TGIMMDecember19.html
December
19
|
|
[media
presentation below]
GospelThink
Thursday,
December 19, Special Advent
LUKE
1:5-25
The
angel announces my presence in your world.
Prayerthoughts
a. The
evangelist Luke ties in our redemption with the outside world.
I weave my spiritual life in the midst of the outside world
with its activities. Do I try to understand how the Lord is
working in the events of the outside world?
b.
Obviously, I will not be told what to do by the appearance of
an angel. What should be a guide for my living?
c.
The phrase “Do not be afraid” comes up often in the New
Testament Scriptures. What causes fear in my life; what should
cause fear?
d. John will be a special person who
will lead people to God. Who are the people in my life who
inspire me to think of God? What in particular can I learn from
them?
e. Zechariah finds it hard to believe and may
not have been willing to change himself to believe (unlike
Mary who in a similar situation was willing to change). Do I
carry out my faith with a willingness to change some of my
behavior?
f. Elizabeth understands that the Lord is
really working in her life. Do I acknowledge that the Lord is
really working in my life?
g.
My prayerthoughts…
Today,
I will write a prayer of acceptance of what God will do
in
my future life.
Some
Thoughts on the Liturgy
SAMSON
AND JOHN THE BAPTIST
+
The readings today contain two similar Scriptural
occurrences:
-
the birth of Samson and the conception/later birth of John
the Baptist
-
there are a couple important similarities in the stories
that immediately come out
+
First, human beings cannot bring about something by
themselves—in both stories, God is absolutely necessary
-
both of the women are barren, and God must intervene in the
human process
-
one of the problems that we have as human beings is
self-sufficiency
-
we think that everything depends on us
-
and even though we realize how important God is
-
we do not place our hope in God in prayer as often as we
should
-
one of our prayers should be to allow God to work in our
lives
-
the fact is that we are sustained by God’s help—grace
-
and we have a tendency to forget that as we go about our
lives
-
one of my favorites lines in Scripture comes from chapter 26
of the prophet Isaiah: “God
has accomplished all that we have done.”
-
if we truly study our lives, we see God’s presence there
-
something that should lead us to the prayer of thanksgiving
and lead us to trust that the Lord will work for us
-
the theme of lack of trust, of course, is presented in the
person of Zechariah and his attitude
-
our thought should be: “do the best that you can in accord
with what Jesus taught, and allow the Lord to act”
+
Secondly, both Samson and John played an important part in
redemption
-
Samson was one of the people who began the deliverance of
Israel
-
John was the immediate preparation for it
-
we may not be of the same caliber as Samson and John
-
but we are all preparing for redemption in our own way
-
we are obviously preparing for our own redemption, and our
behavior ought to manifest that
-
as spiritual people we are called to live our lives as best
we can
-
and we are all involved in a small way in the continual
redemption of the world
-
by the example we set, by the words we say, etc.
-
by praying for the world
+
Two important ideas in the stories: God is very much
involved in our lives, and we should spend more time
acknowledging it
-
and we continue to play a part in redemption, our own as
well as the world’s.
|
|
|
|
|
MEDIA
PRESENTATION
Movie:
"The Batman" -- final session
THERE
IS HOPE
|
|
The
Gospel
|
MATTHEW
24:9-14
|
MATTHEW
24:9-14
Jesus
said, “Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they
will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my
name. And then many will be led into sin; they will betray
and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and
deceive many; and because of the increase of evildoing, the love
of many will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end
will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be
preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations, and the
end will come.”
|
Gospelthink:
Jesus speaks of the end of the world with hope. Am
I able to be a person of hope even during the difficult times in
my life?
|
The
movie "The Batman" is brimming over with evil people who
are out to win their own satisfaction. It shows the Riddler (whose
real name is Edward Nashton) who ends up in the Arkham State
Hospital, but not until he has planted bombs that eventually flood
Gotham City. Even Bruce Wayne's parents Thomas and Martha Wayne
are shown to have evil tendencies and Selina Kyle who was a help
to Batman, gives up on the good. One is struck by how strong
the evil is, but the important fact to notice is that there were
good people who helped Batman and Lieutenant Gordon in their
pursuit of good. And the movie closes with the idea of hope for a
new Gotham City with the new mayor Bella Real even as the city is
flooded.
|
As
one reads Matthew’s account of the end of the world, one is
struck by the conflict between the good and the evil that will
ensue. It will be a frightening confrontation. “They
will hand you over to persecution and they will kill you. You
will be hated by all nations because of my name.” In order
to win the conflict, the good must persevere to the end because
the one who perseveres to the end “will be saved.”
The
end of the world is not one that we like to think about, nor is
its treatment by the different writers of the Gospel clear. But
certain elements can be identified. Evil is strong, but if the
good will persevere, they will receive their reward.
Much
of the movie "The Batman" is dark and rainy probably
because the movie concentrates on how much evil is present in
Gotham City. There seems to be no end to the evil that is
presented, even reaching into Bruce Wayne/Batman's family. One
viewing the movie, witnessing the flooding of Gotham City and even
Batman acting as a worker to those who are drowning, can easily
think of the destruction of the world.
But quite
apparent in this movie is what is not said directly. One gets the
feeling that things will work out. Bella Real will be a good
mayor, Lieutenant Gordon will continue his work in the police
department and Batman with Alfred are still alive and well. The
good will win. Jesus describes the end of the world with hope,
saying that those who persevere will have a happy life, "will
be saved."
The movie "The Batman"
teaches us that there is evil in the world and it continually
brings about destruction. But there is hope.
|
PRAYER
Good
and gracious God, your Son knew that the end of this world would
be a frightening one, and He told us so. But He also promised a
good ending. As we study the problems in our lives with both the
good and the bad, help us to understand that the good will always
win. Be with us, we pray.
|
+++++
GUIDE
FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT
Theme: The
best people are not only people who fight evil, but who also
inspire hope.
DISCUSSION
QUESTIONS:
(session:
approximately 83 minutes)
1. What scene during
this session of the movie was most striking to you? Why?
2.
What does the movie "The Batman" teach young people?
3.
In the Gospel passage, what does "persevere to the end"
consist of?
4. Is the end of the world something that most
people fear? Yes or no and why?
5. How do you picture
eternal life?
6. What is an evil in the world right now that
could be changed relatively easily?
7. Many people believe
that the end of the world is near. What is your opinion on it?
8.
What is your definition of "hope"?
9. What are some
signs of "hope" in our world right now?
|
©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr.
Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin
Province of Mid-America
|