August 1

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Friday, August 1

MATTHEW 13:54-58
The people of Nazareth thought they knew Jesus but they were too familiar with him.

Prayerthoughts
a. The people were wondering about Jesus’s wisdom. Where do I look for the most wisdom in today’s world?

b. The people of Nazareth knew Jesus too well, and therefore they could not see him as anyone important. In my thoughts, do I consider others less important than I am?

c. The people of Nazareth rejected Jesus. I obviously do not reject Jesus, but there may be some teachings that I am not listening to.

d. Jesus did not “punish” the people in Nazareth. Do I tend to hold grudges against people who do not agree with me?

e. Jesus only helped a couple of people because in general, their faith was lacking. Perhaps this is a good time to make an act of faith. (This is the task of the meditation.)

f. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will write a prayer asking for stronger faith.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

LISTENING TO GOD

+ Faith is once again the topic of the Scriptures today:

- people imbued with faith in God will express their worship of God on various feast days the book of Leviticus says

- the days are special to God,

- and therefore they should be special to us

- spending time with God and listening to God is something of importance for the person of faith

- in the Hebrew Scriptures, the days were actually set aside when the people would do this

- in the Christian understanding of things, every day is an important time for God

+ One of the problems with spending time with God, and the fact that we should spend time with God and listen to what God tells us

- is that we lose sight of how much of a privilege it is for us to be close to God

- it can become something that is too familiar for us

- in Matthew’s story of Jesus, the people listening to him recognized a person who was familiar to them

- they knew him too well

- so rather than listen to him talk about the kingdom and personal improvements

- they pay attention to the fact that they know him well

- and therefore they miss an opportunity to grow

+ There is one very big lesson for the spiritual life here

- because we are so familiar with God and Jesus since we deal with the spiritual life every day

- we may have a tendency to miss some important directives that God wants us to hear, that is,

- we may not listen to what the Scriptures have to say about how we should behave

- and if we are too familiar with what is said, we may miss that it actually applies to us

+ Every day is a day of importance as we listen to God, no longer just special feast days

- and as we listen, we have to really listen as if we have never heard it before

- we don’t want to miss something that the Scriptures say to us that we should be listening to.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Jason Bourne" -- beginning session

THE SANCTITY OF TRUTH

The Gospel

JOHN 9:13-17

JOHN 9:13-17

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

Gospelthink: The blind man told the truth about me. Am I truthful in my approach to life?

David Webb who assumed the identity of Jason Bourne in the movie named after him was always a problem for the CIA. The organization had "created" him in the first place in order to carry out the different "black ops" programs that they wanted. The organization had been keeping tabs on him ever since he went into self-exile. A co-worker of David's, Nicky Parsons, discovered some unknown facts about David's father, and wanted David to know exactly what their organization, the CIA, did in order to convince David to be Jason Bourne. In the process of accomplishing it, she also became a target.

Because Jesus said and did controversial things in the eyes of the religious leaders of his time, he no doubt caused people to be very outspoken. John the evangelist gives us such a story in his Gospel. It is a rather long story that deals with the fact that Jesus healed a man who became the center of attention for a number of people. The religious leaders were very interested because they did not believe that Jesus was anything special and all he did was break the law. They also had the right to condemn their fellow Israelites, and place them in an adversarial position with their religion.

Consequently when one of their religious subjects went against their position, he/she was taking a chance on being cast outside of their religious circle. It is in such a position that the healed blind man found himself. But he made his belief known even at the risk of being ridiculed or threatened by those in charge. He boldly proclaimed to the religious leaders that "he is a prophet."

There are similar instances throughout history in which seeking and proclaiming the truth may carry with it consequences that could jeopardize well-being. In the movie "Jason Bourne," Nicky Parsons, Jason's fellow worker wanted her friend Jason to have the truth as Jason tried to determine his complicated background. She risked even death to bring the truth to light.

We probably will never risk our lives in order to make a truth known, but it is a truly Christian thought that we should honor the truth in such a way that we will defend it with our lives. Unfortunately in our day and age, the sanctity of truth is not as paramount as it should be. Lying or not speaking the truth when it should be spoken is too often the usual fare. Perhaps our reading of the Gospels ought to lead us to proclaim the truth, no matter what the cost.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Your Son led people to truly accept the truth and allow it to direct their lives. Give us the grace to understand the importance of the truth as we see it, and the courage to make it known if we should. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDELINES FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Sometimes helping others who are searching for the truth may hurt us, and we must be prepared for it.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 61 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. What are some signs that a person in today's world is "from God"?
3. In general, why do you think the religious leaders had such strict rules for the Sabbath?
4. In our Christian world today, do you think that we should show more respect for our Sabbath which is on Sunday? Yes or no and why?
5. In our world today, do you believe that Christians are threatened because of their faith? Yes or no and why?
6. In general, do most people have respect for the truth?
7. As you study our world, where do you see the most dishonesty?
8. Besides the obvious fact of killing someone else, why is the occupation of "assassin" wrong in a Christian way of understanding things?
9. There are obviously secrets in the various organizations of any country? In your opinion, are some of the secrets that are kept against the moral law of a Christian? Yes or no and why?
10. Scene analysis: Nicky dies trying to help Bourne. In your opinion, is "dying for the other" a principle of every adult friendship? Yes or no and why?