July 7

GospelThink

Tuesday, July 7

MATTHEW 9:32-38

Rejection and Compassion


Prayerthoughts

a. In the Gospels, the devil or evil never controls the situation with Jesus. Evil cannot exist simultaneously with the Lord. Unfortunately, there have been moments of evil in my life. I should take the time right now to ask for forgiveness, especially for some evil of the past.

b. The Pharisees were driven by a number of evil desires. One of them was jealousy. I should look at my own jealousy in the situations of my life. Should I study more closely some of my reasons for doing things the way I do?

c. Jesus showed compassion toward all of those who were hurting. Are there some people in my acquaintance toward whom I should show more compassion?

d. If Jesus’s thought is to spread, more people need to be dedicated to it. Do I show enough initiative in being dedicated to spread the message of Christianity?

e. Jesus gives us something to pray for—laborers for Christianity. What are the most important prayers of petition that I should make in my life?

f. My prayerthoughts…


Today, I will read Hosea 8:4-7,11-13 and write
an important thought from it.

+++++

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy 

CARING ABOUT OTHERS

+ Before we can understand the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures, we have to study it carefully

- especially in the area of the understanding of God’s punishment of the people

- there is no doubt that in the Hebrew Scriptures, God punishes

- the first reading today from Hosea is an example of it—

“[God] shall remember their guilt and punish their sins.”

- the study of the Hebrew Scriptures must be done with an understanding of what Jesus carried out in his life


+ It is important to see that Jesus changed the image of God, and today’s Gospel is one of the best to consider in order to understand that fact

- one of the overwhelming conclusions of the Gospels is the caring way Jesus felt toward the people

- here, as many times in the Gospels, he was moved with pity

- he cures people when they are brought to him

- the overwhelming conclusion: Jesus cared for people


+ So, one of the conclusions of our study of the Scriptures

- is to understand that the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures are an introduction to Jesus and his ideals of the New Testament/Christian Scriptures

- and the concern God has for us is not punishment but true caring

- and as we try to learn from Jesus in the New Testament

- we conclude that we have to care for others the way Jesus cared for others


+ Therefore the manner Jesus cared for people is significant because it is an example of the manner we should have

- according to Matthew in this passage, the way Jesus had pity on the crowd was to do two things:

1 – he first of all, taught, and the people learned from him

- that is the way the Christian message began

- we have to continue to learn from his teaching

- that is, to read the New Testament, to know the mind of Jesus Christ

- to prepare ourselves to know Jesus more so that we can care

2 – and he cured

- he got his hands dirty, he worked among the people who needed him

- we are called to work among the people that we are around, whether at work, in the community, in the family

- curing, that is, caring for them means going out of our way for them, trying to help others as much as we can


+ Jesus statement at the end of the passage is not only a plea to have workers who will promote the kingdom of God

The laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.

- it may be a universal plea for more people who care for others.







MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Allegiant" -- final session

OPEN TO THE TRUTH

 

The Gospel


John 7:49-52

Nicodemus, one of their members (the Pharisees) who had come to Jesus earlier, said to them, “Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

Gospelthink: Nicodemus was not afraid to speak on my behalf. Is it clear from my speech that I am a Christian?

Having encountered David, the person in charge of the Bureau of Genetic Welfare, Tris was recognized to be a "pure" Divergent, and was given special treatment in the facility. At first, she was convinced that this Bureau was the answer to the problems in her world. But as Four and the others were taken into the facility and given different assignments, Four discovered that it was not what Tris thought. He finally convinced Tris that they must once again go back to Chicago to try to set things right. They found that David had convinced Evelyn in Chicago to release some debilitating gas on the populace in order to control everyone. Four and Tris found a way to stop the gas and David, but the movie closes with David watching everything that happened, no doubt ready to try to change things as he wanted them.

It is clear from the Gospel of John that Nicodemus the Pharisee was considering the possibility that Jesus was not an enemy of Israel. Nicodemus knew the law of Moses and therefore he knew how his fellow Pharisees were thinking when it came to understanding Jesus. He had begun to wonder about what he considered to be truth. So, he had visited Jesus early on in Jesus's ministry, and now, as he worked as a religious leader of Israel, he knew that he had to pursue the truth.

One of the things that we must remember as we accept something to be true is the possibility that we could be wrong. In the movie "Allegiant," Tris had hoped that the solution to the problems of Chicago was what David showed her in the Bureau of Genetic Welfare. But, with the help of her friend Four, she saw that she was wrong, and was able to correct her thinking. She was open to the truth.

One of the facts of human nature is that we can become convinced of something that is not at all true. And part of maturity is to be able to change when we discover that something in not true. We do not like to do it because it will mean admitting that we were wrong. But the mature person will always be open to the truth, and thus be willing to adjust his/her thinking.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we are convinced that You have spoken the truth to us through Your Son Jesus. Make us always aware of the truth, and give us the grace to follow it in our lives. Be with us, we pray.

 

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT


Theme: Part of the solution to a problem is to continue discerning the solution to find the truth.
      
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 56 minutes)
1. What scene during this session is most striking and why?
2. In the Gospel, why do you think the Pharisees were so disbelieving of Jesus?
3. In general, do you think that most people try to find the truth before they act? Yes or no and why?
4. In particular, do you believe that most people who are in charge of some organization are truthful? Yes or no and why?
5. What is the best way to determine whether something is true or not?
6. Dialogue analysis: Tris--"Everyone is worth saving." Do you believe that all people accept this belief? Yes or no and why?
7. Analysis: As Tris and Four and their friends come back into Chicago, they find chaos because of the warring factions. In your opinion, is it possible to bring about peace without war? Yes or no and why?
8. What does the movie "Allegiant" teach young people?

 

Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America