[media presentation below] GospelThink Friday, November 24 LUKE 19:45-48 I want you to treat every Church as a house of prayer. Prayerthoughts a. People were making a living selling the necessary animals for sacrifice in the temple, but they had moved in too close to the actual temple. Have I looked at my going to Church as something that “I must do” and not as something “I want to do”? b. Jesus obviously did not want the attitude of “making money” to be connected to Church. Money is obviously needed in today’s Church. How should I feel about it? c. The idea of giving money in today’s Church is important from the point of view of giving to God of what I have. because of what God has done for me. Do I give money to my Church with that in mind? d. Jesus gives the proper perspective of what Church is—“a house of prayer.” Should the time I give to my prayer life be more important in my life right now? e. The religious leaders wanted to put Jesus to death because of what he did and said. What was their motivation, and what can I learn from it? f. The people were astonished at Jesus’ teaching. Do I consider the words of Jesus to be a prominent guide of my life? g. The world can be considered “a temple.” Ecologically speaking, do I treat the world with the respect I should? h. My prayerthoughts…   Today I will take some time to visit a Church (if possible) and pray for the people in my life. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  CLEANSING THE TEMPLE  + Both readings speak of God’s world, the presence of God in a synagogue          – Judas Maccabeus and his brothers in the first reading          – Jesus speaking of his Father’s house in the Gospel  + The thought of Jesus losing his temper and destroying the traders’ tables is a disturbing one          – in general, we don’t like the Jesus we want to imitate to be so radical                   – we would much rather have a Jesus who is easy to follow, the gentle Jesus which is also present in the Scriptures          – but Jesus ejecting traders from the temple area is also the Jesus that must be studied and learned from                   – and therefore a couple of lessons that comes from the action  + 1 – Jesus feels strongly about the presence of God          – which basically says that we must never lose the focus of what we as a spiritual community are all about                   – you and I are called to a deeper life of Jesus in each of us by the very fact that we are here                            – if there is anything that takes away from our spiritual development and a deeper understanding of Jesus in our lives, we have to attack it                                     – church leaders especially must be aware of that, but lay people as well, especially those who are more interested in their spiritual lives  + 2 – There has to be a certain passion for God in our lives          – as Jesus in a sense lost it in the Temple (lost it for the right reason)                   – we have to feel a little passion for the things of God, and make those things more and more present                            – easily can be seen in the secular world with the Christmas season coming up                                     – but for us, too, never to allow ourselves to forget what we are doing even as we celebrate with all the externals of Advent and Christmas  + The image of Jesus cleansing the temple is an important image to keep in our minds. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Thunder” — Imagine Dragons LIGHTNING BEFORE THE THUNDER The Gospel LUKE 19:1-10 Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

Gospelthink: Zacchaeus was anxious to see me. Do i show that i am anxious to be with the Lord in my life?

“Just a young gun with a quick fuse, I was uptight, wanna let loose. I was dreaming of bigger things and wanna leave my old life behind. Not a yes-sir, not a follower, fit the box, fit the mold, have a seat in the foyer, take a number. I was lightning before the thunder.” Other kids were making fun of him, but now he sings, “I’m smiling from the stage while you were clapping in the nosebleeds.”

Zacchaeus knew a couple of things about himself. He knew that he was small for his age, and so he managed to compensate for that. But he also knew that he was something more than a tax collector, even more than a chief tax collector. As he studied himself, one is led to believe, he did not like what he saw. He was not living up to his potential. Perhaps this man whom he had heard of, this Jesus, could help him. So he climbed the tree hoping not only to see him, but perhaps be moved by him. He was not disappointed. It seems that the man in Imagine Dragons’ song “Thunder” is the same type of fellow. He knew what he was, and he knew what he could become. As he put it, he knew he was lightning, and what was being presented now in his life was merely the thunder. He fully understood that he was the lightning, not the thunder, capable of accomplishing much more than he was. He was not a yes-man, a follower; he was destined to be on the stage instead of watching from the audience. Such is the thought of every leader in our world. There will come a time as she/he grows in which they realize that her/his life could be so much more than it is. Yes, the person may be enjoying life, having a good time, but there are dreams of bigger things always in the mind. The difference between a leader and a follower is that she/he will do something about it. As Zaccheaus, as the man in Imagine Dragons’ song, the leader will do the work of giving away the things of youth, and accepting the challenge of being the lightning, being the person whose desire goes far behind merely making noise or even making money. The leader is one who sees what must be done, and takes up his desire and makes it a reality.

PRAYER  Good and gracious God, Zacchaeus became a true leader when he accepted Your Son into his life. Help us grow in our own maturity and accept the challenge to be better than we are right now. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: We can be more than we are if we want. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. As you study our world today, who would you say are the most “lost”? 2. What are some of the qualities of a true leader? 3. As you study the personality of Jesus as presented in the Gospels, what is his strongest leadership quality? 4. The man in the song “Thunder” is obviously confident of his abilities in the future. Why is confidence so necessary as we look at the future? 5. What is the most necessary characteristic in a person before he/she becomes a good leader? 6. After one is convinced that he/she wants to be a leader, what is the first thing that must happen in her/his life? 7. What does the song “Thunder” teach young people?