TGIMMinception1

February 17

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, February 17

MARK 8:14-21

The apostles did not understand what I was trying to say about “leaven.”

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus speaks of the “leaven” of the Pharisees. Leaven is yeast that spreads throughout a substance. So the “leaven” of the Pharisees can be looked at as the way they think and act. Obviously, my thinking should be about “good.” What thoughts in particular should I improve on in my life?

b. Even if the disciples’ thinking was correct (that Jesus was speaking of bringing bread to feed the crowd), it was a lack of faith on their parts that Jesus could do nothing about it. Is my faith strong enough to know that God is always active in my life?

c. Jesus refers to two miracles of the past. There have been miracles in my life, to be sure. Have I thanked the Lord for them the way I should have?

d. Jesus tells the disciples directly to beware of the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Mainly what Jesus has referred to in the past are their insistence on the Law, while they themselves are not carrying through with the teaching. In what ways do I find myself hypocritical (saying one thing, doing another)?

e. Part of the “leaven” of the Pharisees and Sadducees includes their refusal to understand the “general attitude” of Jesus, that is, his approach to life. With the words of Scripture, do I spend the time necessary to apply Jesus’s words to the way I live right now?

f. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read James 1:12-18 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

+ In yesterday’s Gospel, Mark describes Jesus as sighing from the depth of his spirit because the Pharisees refused to understand

- in today’s Gospel, it is the Apostles who do not understand, but it doesn’t seem to be a fault—they simply don’t know enough

- in Mark’s Gospel, the Apostles continually have a difficult time trying to understand exactly what Jesus was trying to get across to them

- it is almost a constant theme of Mark’s Gospel

+ Here, Jesus is trying to get across that the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod is to be avoided

- as we take off on that idea of “leaven”

- the idea that when something is a leaven, it goes throughout the whole product

- if people have the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, it is not a good thing because they are people who refuse to accept what Jesus is teaching

- Jesus desperately wants his Apostles to understand that, and not accept the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, but to accept his teaching as leaven

- if his teaching is the leaven, they can function as Jesus wants them to

+ Part of Jesus’ leaven is the whole understanding of temptation which is presented here at the beginning of the Letter of James

- actually the whole letter of James is excellent to meditate on—every section gives us something that will easily help our spiritual lives

- here, temptation comes not from God, but from our own desires, what the letter calls what happens when “lured and enticed by desire”

- and the implicit statement that we must learn to resist temptation with all our might

+ The application for us is two-fold, I believe

- 1, we have to work with the leaven of Jesus

- that is, we have to allow his words, thoughts and actions to permeate our every being as a leaven

- and then allow those thoughts to spread to the world in which we find ourselves

- that we become the leaven that the world needs, as the Decree on the Laity of the Second Vatican Council reminds us

- and 2, that idea of temptation

- God is not tempting us; the temptation comes from the lure of our desires

- and we have to continually work at overcoming those desires that we have so as to be the people that Jesus wants us to be

+ It is an important question that Jesus asks in the Gospel: do you understand?

- if we do, we will do everything in our power to make the Lord part of our lives.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Inception" -- beginning session

PLANTING THE SEED

The Gospel

MATTHEW 13:3-9

[Jesus said:] "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear."

Gospelthink: I tell you the story of the sower which tells you how you listen to the word of God. How well am I listening to the word of God every day?

The clever movie "Inception" is about stealing secrets from a person's subconscious. The first session sets the scene for the most difficult of all trips to the subconscious. Dom Cobb is skilled as an extractor, a man capable of going into the subconscious of someone placed in a dream state and stealing secrets that only the subject knows. The skill has caught up with him, however, since he is both accused by his country of murder and sought by his former employer for not completing a task. Mr. Saito, a billionaire because of his corporate holdings, realizing Cobb's plight and skills, hires him to do a task that few could do. In fact, Cobb would never attempt it, were it not for his desire to return to America and see his children again, something that Saito had promised him. The task is that of "inception," explained by Cobb this way: "The seed that we plant in this man's mind will grow into an idea. This idea will define him. It may come to change everything about him." It is an act that is near impossible because "true inspiration is impossible to fake," as Cobb's friend and co-worker Arthur observes.

A Christian studying the art of "inception" as explained in the movie "Inception" can easily see the similarity to accepting the concepts of what Jesus taught. Jesus called what he taught to be seed sown in the minds of people. If his doctrine was to take hold, that is, produce fruit a hundredfold, the person must accept the seed completely, choosing to let it take over his mind and thought in spite of the obstacles in life. If they did, as with "inception," the idea would then define such a person, changing everything in that person's life.

As with the process of "inception," the thought that originated with Jesus must now be the Christian's free choice. Christians cannot truly accept it if they are coerced or threatened. Even if we believe that Jesus is God as we do, and understand that his word is truly divine, it means nothing to us personally unless we accept it freely as our own thought. We cannot say that our parents or our teachers or those in charge of us are the responsible parties. We truly accept it. It is our choice: we know full well what we are doing.

And it is impossible to fake. We cannot just say that we accept it because everyone around us is saying it. We cannot act like it is real to us, deceiving people into believing that we have chosen something that is shaping our lives. Jesus's doctrine cannot simply be a name that we attach to ourselves--"Christian"--as we would write a description on an application form. If it is true inspiration, as with "inception," it must become so real that every moment of every day is affected by it. We wake up every day with it in mind; we live throughout the day with it as a guide; and we sleep at night under its direction. Most of all, we die with the thought in our minds.

Have Christians accomplished the art of "inception" of Jesus's doctrine completely? Obviously, some of us have not in Jesus's mind, since he outlined three of four cases in which people fail to truly allow the seed to grow. Our task as Christians is to be in Jesus's fourth category, becoming rich soil for his word, truly accepting everything that Jesus stands for.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son gave us your words and thoughts as guides to our living here on earth. Give us the grace to freely choose to accept his direction, thus making ourselves to be good soil and allowing his words-- to have a true hold on our lives. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Christianity is the seed that is voluntarily implanted in our minds in order to change our lives for the better.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 66 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. The point has been made that every Christian has been in all four categories of the Gospel in their individual lives. How is this a true statement?
3. Project: The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 101-133 contains an excellent summary of Catholic teaching about Sacred Scripture. The presenter may want to outline some portions of the doctrine for presentation.
4. The meditation makes the point that "inception" can be compared to "accepting the doctrine of Jesus." In what ways is it a good comparison? What are some drawbacks to the comparison?
5. Young people are often "forced" into accepting Christian doctrine. When is the best time for young people to be given the choice to accept Christianity or not?
6. The movie is obviously fantasy. Do you feel that "something like" extraction or inception can take place in human beings? Yes or no and why?
7. Dialogue analysis: Eames remarks that if you are going to achieve "inception," you start with the basics. As we compare "inception" to Christianity, what are the basics of Christianity?
8. Scene analysis: Robert's father is mean in his illness. The remark is often made that people die as they live. Do you think that being "mean" at death means that they were "mean" in real life? Yes or no and why?
9. Analysis: Cobb must convince the police that he did not kill Mal. Given your knowledge of the situation, what would he have to do in order to accomplish his desire?
10. Dialogue analysis: "These are not just dreams, they are memories." In your opinion in real life, what is the difference between a "dream" and a "memory"?
11. Dialogue analysis: Ariadne tells Cobb that he must share his problem about Mal coming into his dreams with the other team members because it is a danger. Do you believe that people can have "dangerous" dreams? Yes or no and why?