rise2

December 9

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, December 9, Advent II

MATTHEW 18:12-14

Searching

Prayerthoughts

a. A good shepherd will go in search of one that is lost. In many ways I am lost, and must have the shepherd help me. What is my main problem right now and take the time to ask specifically for the Lord’s help and guidance.

b. I am called to be a good shepherd and look for the people in my acquaintance that are lost. I must pray for them, but if I can help them in any way, perhaps I should look into that opportunity.

c. The Lord will rejoice over the people who turn to him. I should continue to pray for those who are in my acquaintance, perhaps setting up a pattern of prayer that I can follow.

d. The image of Jesus is significant because it brings out the “tenderness” of the Lord’s concern for others. Is my love of others a “tender” love, that is, one that is fully aware of their problems as I spend time with them?

e. As I think of what a modern shepherd of souls does for those who follow God, what is the most important action of a shepherd of today?

f. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read Isaiah 40:1-11 and write an important thought from it.

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.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "The Rise of Skywalker" -- final session
THE FORCE: LIGHT AND DARKNESS

The Gospel

LUKE 12:34-36a

The crowd answered Jesus, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. Then how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Jesus said to them, "The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light."

Gospelthink: I am still with you as the light for the world. Am I walking in that light in my life?

The scavenger Rey of the planet Jakku discovered early on that she was Force-sensitive as she lived her life. As the movie "The Rise of Skywalker" begins she was being trained in the Force by Princess Leia and her captains. She had previously been trained by Luke Skywalker himself whom she had begged to come back and help the Resistance. He did not, but Rey let the Force guide her toward the good. She knew that eventually she would have to confront Kylo Ren who likewise was Force-sensitive for evil. Actually, we discover in the movie that Rey was the granddaughter of Palpatine who did everything in his power to bring Rey to the dark side. Eventually a converted Ren gave his life force to Rey after Rey had granted Ren his life. Rey and her companions then led the Resistance to lead the people of the galaxy against the Final Order armada and win the final battle. Rey accepted the title and challenge to be truly the foster daughter of Princess Leia and Han Solo, calling herself "Rey Skywalker."

If there is any consistent thought for the "Star Wars" epic, it would be the Force. It is defined as an energy field that connects all living things in the galaxy. The power of the Force could be used by individuals who were especially sensitive to it. The most famous Force-sensitive people in the epic were Luke Skywalker and his father Darth Vader. As the epic closes, the two most famous are Kylo Ren who uses the Force for evil, but eventually converts to the good side, and Rey who uses it for the good, At the close of the movie, she accepts the title of "Rey Skywalker" signifying an acceptance of the good way of life forever.

The epic begins with the Force in "Star Wars--The Phantom Menace" and closes with the Force in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" and is easily translated to be the power of good and the power of evil. Jesus used the terms "light" and "darkness."

Jesus knew about darkness. At the same time, he knew that he was the light, a light that would last forever, the good that had to fight that darkness. He urges his disciples to “walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you.” Jesus realized only too well that even though he was the light, the darkness was very strong, often seeming to overpower any good. The light is always present to humankind through Jesus's presence in our world, but so is darkness through the power of evil, and often the people of the world choose the darkness.

The "Star Wars" epic is a classic tale of light and darkness, aimed at teaching “hope” even in the midst of intense persecution. The story teaches us to expect the evil because of the selfishness, but it tells us to fight it and never give up fighting no matter how bleak things look.

There is evil all around us, not in the form of Imperial forces about to destroy the world as we know it, but much more personal. The evils we meet every day demand a true and real understanding of the light of Jesus Christ along with the real acceptance of the guidelines he taught. The "Star Wars" epic gives us a chance to reflect not only on the evil, but especially on the grace to overcome it. We pray that the Force--good in the world--will always be with us.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we live in a world that in many ways has chosen darkness over what you offer us. Too often we choose the darkness because we want only what we want and therefore forget about anything else. Help us identify the darkness in our lives, and give us the grace to want to do something about it. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: The Force has led Rey throughout her destiny to become the Jedi "Rey Skywalker."

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 66 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. What does the movie "The Rise of Skywalker" teach young people?
3. In what ways is Jesus a "light"?
4. The statement can be made that all of us are Force-sensitive. What do you think it means?
5. What are the best examples of "light" and "darkness" in the world in which we live?
6. What are the most important reasons why someone would choose "darkness" in our world?
7. In terms of today's understanding, what is your definition of "hope."
8. In your opinion, what is most evil in our world at the present time?
9. As you study the whole series of the "Star Wars" epic, what is its principal teaching for our world?