[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, October 1, Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time MATTHEW 21:28-32 I tell you a story that says that you should change your behavior even if you are late in doing it. Prayerthoughts a. There are times in my life when I have said that I would not do something, changed my mind, and finally did it. Concentrate on some such time. b. Likewise there are times in my life when I have said that I would do something, changed my mind, and never did it. Concentrate on some such time. c. Obviously the religious leaders in Jesus’s time were saying that they were doing what spiritual people should do, but were not doing it. I have said that I have put on the faith of Jesus in my life. In what areas am I lacking? d. Jesus is very strong in his language against the religious leaders (as he always is). I may not be in the same situation as they, but I must carefully review what I have said as I try to imitate the Lord, and check on how well I have carried through. e. As I study my life, what should I change for the better? f. My prayerthoughts….   Today, I will read Phillipians, chapter 2, and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy   LEADING TO CONVERSION            Many of us have what might be called “secret desires” in our particular line of work, something that might be impossible, but it would be really nice to have. As a minister who wants people to change for the better, one of my secret desires is this. I would love to have a card with something written on it that I could take up to people who may not be doing good, myself included, have the person read it, watch it change his/her whole attitude and begin a new life.            Like, take it up to people who are having marriage problems, show them the card, and then watch them actually talk things out. Or take it up to moms and dads or other people who may be hurting their kids in some way, show them the card, and then watch them finally understand. Or take it to the person who is causing problems in a family, or a parish, or an organization, show them the card, and then watch them change. It is a fantasy, of course, but it is a true desire.            Jesus wanted to bring it about for the chief priests and elders of the people in today’s Gospel. Instead of a little card, he told them a story, making them the characters of the story. He told them: suppose you said to God, “Yes, I’ll go out and work in the vineyard,” and never went; did you do what God wanted? They should have realized and said, “Look what we are doing, we’d better change.” But they did not—the Lord showed them his little card, and it did nothing.            What about that card—what would it say to get us to change? Every one of us needs further ongoing conversion. In fact, the card that could be shown to us to bring about further conversion may contain the same thing that Jesus said, only translated to our day. Suppose the card says: “I have a vineyard called Your Town, North America—or whatever your neighborhood is called: there’s some work to be done there—some healing, some giving, some helping, some peace.  You must do it.”            The chances are pretty strong that many Christian people would be like the chief priests and elders, and they would say “Yes, I’ll do it.” In fact, in a sense, we have said “yes” by the very fact that we are baptized, but many of us do not do anything further because…and then the excuses come.           – We don’t have enough time.           – We’re not sure it will do any good.           – My family has been hurt too much in the past.           – No one has helped me.           – I’ve done enough already.           – I’ve got more important things to do.                      – whatever….            What will it take to get us to change to be better people? What little card could the Lord give to us that would make us realize that there are some things in our lives that must change, that we really must have a conversion experience? In reality, the Lord has given us a card. It comes in the form of a book, called the Gospels. And it says: this is the way, the truth and the life. Perhaps we have to bring ourselves to understand that we are not following it enough.           Our second reading today is the beautiful hymn of Philippians (Philippians 2:1-11). It was written to illustrate what Jesus did to attack the number one destroyer of the spiritual life: selfishness. Jesus emptied himself and saved us, and then gave us directions on how to change for the better: the Gospel is the card he gave us. We should be able to look at it, read about Jesus, and then change our behavior. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Rude” — Magic! THE DECISION TO MARRY “ANYWAY” The Gospel MATTHEW 5:31-32 Jesus said, “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.’ But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife unless the marriage is unlawful causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Gospelthink: In my doctrine, there is no place for divorce. If I am married, am I faithful. If I am not, have I controlled my lustful desires?

The song “Rude” is the story of a young couple who want to get married, and the father of the girl does not approve and then records what transpires after the father says “no” to the man who is asking the hand of his daughter. “Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life?,” the man asks her father. “Tough luck,” he says, “but the answer is ‘no’.” Then the man responds “Why you gotta be so rude? Don’t you know I’m human too? I’m gonna marry her anyway.”

In the video to the song “Rude,” by Magic!, the man in the relationship does exactly what he says he would do: he marries the lady even though he does not have her father’s approval. There is little doubt that in our Western culture the desire of the couple to be married or not is paramount. Marriage is a significant moment in a couple’s life. They must ultimately make the decision. They have prepared for it, have talked about how they are ready, where they will live, how they will live, and how they will make it in the world. The commitment is their’s to make. But if they are Christian, they must pay close attention to the words of Jesus who said that those who marry must never consider divorce unless there are very exceptional circumstances. It follows that the couple must be aware of the possible causes of divorce and must study the situations that could bring it about. One of those causes according to divorce lawyers is the attitude of the individual families. Those families will play a significant part in the couple’s life together, and it must not be taken lightly. When one of their families does not want the marriage to happen and is strong in their opposition, then there is a problem. What must happen as a result of such a problem? It depends on the individuals who are involved, of course, but by far the best thing that the couple can do is to work together to bring their families along to agree with their decision. They can indeed say, “We’ll get married anyway,” but they will generally be a lot happier if they would spend some time nurturing not only a love for each other, but for each other’s family as well.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, thank you for the opportunity of involving ourselves in romantic love and eventually for the gift of marriage. As we love the person we will marry, we ask for your guidance and direction to love each other’s families as well. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Love of each other’s family will generally help a couple’s marriage. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Jesus’ stand on divorce is very strong. Why do many Christians not agree with it? 2. There seems to be an exception to Jesus’ condemnation of divorce in Matthew’s Gospel in this passage. In your opinion, in today’s world, do you think that there can be exceptions to Jesus’ command? Yes or no and why? (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 2382-2386.) 3. If there is an exception to Jesus’ words on divorce, what do you think the exception should be? 4. How important in a marriage is the father of the bride to be? 5. If a couple is thinking seriously about marriage, do you think that the parents of the couple should be consulted first? Yes or no and why? 6. Is it true that the father of the bride-to-be is “rude” in the song?  Yes or no and why? 7. Project: obtain a copy of the video to the song, and discuss its implications. 8. The meditation makes the point that the couple’s decision to be married is ultimately the only one that means anything. Is the statement true or false? Why? 9. What are the causes of divorce in our modern society? 10. What should happen if the parents still do not agree with the marriage even after spending a significant amount of time trying to make them understand? 11. What does the song “Rude” teach young people?