February 25

  [media presentation below]

 GospelThink

Tuesday, February 25

MARK 9:30-37

Jesus’s earthly future and servanthood

Prayerthoughts

a. Jesus was teaching his disciples. Looking at my life right now, which of Jesus’s teachings must I be most interested in?

b. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus predicts three different times that he will undergo his Passion and will rise from the dead. What makes this one different is that “human beings—men” will kill him. In what ways have I “killed” him by my attitude toward others whom the Lord told us were really himself: “Whatever you do to others, you do to me.” (Matthew 25)

c. At times, the apostles did not understand Jesus. Do I spend sufficient time in meditation trying to understand what Jesus is saying to me?

d. It is unbelievable that the Apostles would actually talk about who was more important than another Apostle. In my thinking, do I consider myself to be more important than others?

e. The Lord wants me to be a servant while being the least. In what ways am I showing myself to be a servant to others?

f. Jesus obviously respects children. As I study the children that I am around a lot, do I show them the attention that they crave?

g. “A child such as this.” The Lord wants us to be “like children,” as he says in a couple places in the Gospel. Most of all, probably, children are dependent on someone. Jesus wants us to be truly dependent on God. Do we acknowledge our love and dependence on God enough?

h. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will be especially kind to the children I meet.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy


A CHRISTIAN MUST BE A SERVANT


+ As one studies the Apostles and how they reacted to Jesus, and when we hear the evangelist Mark say: “they did not understand …, and they were afraid to question him”

- we have to conclude that the Apostles needed a lot of direction and education during their training

- one of the ways that Jesus taught them is given to us at the end of the Gospel reading today—what might be called education by observation

- Jesus “uses” in a sense the child as he takes him/her and places his arms around the child

- Jesus wanted them to observe him so that they could learn something themselves

+ And the thing that he taught them with the child was the whole thought of service

- that which the disciples observed him do

- was that he was kind to a child

- and then said in effect:

- children need direction and they need support

- a person who will get nothing for what they do because often children generally do not say “thank you” or do not give anything back

- a Christian, a follower of mine—Jesus would say—must be someone who shows service to people like these who will not return anything

+ There are two things to consider with that Gospel story:

- one is the idea of service itself

- service is of essence for the Christian

- being called great, or being given recognition is not important at all

- it is the way God works with us

- the Book of Sirach calls us to serve the Lord because the Lord has served us

- Jesus says to the apostles who were discussing how great they were:

If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.

- serving others in some way is the essence of a Christian disciple, and essential in the disciple’s response to God

+ And I think the second thing from that Gospel is that the idea of service is to be especially shown to the people who need it most—children

- children absolutely need the direction and guidance of concerned adults

- parents, obviously

- but also grandparents, adult relatives, and older people, in general

+ Jesus speaks a most important message for the people who want to inherit his Kingdom today—learn service—be the servant of all

- and treat children with care and direction.                                          








MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Coco" -- final session

THE LOVE OF A FAMILY

The Gospel

LUKE 1:26-38



In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Upon arriving, the angel said to her: “Rejoice, O highly favored daughter! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.” She was deeply troubled by his words, and wondered what his greeting meant. The angel went on to say to her: “Do not fear, Mary, You have found favor with God. You shall conceive and bear a son and give him the name Jesus.”… Mary said to the angel, “How can this be since I do not know man?” The angel answered her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you; … the holy offspring to be born will be called Son of God.”… Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say.” 

Gospelthink: The Holy Spirit prepared my mother and her response as yours to your life, "Let it be." Have I allowed the Lord to completely influence my life?

Miguel discovered that Hector, his skeletal friend in the Land of the Dead was actually Coco's father. Through a series of discoveries, Miguel unites Hector and Imelda in the Land of the Dead, giving Miguel a pass to go back to the Land of the Living. When he returned, he announced to the world that it was really Hector who wrote the songs that Ernesto sang. Ernesto had killed Hector and stolen the songs. Hector and Imelda and Coco are all together in the Land of the Dead, and in the Land of the Living, their memories live on with Miguel. With the family united again, they live happily ever after both in the Land of the Dead and the Land of the Living.

No matter how we study the beginning of the family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus, it is a study of love. Even when circumstances were not the best, love was no doubt the glue that kept the family together.  At the very beginning of their family, Mary and Joseph had no idea of the way things would work, and no idea of what was happening to them.  One can only imagine the problems that surrounded the loving family, and one can easily surmise that the only way the family could remain together was through their love for each other.

The fantasy movie "Coco" takes the viewer through what the movie calls the Land of the Dead and the Land of the Living, showing the Rivera family in both lands. The one guiding factor is the love that they have for each other. It is a love which is shown even though Miguel is choosing another way of life at the very beginning, and a love that Imelda and Hector have at the very end. Love is the glue that keeps the family together.

The most important factor of a sound daily life is the family. Our families determine our future, so to speak, at least in the way they set a tone for what type of people the members of the families will be later on in life. Unfortunately, it has been proven true time and again that families who were torn apart early on have generated scarred people who were unable to negotiate the world as they grew.

Jesus' family and the way Joseph and Mary interacted with him determined in many ways the type of person that Jesus turned out to be. He could be the caring and loving person that he was to so many people because he could look back to a family that truly loved him every moment of his life. It is a lesson that every family in our world should learn.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, You give us a true example of family love in the love Joseph, Mary and Jesus. May we truly learn such a love and always be close to our immediate families as much as we can. Be with us, we pray. 


+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Family love is necessary for a healthy life-style.
 
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 48 minutes)
1. What scene during this session is most striking to you and why?
2. Mary's statement to the angel is basically saying "yes" to what God wants. In what ways have we said "yes:" to God in our lives?
3. The movie obviously believes in some sort of a "heaven" as it speaks of the Land of the Dead. Although the Scriptures offer no facts about heaven, how do you view "heaven"?
4. What is the best way a young mother and father can show love to their very young children?
5. What is the best way a mother and father can show love to their teenagers?
6. What is the best way a mother and father can show love to the children who have left the home to pursue their own life?
7. What can you do to help a family that has been torn apart because of some unfortunate circumstance?
8. What does the movie "Coco" teach young people?


©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America