arrival1

July 31

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Thursday, July 31

MATTHEW 13:47-53

I tell you the story of the net thrown into the sea.

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus continues his parables, using a story that fishermen can easily understand. What is my profession right now? Am I doing my best to make the Lord part of it, that is, to do everything that I do with the Lord's directives in mind, primarily, love?

b. The conclusion to the Lord's story about the net is that at the final judgment, the evil will be punished. What evils influence me the most, and have I completely resisted them?

c. Do I completely understand what the Lord wants for me? Formulate a directive that I would like to follow for the rest of my life.

d. What are the three or four most practical Christian directives that Jesus has given to me? (This is the task of the meditation.)

e. My prayerthoughts...

Today, I will carry out letter d.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

HOW GOD WORKS IN OUR LIVES

+ Jesus’ parable of the dragnet is very similar to the parable of the weeds

- its main point is at the end of the world, there will be wicked and just, the worthwhile and the useless

- God will separate the two and there will be punishment and reward

+ In the reading from Exodus, God is directing everything that happens

- Moses set up the Dwelling as God directed him

- it is a foreshadowing of what the Temple was to be

- then God worked out of that dwelling

- directing every action of the Israelite people as they made their way into the promised land

+ God is always directing our thoughts no matter what our situation in life

- one of the marks of a good disciple in Matthew’s Gospel for Matthew the teacher

- is that he/she truly understands what God is doing in our lives

Do you understand all these things? -- Yes

- then the final parable sums up the whole thought of parables here in this special section of Matthew’s Gospel:

Every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven…

- …will recognize that good behavior is directed by both the old and the new, that is, the Old Testament and what Jesus is teaching

+ Studying the stories and parables of Jesus and the stories of the Old Testament as well is the way we grow in the spiritual life

- with each story, we automatically place ourselves into the situation

- trying to see where we fit, how we act, etc.

- and as Matthew’s good disciple, we continually try to understand how God is acting in our lives.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Arrival" -- beginning session

HOW ABOUT WE JUST TALK

The Gospel

MARK 10:46-52

They came to Jericho. And as Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me." And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me." Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage, get up, he is calling you." He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied to him, "Master I want to see." Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

Gospelthink: Faith is what matters in life. Is my faith in Jesus evident by the way I live?

Twelve spaceships had landed in various places on the earth. Everyone knew about them because the media instantly reported it. The military of the countries immediately took over, trying to determine what they wanted and why. Likewise immediately, they determined that their presence was hostile. In the United States, a ship had landed in Montana. The military called upon linguist Dr. Louise Banks and theoretical physicist Dr. Ian Donnelly to help them. They began the task to communicate with the aliens. As they did, the military machine of each of the regions of the earth decided to destroy the aliens. Banks and Donnelly discovered that the aliens were interested in communication and not in military advantage.

The blind man in Mark's Gospel wanted to communicate his woes to Jesus. He knew no other way than to cry out for help. His request was direct and to the point. There was no mistaking it. He wanted to see, and had been hoping to have that privilege for a long time. No matter what others may have thought, his faith in Jesus was the determining factor. As usual, the Lord rewarded such direct communication.

In the movie "Arrival," the visitors from another world wanted to convey to the people of earth the need that they had for some future help. They were willing to trade by giving to the people of the earth something first. Their intentions were not at all understood by many of the earth's populace because our thinking much of the time revolves around the threats that others give to our way of life. Dr. Louise Banks and Dr. Ian Donnelly were among the few who finally discovered that all the aliens wanted to do was talk and give us a gift.

The mind of a person entrenched in the human condition often looks to something sinister when we do not understand something. Dr. Banks in the movie says that perhaps we should start with simply talking to someone to see what they want before we jump to any other conclusions. One of the faults that may be ours is the automatic one to protect ourselves and leave alone the basic task of communicating with people that we do not know.

There is little doubt that communication is the first necessity for people to get along and exist together.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Your Son responded to the direct request of people because You as God always want to communicate with us. Help us understand the importance of direct communication in our different dealings with others. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: The first thing that we must learn is communication.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 52 minutes)
1. What scene during this session is most striking and why?
2. Analysis: the blind man "sprang up" to encounter Jesus even before he was cured. Do you think most Christians are anxious to hear the word of God in their lives? Yes or no and why?
3. Analysis: Viewed in a more extensive way, the words to Jesus, "I want to see," may have a deeper meaning. What should we "see" or understand most in our world?
4. Dialogue: "Your faith has saved you." In the context of the Gospel, what does the statement mean?
5. What would be your first reaction if the sighting of an UFO was confirmed? Why?
6. In general, why do we make the initial judgment that others are out to "hurt" us?
7. Dialogue analysis: Louise: "How about we just talk to them before throwing math problems at them?" This is the dialogue referred to in the meditation. What are the prerequisites to good communication?
8. In general, why is communication necessary for good existence?