TGIMMAugust18

August 18
[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, August 18 MATTHEW 19:23-30 It is difficult for the rich to enter into the Kingdom. Prayerthoughts a. The Lord’s words here about the rich are extremely difficult words—a camel cannot pass through the eye of a needle—spoken no doubt in exaggeration, a means the Lord uses in order to get across an important point. I should call to my mind my savings and present moneys. Do I spend too much time making money and not enough time with my family and my God? b. The disciples know that Jesus’s statement is very difficult, asking the question of “who can be saved.” In my thinking, what are the characteristics of someone who will gain eternal life? c. Jesus says an important statement in this context—all things are possible with God. Do I truly place my trust in God in my endeavors? d. Peter the Apostle was interested in making him and his fellow Apostles “look good” in Jesus’s eyes, professing that they were true followers of Jesus. If someone were to accuse me of not truly following the Lord, what proof do I have that I am? e. Jesus promises three things for those who sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. First he promises rewards even in this life. As I study my life, what good things have been given to me? Have I been as thankful as I should be? f. The Lord also promises “persecutions.” There have been difficult things in my life so far. Have I reacted to them as a Christian should, namely accepting them as the Lord’s will? g. Thirdly, the Lord promises a true follower of his that he/she will have eternal life. What am I doing right now to ensure my own eternal life? h. My prayerthoughts... Today, I will read Ezekiel 28:1-10 and write an important thought from it.
Some Thoughts On The Liturgy THE RICH AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD + The rich never fare very well in the Scriptures: - 1^st: the ruler of Tyre felt that he was a god and part of it was because he had amassed riches, and so Ezekiel tells him that he will die a death unworthy of man - Gospel: only with difficulty and the power of God, Jesus says, will the rich enter the Kingdom *+ It is important for our spiritual lives that we analyze why* the rich do not fare very well - the rich do not fare well because their minds are preoccupied with other things, specifically material things that they like - in this Gospel passage: those who have learned to give up things, Jesus says those who can even give up—say—even family ties will receive the reward of the Kingdom + Once again the action of giving and giving up on behalf of someone or something else is brought into our consideration - the natural challenge for us: how well do we give up things? - if we are honest with ourselves, we probably do not give too easily - in fact, the first reading which is a condemnation of the king of Tyre could be used as descriptions of ourselves - we tend to make ourselves gods - not in a blatant way: we are much more subtle - we tend to think of ourselves as completely in charge of our lives with very little credit going to God or God’s graces - we tend to think of our accomplishments as our own, and therefore we think that we deserve the recognition, the reward, the money for doing them - we arrange our lives around what is convenient for us and often do not really think in terms of what is convenient for others + There are a couple of very strong statements concerning our spiritual lives in our readings today: - we must carefully consider that we could be making ourselves self-sufficient gods, and - there is the chance that we are not learning to give up what we have - which can keep us from the fullness of the Kingdom of God.**
+++++ MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: "The Young Messiah" -- beginning session JESUS THE HEALER

The Gospel

LUKE 2:22-34a

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, … and to offer the sacrifice. … Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them.

Gospelthink: Simeon prophesied about the type of person I would be--a person to being about salvation. Do I show the Lord in my actions and words in my life?

The intriguing idea behind the movie "The Young Messiah" is: what was Jesus like when he was seven years old? The movie presents him as a ordinary child with an extraordinary love and care for all. He could heal a bird; he could give a blind man his sight; he could even bring a man back to life. He cared for people who were killed; he did not want birds to be sacrificed, even in the temple. He corrected the rabbi and scribes; he cared very much about God. Most of all, perhaps he wanted people to be good, even evil people like Roman centurions. But he did not know why he had those powers and concerns. It became a searing question in his young mind. One thing was for certain, however: evil could not stand up against this child as the movie portrays, and his compassion for others was able to be a cure for the people who desired it.

One of the characteristics of the young Jesus in the movie "The Young Messiah" was his care for the animals and people who were hurting for some reason. One can argue that such a care was evident from Jesus's life from the very beginning. Simeon the holy man looked upon him and said to his mother and father that his eyes had seen "salvation," that is, he had seen a person who would truly care for the people of the world.

One of the facts of human growth and development is that when we are young, we begin to manifest some characteristics that will become our way of acting when we are older. Arguably, the focal point of Jesus's ministry was that he cared for people. He wanted to establish a kingdom of harmony in which everyone was important and everyone was destined for eternal life with God. Therefore, it stands to reason that Jesus would first of all care for people.

Since we are followers of the Messiah, one of our roles in life should be one of care and concern for others. People should be able to look on us and see "salvation." Not in the sense of a redeemer as Jesus was, but in the sense of a person who has understood what our Messiah wishes of us. We are called to be people who recognize that other people live in our world and are just as important as we are. In a matter of speaking, they should see in us the face of healing kindness and love.

People were healed when they saw the face of Jesus. People should be "healed" by our kindness and concern.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Your Son showed care and concern for people from the very beginning of his life. May I learn that lesson and truly treat others the way you want them to be treated. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: We are healed when we gaze on the face of God.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
(session: approximately 51 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. The presenter may want to give the students the laws for purification at the time of Jesus, and explain how the Holy Family was observing the law.
3. The presenter may also want to go through the infancy sections of Matthew and Luke and show their difference. Why do you think that they are so different?
4. Why is Jesus as a seven year old a good topic to understand how he felt?
5. In your opinion, what does "salvation" mean?
6. In your opinion, do you think that Jesus went through the process of being a "normal boy" as he grew? Yes or no and why?
7 Do you believe that Christians are convinced that everyone in our world is just as important and every one else? Why or Why not?
8. Given a school situation, in what ways do we show kindness the most?.