[media presentation below] GospelThink Monday, October 30 LUKE 13:10-17 I cured on the Sabbath, telling the leaders that people are more important than law. Prayerthoughts a. Part of Jesus’s routine was worship of God on a Sabbath day. Have I made Sunday Mass a priority in my life? b. Jesus cured the woman of her infirmity. Obviously, I cannot cure anyone, but I can be kinder to those who hurting around me. Is there anyone in particular to whom I should show an act of kindness? c. The Pharisees without regard for the sacredness of the moment, cause unrest in the synagogue. As I study my life, do I see times that I deliberately cause friction? d. Jesus points out that there must be exceptions to the law, and therefore healing is such an exception. The important lesson is the people are more important than law. Do I consider the people that I know truly important? e. Jesus’s rebuke to the Pharisees shows the strength of evil in our world. What are the greatest evils around me, and have I done what I can to eradicate them in my life? (This is the task of the meditation.) f. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will think of all the evils around me, and what I can do about them. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS  + Jesus asks questions in the Gospel today – and almost, Jesus’ questions were not difficult to answer                   – they were asked because the people knew the answers and Jesus knew that they didn’t want to hear those answers          – and so, the leader of the synagogue knew the answers:                   – yes, I do take care of my animal on the Sabbath, and of course this person ought to be cured on the Sabbath—any day as a matter of fact                            – because people are more important than any law                   – he knew the answers to the questions, but they were questions that the leader was not asking  + One of the most important parts of solving any problem is to be able to ask the right questions.          – and really want to know the answers          – questions which concern the problem, questions whose answers we are not afraid of                   – questions that deal with life and how I treat others, and so forth                            – questions that get to the point of what I should be doing in the situation I am in                                     – in the Gospel: Jesus wanted the leader of the synagogue to ask the right questions, questions like,                   – what should a truly religious leader do on the Sabbath or on any other day of the week?                            – to ask the right question implies that we want to know the answer, and that we will carry it out  + Moving into the twenty-first century, the questions that we should ask are about our own spiritual development:          – how do I become closer to the Lord given this situation?          – what should I be doing right now that could help my spiritual life?  + Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans that we are children of God          – one of the characteristics of the children of God is that they ask the right questions. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Savage Love” — Jason Derulo featuring Jawsh 685 I STILL WANT THAT The Gospel LUKE 13:6-9 Jesus told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”

Gospelthink: There is the possiblity that we can improve our lives. Are there some things in my life right now that I really should change?

“If I woke up without you, I don’t know what I would do. Thought I could be single forever ‘til I met you. I just found out, the only reason that you lovin’ me was to get back at your ex-lover, but before you leave—usually I would never even care. Every night and every day I try to make you stay, but your savage love, I still want that.”

Jason Derulo sings the thoughts of the man in the relationship in the song “Savage Love,” namely, “I still want that.” When it comes to human relationships, that can be a problem. We want what we want from our point of view. Often the other in the relationship may not be thinking like us at all. And we must adjust. In fact, in order to be happy we must adjust. Jesus says the same thing in his story. The application of it is that there are some things in our lives that should change. Put in the context of Jason Derulo’s song, the man should make the decision to move on in his love life, but he does not want to. And so the gardener, our conscience perhaps, says to us, you have to take the time to get out of this relationship. And if you do not, your life will be hurting. As one studies the situation from an objective point of view without the emotions that the man has, when another person is using you for love simply because she did not get it some place else, there is a problem. In fact, it is quite easy to solve. Get out of that relationship so that you can improve your life. But the emotions can never be discarded so easily. We still want what we want–a lot. There is little doubt that there are a number of things that should change in our lives that go beyond what we should be doing with our romantic lives. But what we want tends to dominate our thinking. Perhaps we must spend some time thinking about what happens to the fig tree in Jesus’s story if it did not produce some change.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, you tell us that we must change some things in our lives. We discover that in the way we live, but we continually seek the easy life, and what we want. Give us the grace to see what we should do in order to improve our lives. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: There are some things that we should do to improve our lives, but we do not want to. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song “Savage Love” teach young people?   2. In a relationship, what are the biggest adjustments that must be made? 3. Why do people hang on to a relationship when they really should let it go? 4. As you study our world today, what things should change most of all? 5. Can we who are not in a national spotlight do anything about the problems mentioned in number 4?