TGIMMjack1

July 23

[and July 24 below]

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Thursday, July 23

MATTHEW 13:10-17

Knowledge of the Kingdom

Prayerthoughts

a. “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” is given to the apostles, and to a certain extent to us who have accepted Jesus into our lives. In general, do I spend enough time with the Gospels?

b. With the quoting of the axiom, the disciples ought to be people who want to know more about the Scriptures. Do I have the desire to know more about the Scriptures by studying the footnotes of the Bible or a commentary on the Scriptures?

c. The Lord obviously wants me to seek and understand. Do I try to apply the words of the Gospel to the happenings of my life?

d. Isaiah’s prophecy points out that people neglected to take responsibility for their actions. Have I truly acknowledged my sinfulness before the Lord?

e. The true disciple has recognized what Jesus said and meant. Does my recognition come out in the way I act and think?

f. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read Jeremiah 2:1-3,7-8,12-13 and write an
important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

BROKEN CISTERNS THAT HOLD NO WATER

+ Speaking of the fact that Israel has turned away from God

- Jeremiah, speaking for God, says that the Israelites have dug broken cisterns that hold no water

- that is a very good image of what we do

- in Jeremiah’s day, the saying was a statement of the futility of working for foreign alliances

- Jeremiah saying that it doesn’t make any sense to turn to foreign powers for help

+ But the image is one to concentrate on for our own spiritual lives

- we tend to dig broken cisterns that hold no water

- that is, we tend to look at solutions which are really not solutions

- we turn to idols like pleasure, money and power

- we trust in drugs

- we trust in created things rather than trust in God

+ Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel becomes very direct as he talks about himself

- he says to his disciples: blest are your eyes and ears because you have been with me

- with the implicit statement that that should do something for them

+ You and I are not eyewitnesses, but we have chosen Jesus and Christianity by faith

- for a person of faith, that is as good as being an eyewitness

- which says then that our closeness to the Lord ought to do something for us

+ The strongest difficulty that Jeremiah had to face among his people was the difficulty connected with idolatry

- his Israelite people were easily prone to give themselves to the worship of idols

- interestingly enough, as we have mentioned often, our problem is exactly the same thing

- we have given ourselves over to the work of our hands

- coming in the form of money, pleasure and power

+ Placing broken cisterns that hold no water into our ground will serve no purpose at all

- it may look like we are accomplishing something, but we are not

- likewise with the people who find solutions in the broken cisterns called modern day idols

- we are eyewitnesses to the Lord in faith

- that ought to direct our actions away from the broken cisterns of society.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" -- beginning session

HOLDING NO SECRETS

The Gospel

MARK 4:33-34

With many such parables [Jesus] spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Gospelthink: I used stories in my sermons but I explained them to my disciples. As I read the stories of Jesus, do I try to apply them to myself?

The movie "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" in many ways is just another spy-thriller, but in some ways it stands above the normal. Jack Ryan is a brilliant economics analyst besides having a military background that has moved him to serve his country without rancor or hatred of others. He is also quite above normal in his love life. As he recovers from his injuries received in defense of his country, during his painful rehab, during the time that he is recruited by Thomas Harper and the CIA, and during the beginning of his new job, his love deepens with his future wife Cathy Muller. The first part of the movie can be considered to be a love story that teaches about the most important elements of true love.

It is interesting to study Jesus's life from the point of view of searching for principles that guide a married life. Jesus did not speak of formal preparation for marriage because there was no such preparation during his time with us. But studying the virtues that he wanted the people of his Kingdom to possess, one in particular often stands out. People who will be close in some relationship must know each other well. Consequently, he and his disciples for example had to have clear knowledge of what Jesus meant in his teaching. The Gospels relate that Jesus explained everything to them.

