Small Groups

The Way of the Chosen

Week 5

Delight In What Jesus Delights In

OPENING PRAYER

Lord Jesus, You are the perfect bridegroom who greatly rejoices in us, Your bride.  You’re not just committed to us; not just faithful to us; not just a great provider; You actually love and enjoy us. If Your great affection for us wasn’t written down so clearly in Your Word, I’d never believe it was true or even possible.  Come, Holy Spirit, come and stun my heart afresh with this good news!  Dear Jesus, You lived and died to make us Yours.  We no longer wear the garments of our unrighteousness.  We’re dressed in the wedding garments of Your Grace – Your perfect righteousness freely given to us because of Your costly sacrifice for us.  May Your marriage to us and great love for us profoundly alter and affect every other relationship in which You’ve placed us.  Free us for loving others as You love us.  Amen

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matthew 6:19-21

“In this episode we see Jesus’ followers experience varying degrees of delight.  Zebedee celebrates his newfound interest in olive oil production.  Despite Simon’s undefined troubles at home, he and his (unlikely) new friend, Gaius make progress on the broken cistern.  And Jesus returns to His eager disciples, who once again get to bask in His company and teaching.  God intends for all of the above – relationships, new discoveries, teamwork, a job well done, a good meal, a thriving community, a home to come back to at the end of a long day – to be enjoyed.  But even more than earthly blessings, God wants you to enjoy Him.  To consider your relationship with Him is  your greatest treasure.  To be filled with joy and peace as result of having been in His presence.  To carry His wisdom, love, and grace into your relationships with others.  And, to have the way you see and experience the world be irrevocably re-formed by the way HE sees the world.  He wants you to delight in your relationship with Him, the Bridegroom.  (Chosen Study Guide Pg 75)

WATCH THE VIDEO

Chosen Season 3

THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY

“God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a help mate…So God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, He took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. God built the rib He had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man…This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body.” Genesis 2:18-25

“The reign of the Lord, our God Almighty has begun; let us be glad and joyful and give praise to God, because this is the time for the marriage of the Lamb. His bride is ready, and she has been able to dress herself in dazzling white linen, because her linen is made of the good deeds of the saints…Happy are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” Revelation 19:7-9

Catechism of the Catholic Church – “God who created man out of love also calls us to love – the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is Himself love. Since God created man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves us. It is good, in the Creator’s eyes. And this love which God blesses is intended to be fruitful and to be realized in the common work of watching over creation.” CCC 1604

“The Sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has loved His Church; the grace of the Sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life.” CCC 1661

Pope Francis reflects: “There are moments of the cross and sorrow, but there can always be a deep sense of peace – the Christian life is the wedding feast of Jesus and the Church. Jesus is the bridegroom, the Church, is the bride. The Lord shows us that the relationship between Him and the Church is matrimonial. Jesus reveals Himself for the first time at a wedding feast. What makes a wedding full and true today will be the presence of the Lord who reveals Himself and gives His Grace. It is the Lord’s presence that offers the “good wine.” He is the secret to fulfilling our joy which truly warms the heart.” From the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary of Pope Francis

Before leaving this earth Jesus blessed the sanctity of Marriage formed in the garden of Eden, by performing His first miracle at the Marriage Feast of Cana.

1. What, or Who, impacted you most in this video today, and why? And what new insight did you receive from the Sermon this Sunday?

2. As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” Isaiah 62:5
“Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Romans 8:8-9
Question – What are your feelings about this Sacrament – surprise, amazement? What do you wonder about?

3. “The bride is only for the Bridegroom; and yet the Bridegroom’s friend…is glad when he hears the Bridegroom’s voice…he must grow greater, I must grow smaller…He who comes from heaven bears witness to the things He has seen and heard…all who accept His testimony are attesting the truthfulness of God.” John 3:29-34
Question – How can we grow our relationships with others – spouse, children, loved ones, those in need – in the same way Jesus (the Bridegroom) is in relationship with us, His chosen?

AT HOME

PRAYER FOCUS: Give God cause for delight this week!  Close your eyes and open your hands to heaven, saying, “Jesus, You are______________.” (“Jesus, You are gracious.  Jesus, You are merciful.  Jesus, You are Lord.  Jesus, You are all-powerful and perfect in every way……………….”)