April 18

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Saturday, April 18, Easter Weekday

JOHN 6:16-21

WALKING ON WATER

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus walking on water is considered “nature” miracle. Do I recognize the presence of God in the nature around me? I should say a prayer for those who have been hurt in one way or another by the natural disasters.

b. There are a”strong winds” of problems in everyone’s life. What are the real problems in my life right now, and am I addressing them the way I should?

c. The apostles were fishermen for the most part, and still became ”afraid” because of the cirumstances. What are the times when I have been genuinely afraid? Did I turn to the Lord the way I should have?

d. He said to them, “It is I.” In Greek, it is translated I AM, the name given to Moses for God. Is God as important in my life as God should be? In what areas can I do better?

e. Studying this past week, can I honestly say that Jesus Christ was a true “force” in my life? Yes or no and why?

f. My prayerthoughts...

Today, I will read Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

DO NOT BE AFRAID

+ The Gospel today can be considered an allegory

- that is a story that is told by the evangelist John to bring home a point

- the other evangelists all have as part of their Gospels a section concerning Jesus’s walking on water, each of them having their own point

- here, John’s point seems to be the assurance that Jesus is always with them no matter what the circumstances of their lives

+ It could very well be that the Joannine community who wrote the Gospel was remembering this fact of Jesus’s life as there was persecution in the Church

- John’s Gospel was written later than the other Gospels,

- and during the time of John’s Gospel, there was already much persecution of the Church even as the Church began to grow throughout the world

- it would be only natural for Joannine community to recall Jesus’s walking on water:

- the sea was stirred up because of a strong wind

- that is, the going along in life was difficult

- Jesus tells them, “It is I, do not be afraid”

- that is, even during the persecutions and difficulties you are experiencing, do not be afraid, I, Jesus, am with you

+ The application is relatively simple, and very apropos for people of the twenty-first century

- the waters are stirred up because of strong winds

- we have things that aren’t going as well as we would like

- on an international level

- in our own country and area

- especially in our own families

- strong winds that disturb us, scare us, and have a tendency to make us doubt about God’s presence

- but Jesus comes along in the midst of that turmoil, and reminds us: It is I, do not be afraid

- somehow Jesus will help us determine a good course of action

- somehow good is going to come out of the bad

- somehow the Lord will always give us the grace to persevere

+ The first reading is the selection of the first deacons

- chosen for a specific role in the Church

- we are all deacons in a sense

- called to serve others

- as we do it, and run into problems, we know that Jesus is always with us.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Avatar: The Way of Water"--final session

TOGETHER

The Gospel

JOHN 19:25-27

JOHN 19:25-27

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

Gospelthink: I gave my mother Mary to the disciple and to you as "mother."

The theme of "family" dominates the final session of the movie "Avatar: The Way of Water." Not only is it the refrain throughout the movie that the Sully's are "family," but it is the means that the RDA and in particular avatar Quaritch use in order to trap Jake and his wife Neytiri. Included in the family is the Tulkun Payakan whom Lo'ak befriends. (A Tulkun is an intelligent and pacifistic whale-like species whom the Metkayina consider spiritual brethren.) Quaritch and the RDA go after the Tulkuns to extract a serum that stops human aging, and at the same time kills the animal. The Sully children are captured, thus bringing Quaritch and the RDA to fight against the Metkayina whose people Sully has joined. A spectacular water battle ensued and in the end one of Sully's children, Neteyam, was killed, but Quaritch and the rest of the RDA are expelled from Pandora. Also, Quaritch is saved by his biological son "Spider," although "Spider" chooses to stay with the Sully family with whom he had a family bond. Jake is prepared to leave the Metkayina, but their leader formally accepts them into their people.

It is interesting to try to get into the mind of the human Jesus as he hung upon the cross. Close to him as he breathed his last here on earth were a group of people who more or less represented his immediate family. They were his relatives, including his mother, and the Beloved Disciple, whom Scripture scholars say is the perfect disciple who may or may not have been one of the Twelve. When Jesus gave his mother to the Beloved Disciple, he set up a new family of believers who would take his memory and message to the world.

Therefore, the thought of family, more or less, begins the Christian era. That idea of family has been prominent throughout the ages and continues to be the central idea as people join the Christian movement. Followers of Jesus come from their home families and together form the family of God as they seek the Lord.

In the movie "Avatar: The Way of Water," the Sully family including their own and those they adopted like "Spider", looked on themselves as a special group of people. They not only protected one another, but they tried to get in the minds of each other, thus making their relationship truly special.

The ideal of a good family is blessed, then, from the very beginning of the Christian heritage. It implies that Christians having come from a family and joining the Christian family, has certain obligations. Obviously, truly Christian families will not involve "fighting for each other" as the Sully family did in the movie, but a Christian family will work on the "glue" that holds such a family together.

The glue stems from the teachings of Jesus and thus the New Testament becomes the Christian guide book. If the followers of Jesus manage to allow that teaching to govern their consciences, the world of truly Christian families will be the best it can be.

PRAYER
Good and gracious God, as you formed families in your own lifetime, I have families that I am part of here on your earth. Give us the grace to follow your guidelines as we are members of those families. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: A good family following the guidelines of Jesus's teachings is the ideal of every family.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does this session of the movie teach young people?
2. What are the characteristics of the "perfect disciple"?
3. In your opinion, are the majority of families in your area "good families"? Yes or no and why?
4. What virtues, that is, "glue," that Jesus gave Christians are necessary for every family?
5. What does the movie "Avatar: The Way of Water" teach young people?