Such close knowledge of one another is fundamental for marriage in today's world. In the movie "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit," Cathy Muller, later to be Cathy Ryan, understood the fact very well. One of the qualities that makes the movie so interesting is that Jack Ryan had to understand that even as he learned the skills of a CIA operative, he had also to prepare well for his upcoming marriage. In Cathy's mind, it meant honesty whether the CIA agreed or not. Having secrets that were not shared with each other was not honesty.

It is a valuable lesson for people about to be married. No matter what the circumstances of the situation of the couple, if the marriage is to work, there must be a sharing of secrets between them. In fact, if there is anything that can tear a marriage apart later, the fact that they did not communicate everything to the other may very well be the primary reason for the failure.

Jesus knew the importance of being open to people who were close to him; it is a lesson that anyone who aspires to a close relationship should realize.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, in your goodness you have taught us how important it is to be close to special people in our lives. Give us the grace to not only understand your lesson as we turn to You in prayer, but help us to be more open to those who are especially close to us. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: If there is true love between couples about to be married, they will keep no secrets from each other.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 49 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. The spiritual lesson to be taken from the Gospel passage is that Christians should be close to Jesus as they try to imitate him in their daily lives. Do you believe that most Christians try to be "close" to Jesus in the way they think, act and speak? Yes or no and why?
3. Why do you think that Jesus spoke with parables or stories to most people?
4. Besides the sharing of secrets, what are some other important principles for married people?
5. In your opinion, what is the best way to prepare for an upcoming marriage?
6. In your opinion, are there ever any exceptions to "complete sharing" with a person you will marry? Yes or no and why?
7. Give your own definition of "honesty."
8. What are some other causes of marriage failure?
9. Character analysis: Jack Ryan at the very beginning of the movie. What do his actions show his character to be?
10. Analysis: What effect has 9/11 had on our world today?
11. Character analysis: Viktor Cherevin. What do you think is his fundamental problem?
12. Scene analysis: Ryan fights the person who tried to kill him. He finally kills him, but it has a profound effect on him. What can be done to help someone who has killed another?
13. Analysis: Cathy thinks that Jack is possibly having an affair. At this point in their relationship, what should happen if there was an affair and why?
14. Analysis: In married life, after there has been an affair, should the person who had it tell his/her spouse? Yes or no and why?
15. Scene analysis: Ryan meets Cherevin. Why does Cherevin consider Ryan "dangerous"?

July 24

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Friday, July 24

MATTHEW 13:18-23
Seed Sown, part 2

Prayerthoughts

a. Along the path. What were some times when I didn’t understand the Word?

b. Rocky ground. Have there been some times in my life where I have not shared the Word with others because I was afraid to?

c. Among thorns. Are there worldly influences that have blocked my understanding of what the Lord wants me to do?

d. Do I spend as much time with the Word of God, in particular the New Testament Scriptures as I should? How can I do better?

e. My prayerthoughts…

Today I will read Jeremiah 3:14-17 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

UNDERSTANDING THE WORD OF GOD

+ The evangelist Matthew following what the evangelist Mark originally wrote, has Jesus explain the story of the sower, the story that Jesus told in the Gospel a short while ago

- and because the story/parable deals with the message of Scripture, it has direct bearing on us who listen and read the message every day

- it is probably true that we listen to the different messages of Scripture using all four of the ways that Jesus describes

+ Sometimes we listen without understanding (path)

- Jesus is not speaking of understanding in an intellectual way here—understanding with the mind

- he is talking about understanding with the heart

- that is, completely taking it in and letting it be a true guide to our lives

- for example, using Jesus’s doctrine of love of others as an illustration, we hear that we must love everyone, but we deliberately exclude some people from our love

+ Sometimes we listen and hear well, make some conversion, but a setback—say a personal tragedy or the like—makes us miss the message (rocky ground)

- for example, in the illustration of Jesus’ doctrine of love of others, those others continue to be a pain for us, even as we strive to be better, and we simply won’t allow ourselves to love them

- we actually extend the love of others to include everyone, but we are not persistent in that love, and we forget about any conversion of heart as we continue living our lives

