without

February 9

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Sunday, February 9, Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

LUKE 5:1-11

Working with God

Prayerthoughts

a. The crowd was listening to the Word of God. How well do I listen to the Word of God? Are there some elements of that Word that I do not pay as much attention to as I should?

b. The Lord is truly “in my boat,” that is my creator and giver of life. I should take the time right now to thank God for all that God has done for me, especially something that happened yesterday. (This is the task of the meditation.)

c. Sometimes it seems as though the Lord is giving me a directive that does not make sense, as Simon thought. It especially happens when something is happening to me that I wish were otherwise. I must take the time to see that the Lord is working with me in whatever that happens.

d. The Lord is always working and many times He will work as I want. Do I thank the Lord as often as I should?

e. One of my thoughts ought to be that I have sinned, and as a result to ask the Lord for forgiveness and for the honor of being created.

f. I truly should be astonished at what God has done for me and the world.

g. Jesus tells the Apostles that they will be “catching men,” signifying their future with Him. I may not have the same directive from the Lord, but I see people every day. I should take the time to accept His directive to love everyone I meet today.

h. I do not need to “leave everything,” but there are probably some things that I could easily give away to those who care for the needy.

i. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will carry out letter b.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

COMPLETE TRUST IN GOD

+ This story comes out of Central America

- her name was Maria

- a 16 year old volunteer for the Roman Catholic Church in a town in Nicaragua, in the early 70’s

- the town was pretty much in turmoil, as Nicaragua was during those years

- in general, the military regime felt that the Church was against them

- and in many respects, they were, mainly because of the way the military treated the poor

- it was not uncommon then that a number of so-called “church people” were arrested

- and in this particular church office one day, the entire staff was arrested

- most released the same day since the arrest was merely a show of power by the military

- Maria was also arrested and questioned by an officer

- and since the officer had taken a liking toward her,

- he told her that he would drop the charges against her if she would spend some evenings with him

- she refused, the officer took his gun from his side holster, threatening to execute her on the spot

- Maria still refused, fully aware of what could happen

- the officer put the gun to her head, pulled the trigger, and the gun clicked—because it was empty, as he knew it would be

- he had only wanted to scare her

- she was finally released

- Maria probably was not old enough to totally analyze her commitment, but it can be phrased with the idea of / complete trust in Jesus—leading her to a willingness to give up everything if she had to

+ Such a complete trust in Jesus or God is the topic of the first reading and Gospel today

- in the first reading, to the vision in which God acted in his life, Isaiah responded with the words of complete trust:

- “Hear I am, send me”

- in the Gospel, Peter had been a fisherman all his life and Jesus was a carpenter; carpenters probably didn’t know much about fishing

- but for no reason other than the fact that it was Jesus who requested it—complete trust in him—Peter said:

At your command, I will lower the nets.

+ In general, our human natures do not like to be vulnerable

- we prefer to be in control

- but complete trust makes us vulnerable

- we are saying: if you say so, I will do whatever you say

- it’s like allowing the Lord to fill in the blanks of how to live as we try to follow him

- and that is risky, especially when the Lord fills in the blanks with difficult words

+ For example, if we trusted the Lord completely, and say:

- if you say so…I will—(and the Lord fills in the blank)

- it might sound like this:

- I will—love those who don’t like me

- I will—really work at my marriage by better communication

- I will—be kind to people even if they are not kind to me

- I will—forgive all the time

- I will—accept whatever you send me in this life

- the Lord often doesn’t fill in the blanks with easy directions

+ In the second reading today, Paul reminds the Corinthians:

- “I am reminding you of the gospel I preached to you,”

- that gospel has to do with trusting what the Lord says to us

- it is saying “I will” when he says “do this”

- and then we do it.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Without Me" -- Halsey

DEALING WITH BLIND LOVE

The Gospel

MATTHEW 5:38-42

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”

Gospelthink: My basic foundation of love: give to others no matter what. This is very difficult--am I coming close to it?

“Found you when your heart was broke; I filled your cup until it overflowed, took it so far to keep you close, I was afraid to leave you on your own. I said I’d catch you if you fall, Put you right back on your feet just so you could take advantage of me. Tell me, how’s it feel sittin’ up there? Feeling so high, but too far away to hold me. I’m the one who put you up there. I don’t know why, thinking you could live without me. My love was blind.”

It is rare for modern media that we find agreement between that media and what Jesus said in the Gospel. But if we listen to Halsey's song "Without Me", we will hear agreement with Jesus as he tells us not to retaliate if someone harms us.

The song is the story in song of a friend that the lady in the song helped, but apparently he has forgotten her now that he feels better. Love was blind she sings, and now it has cost her the relationship because he has left. She has allowed herself to be "used" by her boyfriend, and now that he has broken up with her, she is realizing what has truly happened.

It is the case of what Jesus was speaking of during his Sermon on the Mount when he was speaking of retaliation and revenge. He said quite directly: there is to be none. Our tendency is to respond like for like as is found even in Old Testament Scriptures. Jesus knew that, of course, because he knew those Scriptures well. He goes to the extreme, exaggerating as it does. He says that even if the other person deserves it, the Christian law--his law--is that we never "turn our back" on someone.

In the song, there are many ways in which she could respond, of course. She could say words that are not at all indicative of being a good person; she could do actions that hurt him and let others know what he did. But as if listening to directions that Jesus gave, she chooses not to do that. It is obvious from the song that she is a little bit angry. But that is to be expected. Hopefully the anger will dissipate; retaliation leaves a lasting residue.

The person who manages to stay away from retaliation and revenge will usually have a better life. Jesus knew that. It is good for modern media to be aware of it also.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we are often driven by the way we feel, and when we are hurt, we have the desire to get back at the person who has hurt us. Give us the grace to listen closely to Your Son's words about revenge and retaliation. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: A break-up with a person that we have helped is even more difficult than any other break-up.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Without Me" teach young people? T
2. Jesus' directive may be the most difficult directive in the Gospel. Thinking globally, what would the world look like if the most powerful countries followed it?
3. Jesus uses exaggeration as he speaks here. In your opinion, why does he speak this way in his sermons?
4. Can you think of any other modern media that is closely aligned to Jesus' way of thinking?
5. What is the best way to work with break-ups? That is in the song, how should the lady work with the problem?
6. What is the most common way of responding in a break-up situation?
7. Generally speaking, do you think that it is true that a person will have a better life if he/she does not turn to revenge in a break-up situation?