TGIMMinsurgent2

January 24
[media presentation below] GospelThink Saturday, January 24 MARK 3:20-21 My Time to Help Prayerthoughts a. He came home. Jesus spent time at his home around people who knew him. Thinking of those people whom I know well, who should I pay more attention to at this time? b. Who is the one person in my life whom I know well that I should treat better than I do? c. Jesus gave of his time to others so much so that he gave up some personal things. Do I give my time and energy to others the way I should? d. Jesus was criticized for spending too much time helping others. How well am I helping others right now? Perhaps I should think of some ministry of help to the poor or hurting. e. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will read 2 Samuel 1:1-4,11-12,19,23-27 and write an important thought from it.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT + Our human minds will no doubt question the thinking of David in the first reading - you can see why he would be so upset that Jonathan was killed - but you would naturally wonder why he would be so upset about Saul’s death - he had had such a difficult time with Saul, since Saul had tried to kill David - but here as we begin David’s reign as king, he mourned the loss of Jonathan and Saul - as we study David’s action here, we could say that he knew what was truly important - namely the loss of people close to him + Jesus knew what was really important as can be seen from the Gospel - his life-work and therefore what was important to him, namely, preaching the kingdom of God, trying to lead others to be part of that kingdom - his family did not understand his zeal in carrying it out - thinking that he had to be out of his mind as the Gospel said, because he was so devoted to doing it + What is really important for us - it is a good question as we understand what was important to the Lord - and it should be the same answer, namely working to be part of the kingdom of God, that is, working out our redemption - and the way to do it as we deal with our human natures is this: - as we realize that we have life, total free gift from God, the tremendous Gift, life here leading to eternal life later, we also realize that - because of our human natures, we need help while we are here—we need what Jesus came to give us: redemption + Our spiritual life-work, then, - to accept the help that the Lord has given us through his redemptive process - it is the familiar spiritual directive for us to follow Jesus as guide - which means to be aware of what he said in the Gospels and New Testament - and try to carry it out in our lives.

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

The Gospel

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's 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's 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?

WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT