high

December 14

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Sunday, December 14, Third Sunday of Advent

MATTHEW 11:2-11

John the Baptist

Prayerthoughts

a. Sometimes I jump to conclusions without asking questions for more information. I must learn to be sure of what I say to be truth as I know it.

b. I have professed to be a follower of Jesus. Do my words and actions show that that is a true statement?

c. Jesus asks the crowd about their understanding of John the Baptist. As I grew up studying religion, how did I think of John the Baptist?

d. As Jesus said of John, in many ways I am a messenger of Jesus. In general, what grade would I give myself about “announcing” Jesus in my life? Why?

e. As important as John is, Jesus says that the least in the Kingdom is greater than John, that is, we are all important in God’s eyes. There are some people in my life that I should consider in a better way and I should pray for them now.

f. My prayerthoughts

Today, I will read James 5:7-10 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE REAL MESSIAH

+ This passage is a difficult one to explain in Matthew’s Gospel

- in the passage, it seems that John the Baptist doesn’t know whether Jesus is the Messiah or not

- whereas at the beginning of his Gospel, it is clear that he did know him

- in fact, in Matthew’s Gospel, John tells Jesus when he was baptizing him that he should be baptized by Jesus and not the other way around

- but it seems here that he doesn’t know him very well as he asks:

Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?

+ We don’t know why John asked the question, but…

- it may be that John was speaking the mind of many of the Hebrew people,

- because many were expecting a Messiah who was going to force people to follow him—“coming with vindication” is the way the first reading describes the Messiah

- maybe a person who would call down fire and brimstone

- or condemn people

- or punish the guilty

- but this Jesus wasn’t that way

- in fact, his message was one of mercy and compassion

- he heals, and directs his efforts toward the poor

- the people who believed in a future Messiah did not expect him to come this way

+ I believe there’s a message here for the modern Christian

- we are a group of people who have accepted Jesus Christ into our lives

- but many times we are not ready for the message that he gives

- many times we want our leader to be someone who would punish those who need to be punished

- and we would like to help him choose who should be punished

- we sometimes get a little vindictive

- we would like those who don’t think the way we do to be punished

+ Instead, we have a leader who gives a message of mercy and compassion

- a person who is going to die at the hands of people who don’t like him

- and even though he could do something about it, he doesn’t

- he spends time with the poor and suffering, helping them as much as he can

- he works from a position of being unimportant rather than a position of power

- we don’t expect that type of Messiah

- we’d much rather have one who would do what we think he should do, who would “zap” the evil people and love us

- the problem, of course, is not with the Messiah: it is with our perception of the Messiah, exactly what John’s problem was with him in the Gospel today

+ To know Jesus well, we must listen to and study exactly what Jesus told John’s messenger

- the Messiah is one who has mercy and compassion

- being open to the needs of people who need help—the blind, the lame, lepers, the deaf, the poor—in general, people who need help

- and the important point for us?

- if we are followers of this Messiah, that is the way we are to behave

- we live in a very complicated world with people who need help, people who are less fortunate than we are

- yes, we need help also, but that should not be our main concern

- if we are to follow this Messiah, we must learn to help where we can

+ Many of you have seen the movie “The Blind Side”

- one of its lessons is that there are people in our world who need our help and our compassion

- our Christian duty is to reach out to such people whether they will become great football players or not

- that is the reason the Church suggests so many situations in which compassion must be shown by our time and money on behalf of others

+ One of the messages of Christmas that we should hear a little more is this message of mercy and compassion

- perhaps we should really make “caring for the people who really need help” to be part of our Christmas preparation.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "High Hopes" -- Panic at the Disco!

ONE SMART MAMA AND HOPE IN GOD

The Gospel

MATTHEW 12:15b-21

Many people followed Jesus and he cured them all, though he sternly ordered them not make public what he had done. This was to fulfill what had been said through Isaiah the prophet: "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my loved one in whom I delight. I will endow him with my spirit and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will his voice be heard in the streets. The bruised reed he will not crush; the smoldering wick he will not quench until judgment is made victorious. In his name, the Gentiles will find hope."

Gospelthink: The evangelist Matthew quotes Isaiah about me--you will find hope in me. Do I place my hope in the Lord during my trials?

"Had to have high hopes for living, shooting for the stars when I couldn’t make a killing. Didn’t have a dime but I always had a vision, always had high hopes. Mama said, fulfill the prophecy, be something greater, go make a legacy, rewrite your history, light up your wildest dreams.”

If there is one message that is absolutely clear from the Gospels, it is the message that Jesus cured people. As Matthew says directly, "He cured them all." Jesus was always a kind healer who would not turn anyone down if they came to him with faith. Matthew the evangelist read Isaiah the prophet and thought of Jesus as a person in whom everyone could find hope. He was a leader that manifested hope to all by sharing his vision of love and healing to all.

Such a vision is the topic of the group Panic! At The Disco's song "High Hopes." The song is a statement that the vision of the person in the song has brought about a confidence to carry through with a good life. It seems to have been inspired by his mother who told him at an early age in various ways to "fulfill the prophecy, be something greater, go make a legacy, rewrite your history, light up your wildest dreams." Would that we all had smart Mamas like that!

We all need the inspiration like the mother gives in the song. Everyone of us must understand that we really can be so much more than we are at the present time. There is a legacy that we can leave, something greater that we can do. We can rewrite our history from this moment on to live a life that is true to a dream that will lead us and guide us. In the Christian world, it is called following what Jesus taught and why he taught it. We must develop the confidence in ourselves that we really can do it.

Christians can study the hope that the group sings of in their song, and understand that the faith they have in Jesus can inspire the same hope. Jesus inspired hope and confidence among his followers in the first century, and continues to give that same hope to the people of our modern day. When we feel the pain of days and worries of the night, or the evil words of people who want to hurt us, the Christian can turn to their God present in Jesus and with conviction say to him: you can lead me to work on being the type of person that will give hope to myself and my world.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son truly loved the people of his day, and our faith tells us that he continues to care for us as we turn to you in prayer. Give us the hope that we need so that we can lead our lives with the conviction that you will always be with us. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: The leader will always possess a hope of a greater vision.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "High Hopes" teach young people?
2. In your opinion, why did Jesus not want those he cured to make it known?
3. How would you describe the "vision" of what the world wants?
4. What is your definition of 'hope."
5. What should we want most in life, given the fact that we are followers of Jesus?
6. To whom do the people of the world look most for guidance?
7. To whom should the people of the world look most for guidance?