TGIMMinsurgent2

January 24
[media presentation below] GospelThink Friday, January 24 MARK 3:13-19 Choosing the Twelve Prayerthoughts a. Jesus goes to the mountain no doubt to pray first and then chooses the Apostles. Again, the question of how much prayer time am I giving to the Lord? b. The Lord appointed specific people to be his Apostles. I am a person He has appointed in the sense that I am His creation. In my work, am I honoring the Lord who has created me by doing my work with love? c. He gave them authority to drive out evil. I must drive out the evil in my life. Identify the evil around me and determine a way to conquer it in my own way. (This is the task of the meditation.) d. He deliberately chose people of passion (sons of thunder). Am I passionate in my acceptance of Jesus and His teaching in my life? e. Jesus chose Judas who betrayed him. In what ways have I betrayed Jesus in the past? Perhaps this is the time to renew my asking for forgiveness. f. My prayerthoughts… Today, without being judgmental of others, I will carry out letter c.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy JESUS AND JUDAS + As we listen to Mark’s description of the call and naming of the Twelve - it’s always interesting to see that Jesus chose Judas - Jesus must have know something about Judas - and was probably giving him a chance to be what he could be - which was a good minister - it may be that the person of Judas is an indication of the possibility of human nature - the possibility of bringing about good or evil - it is always up to us - we choose who we are - and one would guess that in Judas’ choice to go a different direction from Jesus that there was a lot of thinking and serious consideration on Judas’ part - ultimately, Judas simply did not agree with Jesus as the guide + Christianity is a choice - although because of our involvement with it over the years, - it may not seem that way because what we do is so automatic - but it is a choice that implies action - somewhere along the line, Judas chose to leave the guidance of Jesus - you and I must continually choose to accept the guidance of Jesus and what he said and did + That acceptance involves a number of things - but the overall choice is based on the fact that Jesus is the center of the New Covenant as outlined by the letter to the Hebrews - that he is the catalyst that allows God to say and now carry out in the new law: - I will be their God and they shall be my people. + This leads quite naturally to a meditation on how well we know Jesus and the New Covenant - and the way to determine how well we know Jesus - is to look at our past thoughts, words and actions - to see whether we really know Jesus or not - and whether we are following what he wants - it takes time and effort to do it + A lack of doing that may have been Judas’ downfall - he had to know what Jesus’ words and thoughts and actions were - maybe he simply didn’t take the time and effort to let them affect him like he should have - needless to say, we have to let Jesus affect us.

MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: "Insurgent" -- final session SATISFYING OURSELVES--NOT THE SOLUTION

The Gospel

LUKE 4:1-4

LUKE 4:1-4

Filled with the holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

Gospelthink: I was tempted to sin just like you are, but I turn to Scripture. May I remember to turn to the Lord when I am tempted to sin.

The movie "Insurgent" is the story of Tris Prior's eventual opening of the mysterious box that only a Divergent such as her could open. Jeanine, the evil Erudite leader thought that the box contained the future of the city as envisaged by the founders, and therefore the way to control the "Divergent problem." Jeanine submitted Tris to various simulation activities to force her to open the box. Eventually Tris experienced the most difficult simulation of all, namely, the confrontation that she must have with herself. She knew that as a Divergent, she had to control her emotions in such a way as to help others. During the simulation, she experienced the dark side of her personality that wanted her to become angry and fight back and hurt others. Only with severe difficulty was she able to overcome the simulation, and eventually open the box. The box's contents called for all Divergents to lead the way into the world outside the walls.

In many ways, the temptations of Jesus represent the temptations that human beings experience in their lives. In the evangelist Luke's way of looking at things, Jesus' first temptation was a temptation to satisfy himself. He was hungry, and could easily have satisfied himself. But he overcame the temptation, pointing out to the tempter that satisfying oneself is not part of the essence of life.

In the movie "Insurgent," Tris feels compelled to open the mysterious box that seems to contain an important message. In order to accomplish her task, she had to face the temptation to satisfy her base desires, her dark side. In simulation, she actually fights herself, finally understanding that the way to overcome her dark side was to let go of her desires to win the battle. In effect, she overcame the temptation by recognizing that there was more to life than satisfying herself.

The cartoon character Pogo once made the memorable statement that "We have met the enemy and he is us." Too often the difficulty with any of our problems is our own desire to solve the problem the way we want it solved. It is a selfish attitude, and does not take into account what God or others may want. We become so convinced of our own "take" on the situation that we do not consider another point of view.

Perhaps the primary problem that we have is our own selfishness. If we manage to face ourselves and our desires in a prayerful way, we may find that we have been the problem in our problems.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we like to satisfy our desires and obtain what we want. Your Son taught us that simply satisfying ourselves is not the way to understand life. May we learn from Your Son, and always consider what You and others may want. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: The way to true happiness is to completely understand how we deal with our own selfish feelings.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 56 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. The Spirit was active in Jesus' life. How do we see the Spirit working in today's world?
3. The meditation interprets the temptation to be a temptation to satisfy himself. In our world today, how are we tempted the most?
4. In your opinion, what makes up the "dark side" of our lives?
5. Do you think that it is true that human beings generally will pretty much follow what they want in their thinking, not considering other opinions? Yes or no and why?
6. Why is "selfishness" such a difficult fault to overcome?
7. Analysis: Discuss Peter's betrayal and then his rescue of Four and Tris. What was his motivation?
8. Scene analysis: Four and Tris express their love in a physical way. In your opinion, does this affect the young people who watch it? Yes or no and why?
9. Analysis: Should Evelyn have executed Jeanine? Yes or no and why?
10. What does the movie "Insurgent" teach young people?