LUKE 24:21-24

[The two disciples on the way to Emmaus said to him:] "We were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us; they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see."  

Gospelthink: The disciples listen to me explain what they hoped for. Do I place my hope in the Lord as much as I should?

As the movie "When the Game Stands Tall" begins, the football program of De La Salle High School in Concord, California was looking for its 151st straight win. It was the longest streak of wins for any high school football program in the United States. The movie is based on a true story of Jim Ladouceur, the inspirational coach of the team. He was motivated not by winning, but by teaching his players how to live, and using the game of football to do it. He taught them about truth, love and especially brotherhood. It seemed as though everything would continue to work out well, and indeed it did. But there was failure also. At one very difficult moment for Coach Ladouceur in the movie, he described himself as being "lost," not knowing what to do. But he was able to withstand the pain, and as he said, move on, trust in the generosity of God, and do the best that he could given the circumstances of life.

The evangelist Luke records at the end of his Gospel that two disciples of Jesus were "lost" and had felt failure. They had hoped that this Jesus would be the One, the One who would be able to assure them of heaven, the One who could help them in their lives. But now after three full days, they had heard nothing of him, and not only that, the women who had gone to the tomb said he was not there. They were "lost" in the sense that they did not know what to do. It seemed to them that everything that they had hoped for was a failure.

Of course, we know that the disciples finally discovered that this stranger with whom they were walking was indeed Jesus, and they were so overcome with joy that they turned around and walked back to Jerusalem. They may have been lost for a while and had felt like failures, but their feeling quickly turned to happiness, much of it arising from the fact of the failure itself.

The pattern of life can be looked at in a very negative way – hoping for something, not getting it, and then complete despair. Too many people look at life exactly that way. But life for a Christian is not that at all. Just because there is "failure" or the "feeling of being lost," does not mean that life is no good. Coach Jim Ladouceur's whole philosophy was that in life if one prepares the correct way, life will always be good. In fact, the failure itself becomes part of the "good" that happens. If a person was able to learn it, the failure of "being lost" will make that person a better person.  

One of the most important of all leadership principles is that a true leader will be able to behave well when there is failure. In our own lives, there will be negative moments, moments of feeling "lost," maybe even failure, but for the Christian, even the failure itself will be seen as part of the "good" of life. The disciples of Jesus finally discovered it; Jim Ladouceur instilled it in his football program.  

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, perhaps the moment that defines what kind of a person we are is how we act in the midst of our failures in life. Help us learn the lesson of Your Son to understand that the negative moments can always lead us to true maturity. Be with us, we pray. 

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: What defines a person may be how a person behaves when there is failure.
 
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 59 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. In the Gospel, the two disciples discovered that Jesus was truly with them. What are the ways in which we discover the presence of the Lord more in our lives?
3. In what way did the "failure" of their hopes lead the disciples to understand the truth?
4. What can one do for someone who is feeling very badly about some situation?
5. What are some other leadership principles?
6. Analysis: Why has "winning" becomes so important in sports?
7. Scene analysis: The coach has each Senior player write a personal commitment card. What is the reason why this is such a good practice?
8. Scene analysis: Coach Ladouceur's stroke. In what ways did good come out of this?
9. Analysis: T.K.'s death. In what ways did good come out of this?
10. Scene analysis: The loss to Belleview. In what ways did good come of this?  

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America