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January 13

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, January 13

MARK 1:21-28

Control of Evil

Prayerthoughts

a. Jesus kept the Sabbath day holy. My Sabbath is of course Sunday. Do I give a proper amount of time to prayer and to my family on Sundays?

b. Jesus was a teacher. In many ways I am a teacher to those around me. As I study what I do, say yesterday, what are the principal themes of my “teaching”?

c. Evil knows when holiness is present. My holiness should control my words, actions and especially my thinking. Am I evil in these things?

d. Jesus controls every evil. What evil do I want Jesus to help me with today?

e. A good phrase to meditate on: “What is this?” We see holiness in action before our eyes. In our world, where do we see holiness the most?

f. If your “fame” would spread in the place around you, how would people describe you?

g. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read 1 Samuel 1:9-20 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE PRAYER OF PETITION

+ Both readings today say something about the important part of prayer called the prayer of petition

- the prayer in which we ask the Lord to grant our requests, whatever they may be

- our first reading over the next couple of weeks is from the Hebrew Scriptures 1^st and 2^nd Book of Samuel

- primarily historical books that account the times and works of people like Samuel (today’s), Saul and David

- we can always learn from the people of the Hebrew Scriptures,

- and today, an important element of what would seem like a relatively common situation for people

- in a story that is very human, Hannah, Elkanah’s wife, prays the prayer of petition—asking God for help,

- something that we all do in one form or another

- but she does something that not many people do

- before she gets the answer to her prayer, she is no longer “downcast,” that is—she is content with whatever happens

- it is an essential part of the prayer of petition: we can ask for the Lord’s help, and be satisfied no matter what happens

+ In the Gospel reading, yet another part of the prayer of petition is presented to us

- the man did not even ask the Lord for help

- the Lord knew that he needed the help

- and so, he gave it to him

- we must enter the prayer of petition in exactly the same way

- we have our own agenda,

- and that is just fine

- but we don’t know the whole picture—God does—

- and so we always ask God for things with the knowledge that God is going to give us answers to every prayer that we would have asked for

- “whether we want them answered or not”

- God will help us in spite of ourselves

+ Both are extremely important elements of the prayer of petition:

- we must ask and at the same time be satisfied with whatever the Lord gives us

- and we must ask knowing that Lord will answer, no matter what.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "No Time to Die" -- beginning session

DESIRING THE POWER

The Gospel

MATTHEW 23:6-12

[Jesus said:] "[The scribes and Pharisees] love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Gospelthink: I warn you that you should be like a servant to others instead of having power over them. Do I treat others as though they were less than I am?

In the movie "No Time to Die," at the request of the MI6 organization, James Bond came out of retirement to meet up against the organization known as Spectre, the "evil" which had tried to conquer the world earlier in James Bond's career. Bond befriended Madeleine whose parents had been killed by Lyutsifer Safin, who was a person seeking the ruin of the world as well. Bond and his friend Madeleine are together when it seems as though Madeleine set up Bond to be killed. Although it was not true, Bond separated from Madeleine. Meanwhile, "M" of MI6 had asked Bond to rescue a scientist by the name of Obruchev from Safin. Obruchev with MI6's permission had developed a weapon by the name of Project Heracles, a bioweapon involving a virus that was lethal to a target and his/her relatives but harmless to others. Bond was to help another 007 in the endeavor.

Anyone who reads the Gospels must encounter Jesus's intense dislike for the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus recognized that many of the religious leaders of the Hebrew people were people who said one thing, but did another. His problem with them was their desire for show and ostentatious behavior. Having the respect of others gave them a certain power that they used to their advantage. Consequently, the scribes and Pharisees did anything to gain the power. Judging from Jesus's words and actions toward them, a spiritual person must not behave like they did.

Power is a problem in our world. In the movie "No Time to Die," James Bond is called out of retirement to face an old nemesis Spectre and later an evil person Lyusifer Safin. Spectre had captured one of the scientists hired by Bond's organization who developed a virus that evil people could easily use in order to conquer the world. Safin overcame them, eventually becoming the largest evil that Band had to face. It is interesting that both the good, MI6, and the evil, Spectre and Safin were looking for the same thing, to control the world by exaggerated power.

Studying the Gospels, Christians experience Jesus's strong feelings against power for power's sake, and the desire for it. But Jesus's feelings toward it notwithstanding, many Christians succumb to its lure. From high schools to political contests to everyday existence, people act out of a desire for power and control. It may not cause people to desire to rule the world, but it can easily lead them to try to dominate their home or school or office. Christians must be aware of the desire to control others. It could be the basis of the all evil in our world.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, in many ways, we are people who desire to be recognized just as the scribes and Pharisees. Help us see that in many instances, the desire for such actions is nothing more than seeking power. Give us the grace to understand what we are doing. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: In a sick mind, having all the power is a way to save the world.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 77 minutes)
1. What scene during this session is most striking and why?
2. Where in our world today do you see hypocrisy?
3. Where in our world today do you see the most desire for power?
4. Can anyone searching for power really want to help the world?
5. Why do people want to have power?
6. How disruptive for the organization is the desire for power from one of its members?