he tries to influence them before they learn evil and hatred from the adults          – Joshua comes and teaches the children                   – and his primary teaching is to be gentle and kind to one another                            – and his idea is that through the children, he can train the adults  + He says at one place to the young people he is teaching:          “You are truly blessed by God.  You have been chosen to do a special work for God.  The grown-ups have grown weary and tired of the heavy burden of solving life’s problems.  A new way has to begin.  You have been chosen by God to start on that way.  You can see what your love and your caring has accomplished.  The secret is to love and never to take offense.  Always try to understand the tortured anguish that drives people to do the mean things they do, and it will not be hard to forgive.  Let your love conquer all obstacles and slowly your message will spread throughout the world.”  + And we have come full circle—that is the reason why Jesus wants us to be child-like—no power because power leads to other things that are often not very pretty          – I think this is an extremely important idea for the Christian          – being “child-like” means that we have to become kinder and more loving people who care about one another                   – and we have to do it before the “grown-up” world teaches us otherwise. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Hey Mama” — David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj &  Afrojack DO NOT WORRY The Gospel MATTHEW 6:30-34 Jesus said, “If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.  Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

Gospelthink: If you seek the kingdom, that is what I want you to do, there is no need to worry about your life. Do I really try to follow the Lord in my life?

“Yes I’ll be your woman, yes I’ll be your baby. Yes I’ll be whatever that you tell me when you’re ready. Yes I’ll be your girl, forever your lady. You ain’t ever gotta worry, I’m down for you baby. Beating the drum, I like the dirty rhythm you play; I wanna hear you callin’ my name, like, hey mama, I know you want it in the worst way; I wanna hear you callin’ my name, like, hey mama. Be my woman girl, I’ll be your man.”

The dictionary definition names “worry” to be an emotion of a negative nature about real or imagined issues. Falling into the category of a real issue is romantic love because one can never read the mind of another, and therefore, it will always “worry” a person whether the other in the relationship is true or not. Such is the thought of the song from DJ David Guetta featuring Nikki Minaj and Afrojack, “Hey Mama.” Offsetting the concern is the lady in the relationship who says directly “You ain’t ever gotta worry.” Jesus spoke of worrying often in the Gospels because one of his favorite phrases to people was “Do not be afraid.” He was speaking one time about the worry that people naturally have about the physical things in life–food, drink, clothing, the future, the evil around them. He told them that they did not have to worry about those things as long as they were seeking what the Kingdom of God should mean to them in their lives. The necessary prerequisite for no worry in both romantic love and love of God lies in a conditional “if.” If there is true love to begin with, then it stands to reason that there will be no worry. In the natural sphere it is translated as true concern. If there is true concern and communication for the person in the relationship, there will be no worry about the relationship. In the spiritual sphere, it is seeking the Kingdom of God. If a person is truly looking for the Kingdom of God, as Jesus says, there will be no worry about the necessities of life. Controlling natural and spiritual worry depends, therefore, on how well we carry out the “if” statements. In the song “Hey Mama,” if both parties are truly concerned about the other in the relationship and communicate with each other and remain in such a state, then there will be no worry–the relationship will lead to a happy future. Likewise, if people adhere to the principles of the Kingdom of Jesus, there will be no worry about a happy eternal future: it will be theirs.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, one of the problems of human nature is that we tend to “worry” about our futures. Help us to learn to trust in you so that we will learn how to truly love, and thus have no need to worry . Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: The way to be devoted to another is to never give him/her any worry. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Give your own definition of the “Kingdom of God.”  See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 2816-2821. 2.  In your opinion, do most Christian people truly seek to follow the Kingdom of God in their lives? Yes or no and why? 3. The song uses the word “forever.” In your opinion, do most people mean “for all time” when they say “forever”? Yes or no and why? 4. The idea of “callin’ my name.” In your opinion, is there good communication between most married couples? Yes or no and why? 5. In your opinion, what is the most cause for “worry” in our world? 6. In your present situation, what can you  do about the answer to number 5? 7. What does the song “Hey Mama” teach young people?