January 21 

  [media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, January 21

MARK 2:23-28
Made for Man 

Prayerthoughts

a. Our Sabbath day is Sunday. In general, have I kept holy our Sabbath Day by spending          time with prayer and with family?  

b. Jesus could see that an exception was given in the past to accommodate people, showing that people were more important than law. Have I shown a sincere love for all people in my immediate circle? How can I be better at it? 

c. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. What does the statement mean to me? 

d. In general, what does Jesus mean when He says that the Sabbath was made for man? 

e. What is the one thing that I could do to make my Sabbath better? (This is the task of the meditation.) 

f. My prayerthoughts…. 

Today I will carry out letter e.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy 

OUR SURE AND FIRM ANCHOR 

+ The letter to the Hebrews uses a phrase describing hope placed in Jesus as a “sure and firm anchor”

          - it might be good for our spiritual life to dwell on that

                    - how is Jesus the sure and firm anchor in our lives? 

+ Quite obviously, we believe that he is our savior, our means to salvation

          - and therefore, the reason we can have hope

                    - our salvation is guaranteed 

+ But Jesus as a sure and firm anchor goes further than that, I believe, extending into our lives right now

          - because he gives us the direction on how to live our lives now, and therefore can make us people whose hope in Jesus can direct our lives,

                    - making our lives full of hope

                    - and a couple things come from this liturgy today toward that end: 

+ 1 – we have the example of Abraham to guide us

          - Jesus referred to it in his lifetime, and the letter to the Hebrews refers to it here

                    - Abraham primarily was a person who put his faith in God

                              - and allowed God to take control of his life

                                        - very difficult to do, but he did it without hesitation

                                                  - the effect was: he never forgot it, he did not allow himself to grow “sluggish”—the word of the letter to the Hebrews—toward God

                    - we can’t allow ourselves to grow “sluggish” in our approach to God either

                              - always aware of what God wants and what it should do to our behavior patterns

                                        - directing us toward the hope of a good life here as well 

+ 2 – a most important part of how to live with the hope that Jesus gives is given in the Gospel

          - Jesus is making a radical statement about the Sabbath and our own involvement with the law of human beings

                    - saying that human needs are more important than the law set up by humans

                    - an important part of Jesus’ doctrine—maybe the most important part—

                              - is the importance of human beings, and therefore, how we treat others

                                        - people are even more important than any specific law set up for the common good

          - very simply, it should mean for us the importance of other human beings in the scheme of things

                              - as Christians we must remember that 

+ Jesus gives us the hope that is the sure and firm anchor that helps us in the next life, but also in this life

          - it is important that we understand Jesus as our anchor more and more.

MARK 14:32-36

Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took with him Peter, James and John, and began to be troubled and distressed. Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch. He advanced a little and fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass by him: he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will." 

Gospelthink: Jesus suffered terribly at the Agony in the Garden. 

“Somebody save me from myself; I’ve spent so long living in hell.  They say my lifestyle is bad for my health; it's the only thing that seems to help.  All of this drinking and smoking is hopeless but feel like it’s all that I need.  Something inside of me’s broken; I hold on to anything that sets me free.  I’m a lost cause.” 

Despair is the complete loss of hope.  Circumstances can press in around us to the extent that we cannot see a way out. When fear grips us, hopelessness is right behind. The human Jesus felt this in a striking way. At the end of his life, when he sensed the possibility of torture and death, he expressed the emotion of the moment. Mark's Gospel describes it well with the words "troubled," "distressed," and "sorrowful even to death." Likewise, his Apostle Paul.  He knew firsthand what it was like. He wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians (4:8): “We are hard pressed on every side.” 

The human Jesus, true to his call to teach us what to do, does the one thing that can help his stress: he gives up his own personal preferences. "Not what I will," he says, "but what you will."

And Paul says that he was not crushed or perplexed and not in despair because he knew that God’s will was the important element.  He knew that, whether he lived or died, whether he had plenty or had nothing, God was in control and his sufferings would have meaning for all eternity. 

Unlike Jesus and Paul, Jelly Roll in his song “Save Me” sees no way out of his despair.  The song in a sense is an invitation for us to supply the ways to do it. We hear him say that he is a “lost cause.” The fact of the matter is that no one is a lost cause. We have a lot to live for even in the most dire of circumstances. Every Christian will readily see that. 

The problem is that we understand what Jesus said and did, but it does not make the impact that it should. We see the example of the human Jesus being willing to give up his life because he knows what his Father’s will is. We see his example to find the positive in every negative. But we become so taken up with the circumstances of our human life that we tend to forget the example of the one who lived a human like us and showed us the way out of being lost. 

We are not a lost cause; we are a people who have merely forgotten what He lived and taught.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, so many times we lose sight of the good things that we actually have every day. Help us to see and totally accept what Your Son taught us so that we can rid ourselves of the negative feelings. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Despair causes major problems and must be addressed.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Save Me" teach young people?

2. What is most striking to you about Jesus’s agony in the Garden?

3. In your opinion, are there many people in the type of despair exemplified in Jelly Roll’s song?

4. How do people show that they have truly given up their own preferences?

5. What is the best way a human being uses in order to get out of despair?

6. In the world, what are the characteristics of someone who is totally taken over by the world

7. What is the best way to remember what Jesus has done for us?    

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