[media presentation below] GospelThink Saturday, July 29, Sts. Martha, Mary and Lazarus JOHN 11:19-27 I had close friends while I was here on earth. Prayerthoughts a. Evidently Martha, Mary and Lazarus were close friends of Jesus, and treated him as one of the family. In my own family right now, am I showing the love that I should? b. Martha was action-oriented. She was someone who made things happen, while Mary was more reserved. I am a certain type of personality. In terms of my own personality, what is the best way for me to approach the spiritual life? c. Jesus speaks the truth of eternal life. What is my feeling about my death? How can I better prepare for it? d. We readily answer the Lord that we believe that he is the resurrection and the life. How  can I show that belief a little more? e. We also agree with Martha that Jesus is the Messiah who came into the world. If Jesus would meet me right now at this time of my life, what do I think he would say is the most important thing for me to do? f. My Prayerthoughts… Today I will write a prayer concerning my preparation for death. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy   THE SUBJECT OF DEATH  + In the Gospel, the Lord takes to task the subject of death           – it is a good time for us to think about it as well                      – and, in particular, our deaths                                – we are all going to die, and according to the law of averages, some of us are going to go through it pretty soon                                          – now, that may be a sobering thought                                                    – but we should listen carefully to the Lord today  + The whole incident with Lazarus is nothing more than a proof that God is in charge of all life and death           – the key to the Gospel story is not the raising to life of Lazarus, although that is what catches attention                      – the key is Jesus’ words to Martha:           I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  + The important thing is the type of belief that we have in Jesus—whoever believes in me           – we must choose to believe in Jesus                      – God never forces us: therefore, it is up to us—totally                                – we are in the hot seat, so to speak                                          – no one else can do this for us: we either believe or not  + Now, it is at this point at a funeral that we would say           – we know that so and so did that, and then talk about that a little                      – and it is the place where one would never bring up the possibility that so and so may not have believed too well because that talk is painful to people                               – but not being at a funeral today, we can say some rather straightforward things without making people feel badly                      – the person who is next to die in here is right here with us today                                – and that person—and indeed all of us–are determining right now what kind of a future life we are going to have, either eternal life, or eternal death                                – and the criterion is very simple: does that person believe in Jesus or not  + Believing in Jesus means primarily two things: loving God and loving neighbor           – put negatively—if we are placing other things above God in our lives and interacting with other people in a negative way,                      – then we are not really believing in Jesus  + It is a good spiritual exercise to write your own eulogy—what you think your friends will say about you at your funeral, and what you would like them to say about you           – things like:                      – on a scale of 1-10 where 10 is high, how do you score your prayer life                      – on that same scale, do you think about other people in a good way                      – or how would you score your taking care of those less fortunate than you are?  + There will come a time when you and I will have our funerals in this church or one very much like it           – the Lord’s message today is one of hope: you’ve got time left: use it well           – we are often told that we should make some funeral arrangements ahead of time                      – well, I think that it is much more important to make some after-human death arrangements           – we have the time right now                      – may we use it well. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “The Edge of Glory” — Lady Gaga FALLING FAR IN LOVE The Gospel MATTHEW 3:7-10 When John the Baptist saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good that is evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Gospelthink: My friend John the Baptist called the religious leaders and you to show evidence of repentance. Is it evident by my life that I have shown the need for repentance?

“There ain’t no reason you and me should be alone tonight. And I got a reason that you’re who should take me home tonight. I need a man that thinks it’s right when it’s so wrong, right on the limits where we know we both belong tonight. It’s hard to feel the rush, to brush the dangerous. I’m gonna run to the edge with you, where we can both fall far in love. I’m on the edge of glory, and I’m hanging on a moment of truth. I’m on the edge with you. I’m on the edge of something final we call life tonight.”

John the Baptist led a dangerous life. He truly understood what it was like to live on the edge. When he lashed out against the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious leaders of his day, he not only was preaching what should have been preached. He was messing with fire, and he could easily have been hurt. But he knew what had to be done. He was careful to speak only the truth as he preached, but he accepted the risk involved with speaking against other people’s actions. Just as John the Baptist, people deciding who to marry and to whom they should give themselves in love can be “brushing the dangerous” as Lady Gaga describes it in her song “The Edge of Glory.” But if romantic love is to survive in our world, people must take the risk. In Lady Gaga’s song the person is feeling the excitement of romantic love. She could easily be hurt by the person with whom she shares her love, and she must be careful, but if she wants to truly live in the world of life and love, at some time in her life, she must take the risk. As she sings, it becomes a “moment of truth.”  There is a general application to a meditation on Lady Gaga’s song. Living close to any edge as we pursue our lives may be dangerous, and we must be careful, but sometimes we simply must accept the risk. The specific application of the song, however, is in the area of developing romantic love. It can be labeled as being on “the edge of glory” as Lady Gaga calls it, and since they are on the edge, those involved must be very cautious. It is a dangerous action to give ourselves completely to another. But to be human and to develop an understanding of romantic love, being on the “edge” may be the best way to describe it. The only way to discover a future mate in Western culture is to take the risk of going to the edge of love and finding out whether it is present or not.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, discovering romantic love in our culture is a difficult action. There are too many who get hurt. Give us the courage that it takes to determine the love that we must have in order to insure a happy future. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Living close to the edge may be dangerous, and we have to be careful, but sometimes we must risk it. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. In the Gospel, the Pharisees and Sadducees are warned to reform their lives as a preparation for the intervention of God. What reform is most necessary in our world? In your area right now? 2. Much of John the Baptist’s stress in preaching is exactly what Jesus would stress as he began his ministry. In your opinion, if John and Jesus would be preaching today, what would they stress? 3. John the Baptist was careful to say only the truth about what the religious leaders were doing. In general, do you believe that people in leadership speak only the truth? Yes or no and why? 4. Text analysis: “I need a man who thinks it’s right when it’s so wrong.” What is the meaning of the text and do you think a Christian would agree with the morality involved? Why? 5. The connotation of the song is that there will be sexual involvement between the couple. Why do Christians not agree with extra-marital sexual involvement outside of marriage? 6. Do you think that young people are affected adversely when songs such as this allude to sexual involvement? Yes or no and why? 7. Text analysis: The person in the song is “hanging on a moment of truth.” What is the meaning of the text? 8. What does the idea of “being on an edge” mean? 9. Text analysis: “I’m on the edge of something final we call life tonight.” What is the meaning of the text? 10. How is falling in love something that is “brushing the dangerous”? 11. Do you think that most young people are careful as they develop love relationships? Yes or no and why? 12. At what point of the relationship should one approach another to marry? 13. In our world today, many couples choose simply to live together rather than marry. What is your opinion of that action? 14. Give an instance other than romantic love when a person must take a risk in life. 15. Why is it a dangerous action to give ourselves completely to another in love? 16. Our Western culture calls for us to choose a mate for life. Even with all the difficulties, why is this method better than having a mate chosen for us? 17. What does the song “The Edge of Glory” teach young people?