January 21 

  [media presentation below]

GospelThink

Wednesday, January 21

MARK 3:1-6

I am disappointed with those who placed more faith in cold law than helping people.

Prayerthoughts
a. The Sabbath was an important day of rest for the Hebrew people. Sunday, our Sabbath, should be a day dedicated to God. Should I be more concerned about this than I am right now?

b. Jesus obviously says that people are more important than law. Is there anyone in my acquaintance whom I should treat in a better way? If there is anyone, what should I do about it?

c. The Lord is showing justifiable anger. I sometimes show anger in my life.  Is all of my anger justified?  If my anger is not justified, how could I control it a little better?

d. Is there a possibility in my life where I show “hardness of heart” toward some good? If there is, what should I do about it?

e. At this time in my life, what do I consider the “greatest good” that the Lord has given me? Do I spend enough time in thanksgiving to God?

f. My prayerthoughts…. 

Today, I will read 1 Samuel 17: 32-33,37,40-51 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy 

THE SPIRITUALITY OF STEWARDSHIP

+ The Gospel is a powerful one explaining the spirituality of making use of what we have

- the idea of a steward with today’s understanding is this

- we have been legitimately given things to use, put in charge of things in our lives

- i.e., we have jobs, we earn money, we have life, we have things

- what our American forefathers called—life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

- the question of the Gospel: how are we using those things

- does the master find us busy when he will return

- making proper use—using them, always remembering where they came from—

- remembering the master who gave them, that master who has said that we must be interested primarily in the poor and sharing with them

- or does the master find us in abuse

- misuse of the gifts, specifically, sexuality and eating and drinking—and by inference, all of the gifts that we legitimately have

- and they will be punished, even if they don’t know what they are doing

+ The important fact of all of that is probably: we know what we are doing

- we are the people to whom much has been given

- as Paul said of his ministry: I know what I am talking about

- we are blessed people, not only from the fact of redemption as Paul describes to the Ephesians,

- that is from a spiritual point of view

- but we are also blessed from a natural point of view

- much has been given to us

- we have goods, especially in America that were unimaginable in any other time or right now in any other place

+ And so, we have to be people who are busy as stewards of someone else’s goods

- using them, but at the same time acknowledging that they are not ours

- practically that is where the 10% comes from that Scripture tells us

- giving back to God what is already God’s

- we literally are stewards

- and is 10% enough—shouldn’t there be more given to our creator

- leading us to the important question: how much of our time and income are we giving away from which we get no return?

+ Jesus tells us that the spirituality of stewardship involves being busy doing what we should be doing with his goods while we have them.

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.

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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