+ Sometimes we listen and hear well, actually make some progress, but the world has too strong an influence, and we miss the message (thorns, briars)

- in the area of religion, in this area of love of others, for example, we are often governed by what others think—what may be called “the world”

- especially if we are surrounded by others who don’t like a certain set of people or the like

- and we let that feeling influence us too much

+ Sometimes we listen and understand

- which means that we listen completely to the message, take it in entirely, and try our best to carry it through

- in the illustration of love of others, we actually open ourselves to include everyone in our thought and action, no matter how difficult it may be

+ Jeremiah points out in the first reading that there will come a time when wickedness ceases

- that is when we have listened to the message and have truly understood it.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice"
-- final session

SELFISHNESS AND THE TRUTH

The Gospel

JOHN 3:1-3

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him."

Gospelthink: Nicodemus understood what I was all about. Do I spend sufficient time trying to understand the Gospels?

Bruce Wayne/Batman finally discovered his own selfishness in the movie "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" by realizing both his and Superman's love of their human mothers. Then the two heroes could finally work together, but immediately they saw their problem. Lux Luthor had managed to create a monster by use of DNA from himself and the evil General Zod one of Superman's foes in the past. General Zod was much more powerful than Superman and Batman and their newly found friend Prince, a metahuman creature who had been working undercover. Understanding that the creature was subject to defeat only with kryptonite, Superman in a weakened state, took a weapon designed by Luthor with a kryptonite head, and thrust it into the creature. But in his state, Superman could not resist the creature's power and the creature finally subdued and killed Superman even as the creature died.

The Pharisee named Nicodemus was interested in what Jesus was teaching. He was not ready to endorse him completely because he had his own life as a Pharisee to guide him. But he began wondering about the truth. So he came to Jesus secretly, telling him that his own experience did not seem to agree with the signs that Jesus was doing. He was looking for the truth, however, and he felt therefore that he had to study Jesus and his activity.

The secret of a person who is seeking the truth is that she/he is willing to give up their own desires and wishes in order to discover what is right. As Nicodemus in the Gospels, so also Batman and Superman in the movie: "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." They were seeking the truth; in fact, the truth may have been the only requirement for their existence.

Consequently, when Batman realized that his own research about Superman was flawed, he had to give it up, and admit that he was wrong. And when Superman understood that the truth that would save the world was only something that he could do, and it might mean his death in the process, he had to do it. Truth was the ultimate end point that both heroes wanted. In terms of the title of the movie, it was the only way that justice could be maintained.

Obviously, we are not going to prevent major catastrophes or save the world with what we do. For the most part we are normal people attempting to live our lives in the midst of a very complicated world. Perhaps the one guide that we ought to have is the pursuit of the truth, and as we discover it, to regulate our own selfish desires and thoughts to embrace it.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we see the importance of the truth as the people of our earth studied Your Son. May our guide be to seek only the truth, and a willingness to give up our own selfishness to accept it. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: We must look beyond our own desires in order to discover the truth.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 70 minutes)
1. What scene during this session is most striking and why?
2. Gospel and character analysis: How would you describe Nicodemus?
3. Most Scripture scholars think that the Pharisees could not agree with Jesus because Jesus was going against their fundamental beliefs. What is most important for a "belief system" to be true?
4. Why are most people not willing to give up their own desires and thoughts?
5. In your opinion, do most people honestly seek the truth as they make decisions in life? Yes or no and why?
6. Is there any time in which the truth should NOT be a guide for someone? Yes or no and why?
7. Scene analysis: Why was Batman so interested in fighting Superman?
8. Analysis: What was Luthor's desire in releasing the creature and killing Superman?
9. Scene analysis: Superman gave up his life in order to kill the creature, the ultimate sacrifice. In general, do you think that most people would give up their lives to save the world? Yes or no and why?
10. What is the significance of the close of the movie?
11. What does the movie "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" teach young people?