[media presentation below] GospelThink Wednesday, September 27 LUKE 9:1-6 I send you to do the same to those around you. Prayerthoughts a. Obviously, I cannot heal the sick or cast out demons, but I can show concern. Do I show signs of personal concern—a card, a visit, etc.—to the people that I know who are ill? b. Jesus wanted his Apostles to travel “lite” because he did not want material things to hold back the message that they were to preach. As I live in the world, are there material things that are holding me back from God’s presence? c. Jesus realizes that the Apostles will face rejection, and rather than talk against those who rejected them or threaten them, he tells them simply to shake the dust from their feet, or in other words, just leave and go to the next situation. Often I cannot do that—I would rather seek out some type of revenge. What is the area in my life where I am most prone to revenge? d. How do I proclaim the message of good news in the places where I live? e. What is the most important message that should be proclaimed to our present world? f. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will consider some times when I was hurt, and take the time to pray for the people involved. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  MATERIAL GOODS AND THE CHRISTIAN  + As Jesus sends his Apostles into the ministry to do the things that he wanted them to do, namely,           – preach the Kingdom of God/reign of God and heal                      – he gave them a directive concerning material goods                                – that is, that they should take nothing for their journey                                          – which basically says that they have to depend on God’s providence to help them as they went along                                                    – God’s providence that was shown to Ezra and the Israelites in their time delivering them into the hands of good kings of Persia  + The application for our spiritual lives revolves around how much we have, or our material things, as we go about our lives as Christians           – it is a common application that comes from the Scriptures                      – why should we take nothing extra for our journey in life, that is, spend little time with those material things                                – Jesus implies that if the disciples were overly worried about how much they had, the job he gave them would not get done                                          – if they were worried too much about compensation for what they did, the chances are that they wouldn’t teach as well as they could                                                    – and so, Jesus says, depend on God instead of material things  + The goal that we should have with material goods is this:           – that we never allow them to keep us back from doing the things of God           – as Christians we are all called to be missionaries in a sense, as Jesus called his disciples                      – to proclaim the reign of God by preaching with our lives — thoughts, words and actions                                – for us, it means that we do the best that we can to keep God part of our lives,                      – and to heal as best that we can,                                – that is, that we try our best to make the situations of our lives good ones,                                          – ones that are nourishing to everyone who is part of them                      – and at the same time depend on God to help us in everything that we do           – knowing that if we spend too much time on material goods, we could miss our calling to be Christian. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Applause” — Lady Gaga LIVING FOR THE APPLAUSE The Gospel LUKE 1:49-52 [Mary said:] “The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.”

Gospelthink: My human mother’s words–in praise of God. Do I praise God by the way I live?

“I stand here waiting for you to bang the gong, to crash the critic saying, ‘Is it right or is it wrong?’ If only fame had an IV, could I bear being away from you. I found the vein, put it in here. I live for the applause, live for the way that you cheer and scream for me. Give me that thing that I love—applause. I’ll turn the lights on. Put your hands up, make ‘em touch, make it real loud.”

One of most beautiful prayers contained in Scripture is the one attributed to Mary the Mother of Jesus. Known as the Magnificat, Mary takes justifiable pride in what God has done for her, and at the same time understands what will happen to those who are “arrogant of mind and heart.” Both parts of pride are important for anyone interested in living a good life. Singing of pride in her song “Applause,” Lady Gaga calls attention to both parts of pride. First, there is a justifiable pride in being accepted by someone we love. The lady in Lady Gaga’s song wants more than anything to have someone “cheer and scream” for her, a feeling that is justifiable in a love relationship because both must feel good about the other. But, there is a pride that is harmful as well. A person who only wants applause, that is, a person who only wants praise from others can easily fall into arrogance, placing him/herself “above” others, making others feel less important in their lives, and in general, desiring only what they want as a guide to life in general. In day-to-day living, we must be aware of both of those elements. We must have pride in ourselves, recognizing the abilities that we have, and understanding the contributions that we can make to the ones that we love. It is the foundation of being able to accomplish what we want to achieve as we grow. But we must know the sinfulness of pride as well. Too many people who are accomplished in life forget about the importance of others, what others have done for them, and often destroy any possible relationship, whether romantic or otherwise. The virtue of pride helps us live well because we know that we can learn from others. The sin of pride makes us lose sight of others because we only see ourselves.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, your Son’s earthly mother Mary is one of the great examples of living that you have given to us. May we learn from her as we understand what we can accomplish in life, and how selfish pride can harm us. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: We must have pride in ourselves, but not too much. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. The Magnificat may have been an ancient hymn that Luke inserted in his narrative and attributed to Mary. From the excerpt given in the reading, what is the overall meaning of the hymn? 2. Where is God’s mercy shown the most? 3. Text analysis: “Lifted up the lowly.” What is the meaning of the phrase?   4. Text analysis: “I stand here waiting for you to bang the gong.” What is the meaning of the sentence? 5. What is the meaning of “applause” in the song? 6. Living for applause will cause problems when the applause ceases. How should we look at ourselves once we are no longer a center of attention? 7. Give an example in today’s world of “justifiable pride.” 8. The meditation says that we must have pride in ourselves. How do we show pride in ourselves without “being proud”? 9. In today’s world, we cannot judge whether “celebrities” are proud. What is a good way of determining whether another person is proud or not? 10. What does the song “Applause” teach young people?