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Some Thoughts on the Liturgy LIKE A SHEPHERD + One of the images of Isaiah’s magnificent passage in today’s first reading is that of a shepherd - like a shepherd, the Messiah predicted by Isaiah will feed his flock and carry them when they need to be carried - it is a beautiful image of the tenderness of Jesus whom we believe was foretold by Isaiah + One of the jobs of a shepherd is to keep the flock together - he has to be concerned about those that stray - that is, the ones who are lost, and will remain lost until the shepherd finds them - in fact, when sheep are lost, they tend to just lay down and hide - the shepherd has to search them out and bring them back to the fold + Jesus uses the image of the shepherd to convey the Father’s love and concern for us - our God will search us out - that is God wants us to be saved, to have eternal life, even to the point of leaving the ninety-nine who were found to go in search of just one who had strayed + A couple of things need to be pointed out here: - one, the obvious one, the one we just talked about—the Lord is with us to help us in whatever way—he is searching us out + And secondly, it implies a Christian love of others to the point that we will care for them - many times our love as Christians has remained only on the surface: we give lip service to it, we only “say” that we will look for the one who is lost - we express our love by giving to people who will appreciate us, for example - we love, but without any real cost to our comfortable lives + A shepherd is a great image to think about - Jesus used it a couple of times in his preaching - Jesus is our shepherd: he is helping us and calling us to be shepherds to others. |
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MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: "Dog" -- final session MATURITY MEANS CARING |
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The Gospel |
MATTHEW 14:28-33 |
MATTHEW 14:28-33
Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
Gospelthink: Peter displays some selfishness here. How much selfishness do I have in my life?
Jackson Briggs and the dog Lulu travel on to the funeral of Briggs's friend who had the services of Lulu during that friend's time in Afghanistan. After the car breaks down, Briggs decides to walk the short distance to the funeral. On the walk, Lulu became so tired that she simply refused to go any further. Briggs ended up carrying the dog to the funeral, and the dog immediately goes to his friend's memorial effects to "protect" them. It became clear that Briggs was growing attached to the dog, so that rather than euthanize her, he tried to get her to run away, but she wouldn't. That night Briggs suffered from seizure, and Lulu comforted him. In the morning, as he was ordered, Briggs dropped Lulu off at White Sands, scheduled to be Lulu's final resting place, but as he left, he saw the dog panicking, and he took the dog back to become his dog from then on.
Many
spiritual writers suggest that there may be only one basic problem
that human beings have, and that every other problem comes from
that one. It is labeled plain old every-day selfishness. It is
defined to be "wanting what WE want."
The
Gospel narrative of Jesus's walking on the sea is both a fact and
an allegory. The storm is a symbol of our world. There are many
problems, messes, things that go wrong, and even though we may
think of ourselves as experienced in those problems, there will be
turmoil. The Apostles thought they were good with a boat. In the
midst of those problems, Peter becomes selfish. He sees that Jesus
has calmed the sea, and so he asks of Jesus: "Command ME..."
Me, Me, Me.
In many ways, Jackson Briggs was very
selfish as he was struggling with how to mature in his life. But
the point of the final part of the movie was that he managed to
overcome much of it. He turned to the dog Lulu and says, "Thank
you for saving my life." He saw how much the dog cared for
his friend, and he saw how much the dog began to care for him. He
learned the lesson of caring.
We
all have problems, whether they are of our own doing or not. The
circumstances of our day-to-day lives, whether it is in school, at
work, or during times of relaxation always involve difficulties
that will affect us in one way or another. There are
pressures that tend to be overpowering. Our lives are often
not easy to live. The lesson of Jesus in the Gospels and
Briggs in the movie "Dog" is one to learn therefore.
Even in the midst of our own problems, we must be aware of
other human beings or in this case, a dog, who can use our help,
offering them the care that we can give.
We do not want
to miss the lesson of Briggs at the end of the movie. Perhaps the
way to solve the problems that we have is to learn the lesson of
caring.
PRAYER
Good and gracious God, the world with all of its problems must have the example of your Son and some good people. Give us the grace to work with the problems that we have by learning the virtue of caring for others. Be with us, we pray.
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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM
PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT
Theme: A remedy
for selfishness is learning to truly care for another.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session:
approximately 46 minutes)
1.
What scene during this session is most striking and why?
2.
In your opinion, what do most people desire in the world in which
they live?
3. What are the three most significant problems in
our world? In general, what can I do about them?
4. In your
situation right now, what are some ways that we can "care"
for others?
5. Why does "caring for another"
overcome "selfishness" in a person's life?
6. In
our world right now, what are some good examples of "true
caring for another"?
7.
What does the movie "Dog" teach a young person?
©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr.
Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin
Province of Mid-America