[media presentation below] GospelThink Wednesday, August 2 MATTHEW 13:44-46 The Kingdom that I want is so important that you must give up everything to purchase it. Prayerthoughts a. The Kingdom of heaven is God’s Kingdom on earth. What can I do better to show that  I am a member of that Kingdom? (This is the task of the meditation.) b. What are the treasures in my life right now? c. In this story, the person searching comes upon the treasure unexpectedly. In my life so  far, what “treasure” has come into my life unexpectedly? d. “Sells all that he has” is central to Jesus’ stories here. Obviously, it cannot be taken literally because I need things to live. But what things in my life should I give up to show my dedication to the Lord better? e. The finding of the pearls is done after a diligent search. Do I show in my life that I am truly searching for the Lord’s presence? f. My prayerthoughts… Today I will carry out letter a. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  SELLING ALL FOR THE KINGDOM  + The book of Exodus makes a pretty strong statement about God’s presence in our lives and what it does to us           – Moses spends time with God, and it changes him both physically and mentally                      – the obvious conclusion is that if one spends time with God, it should do something to us   – We spend time with God often enough           – maybe not as often as we should, but we are here today, and we place ourselves in God’s presence at times during our day           – it is part of the privilege of being a Christian believer                      – we believe that we can speak to God, and we believe that God speaks to us in various ways                                – one of those ways is through the Scriptures, and especially the Gospels that we hear, some of us, every day  + Jesus tells us in the Gospel today in two simple stories that in order to attain true Christianity, that is, the kingdom that he was preaching           – we may have to give up some things:           [The person who wants the field and the pearl] sells all that he has.           – that is, in order to attain the feeling and reality of true Christianity, the person must first make some sacrifices  + It is the whole point of the stories—if you want the kingdom, if you want Christianity, you have to look at what you are doing and give up some of it           – what is most difficult to give up is our own way of thinking through things, our reasoning, the way we judge others and how they act, the way we feel about things from our particular points of view                      – that is extremely difficult to do when we are programmed to think differently           – the fact is: we often don’t know another point of view the way we think we do                      – often we are quite prejudiced in our thinking                                – and it bears some serious thinking on our parts  + As Jesus talks of his kingdom today and listens to the stories he tells           – we are given the opportunity to look at what holds us back from totally accepting the plan of action he gives           – what are the things that we are holding on to that block the presence of God in our lives                      – Moses felt the presence of God in a unique way, and he changed                                – so can we feel the presence of God, and it should move us to look carefully at what we are doing. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Clarity” — Zedd featuring Foxes CLARITY IN THE CONFUSION The Gospel LUKE 4:16-21 Jesus came to Nazareth where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Gospelthink: I announced to the people of Nazareth that I bring about life. Have I made the words of Jesus important to me?

“High dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life, fight fear for the selfish pain; it was worth it every time. Hold still right before we crash ‘cause we both know how this ends. A clock ticks ‘til it breaks your glass and I drown in you again. ‘Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn’t need: chasing relentlessly, still fight, and I don’t know why. If your love is tragedy why are you my remedy? If our love’s insanity, why are you my clarity.”

Producer Zedd’s song “Clarity” featuring singer Foxes deals with the confusion that often comes from love relationships. Discerning love may be one of the most difficult parts of a young adult’s life. Once she/he discovers some love relationship, and tries to decide whether the relationship is a lasting one or not, she/he understands immediately that it is a complicated process. It is not easy to put two people with his/her own personality together. A common way to look at it is that the two will fall in and out of love, bringing about seeming contradictions. As Zedd and Foxes express it, our relationship feels like tragedy and insanity, but the love the couple possesses will hopefully bring about clarity. Or, in other words, in the end, love will heal relationships no matter how much confusion may be present. Even if a couple’s love relationship does not last, in the end their desire for love will enable them to find a future relationship. The desire for real love will drive them to keep looking for it until it finally comes in some other relationship. In truth, it can be said that real love will always lead to healthy relationships. God wanted real love to be present in the world that had become tainted with evil. Such was the way Jesus looked upon his task in the world. He wanted more than anything to bring about love and peace that would in turn create glad tidings, liberty, true sight, freedom and in the end, a world that God would again call God’s own. In short, God’s love through Jesus would bring clarity to the confusion of the world. Most of us will choose a romantic love relationship that will direct our lives together on earth. All of us should choose Gospel love as a guide no matter what relationship we have. No matter what confusions rise up in the different circumstances of our living, true love or as the Gospels name it, “the Spirit of the Lord” will cure them. True love will bring about the clarity that we all desire in every relationship, romantic or otherwise.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, even though there is confusion in this world of ours, we know that the love that Jesus showed us will bring about clarity. Give us the courage to continue searching for such a love.  Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Sometimes love brings confusion, but in the end love will heal relationships. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Considering the Gospel reading, if you were given the directive to do what Isaiah said, what would be the first task of those that are written that you would do? Why? 2. In general, we believe that Jesus accomplished what Isaiah said. Discuss how he accomplished it. 3. Test analysis: “High dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life.” What is the meaning of the phrase? 4. Text analysis: what is your understanding of “selfish pain”? 5. Text analysis: “A clock ticks ’til it breaks your glass.” What is the meaning of the sentence? 6. What is most confusing about love relationships? 7. Why is it possible to both fall in and out of love with the same person? 8. Do you agree with the meditation’s statement that people looking for love will always find it? Yes or no and why? 9. What most of all will bring the world love and peace? 10. The meditation refers to “true love” or “real love.” What is the meaning of the phrase? 11. What does the song “Clarity” teach young people?