Reflections on the Scriptures for Youth Ministers
1st
Sunday/Zaccheus Sunday
1
Tim 4:9-15 -- St Timothy was a young man when the Apostle Paul wrote this
letter to him. Timothy had been given great responsibility for a person his
age and St Paul has high expectations for him. Today we ten to isolate youth
from these kinds of responsibilities and expectations, thinking that they
'aren't ready' for them, St Paul reminds St Timothy to be an example to everyone
in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.
Luke
19:1-10 -- Zaccheus had a lot going against him. As the chief tax collector
and a rich man he was rejected and hated for co-operating and working for the
Romans who treated Jewish people as inferiors. As a short, it was difficult
for him to see something that others could see easily. Despite these 'handicaps,'
he refused to let anything stop him from pursuing his spiritual desire to get
to know Jesus. His reaction and response to meeting Jesus made him resourceful
in spite of his handicaps, zealous in his spiritual hunger, and eager to radically
repent and make amends for things he had done. Often young people have many
things going against them in their spiritual lives: they live in a society that
degrades religious and even moral beliefs; they often don't have family structures
that reinforce the need for genuine spiritual growth, and they may or may not
belong to a community that gives them positive examples of Christian life.
- What
are other spiritual 'handicaps' that teens and young adults face today?
- What
do we think you people would say Jesus would want them to change about their
lives?
- In
what ways do we encourage them to surrender to or overcome their spiritual
handicaps?
2nd
Sunday/Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
2
Tim 3:10-15 -- St Paul wrote this letter as he was waiting to be martyred. In
it he gives Timothy what he feels to be the most important advice he can give
to a man who he things of as a son. He tells Timothy to remember and stay true
to what he was taught. Paul also prepares him for the difficulties that he will
face, and reminds him how from the time he was very young, he was taught from
the scriptures about the Christ and salvation.
- Are
we honest with youth and young adults about the realities of Christian life;
about the persecutions they will face as they try to love a life in Christ?
- What
tools can we give youth and young adults to help them face this persecution?
- What
perceptions do we give young people about the holy scriptures? Are they essential
and instructive for salvation, or irrelevant to 'real' life.
- In
what ways do we help young people become well-informed about the scriptures?
Luke
18:10-14 -- In the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, Jesus warns us
about doing all the right things for the wrong reasons. This includes everything
from how we live our daily lives to things we do as part of our parish communities.
The publican was justified not because of what he did or did not do, but because
he acknowledged that he needed God in his life.
- How
do we present the teachings of the Church to young people; as rules designed
to prevent people from enjoying life, or as life-saving and life-giving guidelines?
- Do
we give young people the idea that the Christian life is about following rules
on about getting to know the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
- In
what ways do we portray God's forgiveness to youth and young adults?
3rd
Sunday/Sunday of the Prodigal Son:
1
Cor 6:12-20 -- In the epistle St Paul reminds us about who we are as human beings:
how we, as Christians, are to behave in front of people who are not Christians;
and how our actions affect us and those around us. These view differ radically
from other philosophies which deny that our actions have real consequences and
that we have a genuine connection and responsibility to others.
- What
do our youth think about who the are, what their bodies are, the meaning of
their life, and what they should do with it? What does society tell them?
How does the Church correct or reinforce these understandings?
- How
would youth we know react to the phrase 'You are not your own. You were bought
at a price'?
- What
kind of approach can we use to instill within young people the Christian understanding
of the human body, mind, and spirit?
Luke
15:11-32 -- The parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most familiar stories
in all literature and art. It has inspired numerous novels, short stories, poems,
paintings, and even songs. It tells the reader about the universal experience
of pride, rejection, greed, repentance, and reconciliation. It even outlines
the steps involved in turning our lives around. In spite of this, youth and
young adults often get the impression of God as a vengeful god who needs to
punish those who offend Him. Young people need to know the real consequences
of turning from God and the steps that it takes to return to Him.
- According
to the parable, why does the prodigal decide to return to his father?
- What
opportunities doe we give young people to discuss the real effects of their
bad choices?
- In
what ways do we portray God's forgiveness to youth and young adults?
4th
Sunday/Sunday of the Last Judgment
1
Cor 8:8-9:2 -- Though fasting is an essential part of Christian life practiced
by the Church from the earliest times, St Paul writes that 'if food is a cause
of my brother's falling I will never eat meat, lest I cause by brother to fall.'
Often fasting is presented as a harsh rule or as something that can be discarded
at whim. In the Christian life, fasting is seen as essential to a true knowledge
and experience of God, but becomes secondary when it might impair someone else's
relationship with Him.
- What
impression does our community give young people about fasting?
- How
can we better express to young people the connection of fasting to our relationship
with God and others?
- How
would our youth and young adults respond to the phrase 'I am not my brothers'
keeper'? What do we do to support or not support that attitude?
Matt
25:31-36 -- Jesus clearly tells us here how our lives will be judged. If we
do the things in the parable out of love, then we will be saved; if we do not,
we will damn ourselves. He calls us to love others as He loves us, without expecting
anything in return. The people described in the parable are those who are not
in a position to 'give back' anything for what we do for them, just like we
can't give back anything for what God has done for us. Youth and young adults
need to be challenged to love people even if they can't get anything back in
return. They also need to know that this not because we wants to be 'nice' but
because God made us that way.
- How
do youth think about the concept of answering to God? Of disappointing God?
- How
much does your community exemplify the kind of love in action represented
in the parable?
- How
do we challenge young people to engage in this kind of love?
Taken
from the OCA Resource
Handbook for Lay Ministries
