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August 6
[ media presentation below] GospelThink Wednesday, August 6, The Transfiguration of the Lord LUKE 9:28b-36 Listen Prayerthoughts a. There are certain times during Jesus’ human life when his divinity “shines through” and the Transfiguration is one of them. In my life, where do I see the Lord’s presence most of all? b. Elijah symbolizes all the prophets. In my life right now, where do I most need to be guided to do better? c. Moses symbolizes the law. Which directive of Jesus is most important to me at the present time? d. “It is good that we are here.” Jesus’ saying should encompass everything we do on earth. Do I have a positive attitude toward life? e. How can I be more positive right now? f. They were frightened. When we truly sense the Lord’s presence in our lives, it can truly be incredible. In what area of my life do I most sense the Lord’s presence? g. “Listen to him.” This is one of the five or six most important directives from God in my life. Do I truly “listen,” that is, not only “hear” but desire to follow the Lord’s directives in every way? h. My prayerthoughts… Today I will read 2 Peter chapter 1, and write an important thought from it.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy THE ART OF LISTENING + In the course of World War I, there was a piece of land called “No Man’s Land” - it was an area that began as a specific piece of land and then generalized later, between the opposing trenches of Germans and the Allies: a narrow, muddy, treeless strip of land, characterized by numerous shell holes and barbed wire - very dangerous for soldiers as they had little or no protection from enemy fire - the writers of the screenplay of the movie “War Horse” present a scene that is a miniature statement about the horrors of war and the remedy for it - Joey, the war horse, is thrown onto “No Man’s Land” - frightened, the horse rushes through German trenches, eventually heading for the British lines - as he does, he pulls up barbed wire fencing until he is totally entangled in it, and is completely immobile - the soldiers on both sides saw the plight of the animal, and two of them, one British, the other German, collaborate in finally freeing the animal - two things there—one, the horrors of war and generalizing, the conflicts of the world - and two—the solution, people communicating with one another to eliminate the problem + The Transfiguration is recognized as an occasion that is recorded by the evangelists to show the importance of the person of Jesus - it is an event which basically says: Jesus was someone whom the whole Hebrew Scriptures recognize—Moses and Elijah—the Law and the Prophets—someone who is quite capable of setting up the kingdom of God - a person who could solve the conflicts of the world - and the way to solve them, the important words after the apostles and by extension, all of us, whereby we recognize the importance of Jesus: - the words: This is my beloved Son. Listen to him. + Which brings up the important topic of communication of which listening is of primary importance - actually it is the most important part of communication which I believe to be the most important principle of leadership for anyone - one of the songs of not too long ago by a group called The Fray was about communication and listening and cleverly named “How to Save a Life” - in general, they said that the way to save a life is by communication, and the most important part of communication is to listen - and we do not listen well - what we tend to do is what has been called “selective hearing” or “hearing what we want to hear” + What we are interested in here is “listening to Jesus” - and I believe that we have the same problem as listening on a human level: - we “hear what we want to hear” or “selective listening” - there are certain things that we know that the Lord says to us in the Gospels especially, and we often hear only a part of it - we know what Jesus has said about how we treat others—all others - we know what Jesus’ words and actions are concerning prayer—and the need for more of it - we all know the basics of what Jesus says in the Scriptures - often we simply don’t want to follow through with what we have heard + One of the skills that is taught to anyone in a caring profession is the skill of active listening which involves four steps: stop, look, listen and respond - applied to our listening to Jesus, it means - stop what you are doing—do only one thing: pay attention to the words of Jesus - look at the person directly—study the words that Jesus’ says - listen—as though nothing else mattered at this moment than what Jesus is saying - respond—do what you can to move yourself to what the other has said + God is talking to us - we should be actively listening to what God is saying, as well as what God is trying to say to us in particular.

MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: "The Shack" -- beginning session WITH YOU ALWAYS

The Gospel

MATTHEW 28:16-20

MATTHEW 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Gospelthink: Although my disciples doubted at times, my word to you is a promise: I will always be with you. Do I live with the thought that the Lord is always present to me?

Based on a book of the same name, the movie "The Shack" is a movie about the experience of God by a man by the name of Mack Phillips. His young daughter had recently been abducted, and the FBI had discovered that she was most probably killed in a shack in the country. Some time later, Mack received an invitation to return to that place, even though he felt that somehow it was a mistake and may even have been dangerous, thinking that the abductor would probably be there. The invitation was signed by "Papa" his daughter's favorite name for God. Mack discovered God in three persons as he searched around the shack. It became clear to Mack that it was indeed God who allowed the tragedy to take place.

The closing words of Matthew's Gospel during Jesus' Ascension into heaven are among the most hopeful words for humankind. Our God promised to stay with us until the end of the age, that is, forever. No matter what, God will be there to help us. As St. Paul phrased it when he wrote to the Romans about twenty years after Jesus Resurrection: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, not powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39-40).

...Not even the death of someone close to us whom we love with all our hearts. The love of God is there. The movie and book "The Shack" deliberately chose one of the most difficult of all tragedies and evils to speak of this love. The death of someone close to us cannot easily be understood to be the "love of God." Yet, it is the lesson of the first part of the movie.

It has an easy application, but it is very difficult to live out. God is working good out of the absolute worst evil that there is. We do not want to believe it because we are suffering the hurt and the loss. As Mack does in the movie, we cry to God's wisdom to take "us" and leave the loved one alone: let us suffer and not the one we love.

But it is the lesson of faith. God does not back down to Mack's anger because God stands behind the creation of free will, that which causes the tragedies and evils. God knows full well that nothing will separate us from the love of God, and nothing will separate the love of God from us. God is with us until the end of the age, including everything in between.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, You are with us until the end of time. Your Son has assured us of that. Give us the grace to always be aware of it, and show it by how we act. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: God is part of everything that happens to us.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 64 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie was most striking to you? Why?
2. Gospel analysis: "They doubted." Why did the Apostles still doubt as Jesus ascended into heaven?
3. In what ways can we carry out the Lord's directive to "make disciples of all nations?
4. In your opinion, do most Christians truly believe that God is always working for us? Yes or no and why?
5. What is the best way to console a person who has lost someone close to them?
6. Choose an evil, and discover how "good" is coming out of it.
7. What is your definition of "faith"? See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 153-165.
8. Scene analysis: Mack kills his father. What should have Mack done to work with the situation?