January 27

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Monday, January 27

MARK 3:22-30

You must beware of the evil in this world.

Prayerthoughts
a. There are many references to the devil or Beelzebul or demons in the Gospels. In my opinion, what is the number one evil in the world today, and what can I do about it?

b. Jesus is answering the accusation that He is a demon, and speaking of kingdom and houses divided. The image is one to think about personally. Have I deliberately divided my family or acquaintances by bringing about evil in any way?

c. Jesus’s words of binding up a strong man in order to take his property suggest the possibility that I have deliberately “bound” up leaders in our society by my words. Perhaps I should look at my criticisms of people in government to make sure that I am looking for the truth and not my own biases.

d. Jesus makes it clear that all sins and blasphemies will be forgiven. If I want forgiveness for my sins, Jesus will give it to me. Do I feel as though I am completely forgiven of all my sins and do I thank God for His mercy?

e. The sin “against the Holy Spirit” is simply giving ourselves completely to evil. I obviously am trying not to do that, given my meditation on these Gospels, but there is some evil in my life; have I sufficiently asked for forgiveness?

f. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will list the top three evils in the world in my opinion, and what I can do about them.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THINKING ABOUT SIN

+ During this discourse of Jesus, Jesus makes an incredibly hopeful statement—

All sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them.

- there is an exception given—that only the sin against the Spirit will not be forgiven—but not one to be dwelled on because in the context of the Gospel, it means that the sin that is not forgiven is one who attributes Jesus’ healing to the power of Satan which a true believer would never do

- so Jesus is saying in effect to us: no matter what kind of sin that our human natures get into, it can be forgiven because of our basic acceptance of Jesus into our lives

+ It might be good to concentrate for a few moments on the fact that God will forgive every sin

- the reason for it is given in the theology of the letter to the Hebrews

- Jesus offered once and for all the sacrifice of his body to take away the sins of the people

- so that is the reason why every sin can be forgiven: Jesus accomplished that end

+ Considering that every sin will be forgiven, however, a couple of things must be born in mind:

1 – there must be a proper interior disposition on our part to have our sins forgiven

- we have to want to be forgiven,

- and to have that, we have to really be convinced that we have sinned

- acknowledging to God that there are faults and failings in our lives that we have to work on

2 – even as the sin is forgiven, there must be a desire to do something about it

- there must be an effort toward that end or else we haven’t understood real forgiveness

+ The talk of Satan in the Gospel is significant here

- Jesus points out the stupidity of saying that he is possessed by Satan

- but he doesn’t deny the presence of Satan in the world

- evil is going to work the hardest on people who are trying to be close to God

- we must be aware of the power of evil, as Jesus was, and continue to fight against it with prayer and spiritual reading

+ We can rejoice because we know that every sin will be forgiven, but we have to continue to do our part.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Burn" -- Elle Goulding

WE GOT THE FIRE

The Gospel

LUKE 2:27b-33

LUKE 2:27b-33

When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, [Simeon] took him into his arms and blessed God saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them.

Gospelthink: I began my life in a normal way but Simeon could tell that I was going to help the world. In my life, am I helping my own little world?

"We don’t have to worry ‘bout nothing 'cause we got the fire, and we’re burning something. They gonna see us from outer space. Light it up, like we’re the stars of the human race. When the light’s turning down, they don’t know what they heard. Strike the match, play it loud, giving love to the world. We’ll be raising our hands, shining up the sky 'cause we got the fire, and we gonna let it burn."

The story of Simeon as suggested by the Gospel of Luke is the story of someone searching for salvation. Simeon finally found it in the young person that he held in his arms. As he now understood, Jesus was the person who would give the salvation, a light or fire for the world, that would free the world from evil forever.

Jesus was to do it by spreading his doctrine of love which he later was to call his commandment (John 15:12). It was a love that he wanted his followers to make their own so that they could give it to everyone they met. In that way, the love became both light and fire, light for guidance, and fire to purify the evil in their own hearts and in the world.

Ellie Goulding's song "Burn" is a general statement of the direction that Jesus gave. She sings of people who have the fire. The excellent video shows a group of young people who are truly enjoying themselves as they light up the world. What it says, of course, is that that particular group of people have the fire of love in their hearts. And once they have that fire of love, people will be able to see it from outer space which literally one can do in the video. Obviously the song is meant for everyone, saying that if we all strive to have such a love of others, it would make life a lot better than it is now.

Unfortunately, not everyone has accepted such a challenge of love. But if we did, then our personal world which is made up of personal feelings and judgments would change. And our external world, the world we interact with, a world which is too often more evil than good, would also change. Like Simeon, we would be able to accept the truth of Jesus and recognize that he is the light and fire of love that we must have. We would light up the world with love.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son was the light and fire of love for our earth. May we both experience his presence and help carry through on his desire to make love the fundamental way of acting for our world. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Christians must develop the fire of love within them, and then give it to others.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. The presentation in the temple in the Gospel depicts the parents of Jesus as faithful followers of the Jewish law. In general, do most people follow the law of the Church in their lives? Yes or no and why?
2. Define "salvation" as you understand it. See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 456-460.
3. In what ways is Jesus "a light"?
4. Text analysis: "We're burning something." What is the meaning of the statement?
5. Text analysis: "the stars of the human race." What is the meaning of the phrase?
6. If Jesus freed the world from evil forever, how is there still evil in our world?
7. In general, do most Christians show the love that Jesus wanted them to have? Yes or no and why?
8. Obtain a copy of the video to the song. What is most striking about the video? Why?
9. If Christians truly possessed the virtue of love in their hearts, how would the world change?
10. Why have people not accepted the challenge of love?
11. As you study the lives of people in general, what personal change should most people make? Why?
12. How should a Christian treat people who do not believe in Jesus' idea of love?
13. What does the song "Burn" teach young people today?