June 3

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Wednesday, June 3

MARK 12:18-27

After Death

Prayerthoughts

a. Quoting Deuteronomy 25:5, the Sadducees speak against the resurrection of the dead. Obviously, I believe in life that is eternal. Do I think of my death in such a way as to prepare well for it?

b. The religious leaders speak in a “flippant” way about marriage. If I am married, is my relationship with my spouse a good one? How can it be improved? If I am not married, am I treating everyone with the respect they deserve?

c. Jesus uses the word “misled.” Do I consider the real possibility that I could be misled in my strong beliefs? Am I willing to question myself in a strong reflective way in order to find the truth?

d. Jesus says that we will be like angels in heaven. In your opinion, what does that me and why?

e. Jesus reminds his inquirers that God IS and that God will ALWAYS be. In what areas do I see God most at work in my life and in the world?

f. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read 2 Timothy 1:1-3,6-12 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE GIFT OF GOD

+ In Paul’s letter to Timothy in the first reading, Paul reminds Timothy that he was made a Bishop by him

- and directs him to “stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.”

- that is as good a directive as there is for a Bishop

- and it is for us as well--

- you and I are called to stir into flame the gift of God that God has given to us—our spiritual lives

- what does that stirring into flame consist of?

+ From the liturgy today, there are a couple of things to consider:

- first, from a negative point of view—as we stir into flame the gift of God, we have to keep ourselves from being misled

- Jesus speaking to the Sadducees in the Gospel calls them “misled” because they did not believe in the resurrection of the body

- but further, Jesus says that they do not believe in the resurrection of the body because they did not know the Scriptures or the power of God

- one of the things that can lead us to be misled in the spiritual life is ignorance of what Jesus says in the Scriptures and especially the Gospels

- if we are to make any progress in the spiritual life, this gift of God, we have to read those Scriptures and the Gospels every day

+ Secondly, coming from Paul’s words to Timothy, we stir into flame the gift of God by the courage of our conviction

- Paul says: “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather of power and love and self-control”

- that is, we have to develop the courage to be Christians

- not so much in a way that will cause martyrdom as it did in the early Church,

- but courage in the day-to-day living described by Paul as the spirit of power and love and self-control

- we stir into flame the gift of God by the courage of day-to-day spiritual living

- calling on the power of God to help us in the daily problems that we have

- showing true love in the circumstances in which we find ourselves

- practicing self-control when we don’t agree with the things that go on around us

+ If we want to grow in the spiritual life, we have to work on it

- or as Paul puts it, to stir into flame the gift of God

- and we can do that, by making sure that we are not misled by staying close to the Gospels and Scriptures, reading them daily

- and by showing the courage of day-to-day Christianity, making Christianity not only a belief, but a way of life.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Demons" -- Imagine Dragons

I CAN'T ESCAPE...UNLESS

The Gospel

MATTHEW 17:14-21

MATTHEW 17:14-21

When they came to the crowd a man approached, knelt down before Jesus, and said, “Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Jesus said in reply, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you. Bring him here to me.” Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured. Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there, and it will move.’ Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Gospelthink: You must become a person of faith in me. Do I show my belief in the Lord in my life?

"When the days are cold, and the cards all fold and the saints we see are all made of gold, when your dreams all fail, and the ones we hail are the worst of all, no matter what we breed, we still are made of greed. When you feel my heat, look into my eyes: it’s where my demons hide. Don’t get too close, it’s dark inside. Your eyes, they shine so bright. I wanna save that light. I can't escape this now unless you show me how."

The song "Demons" by the group Imagine Dragons is a dark song. They sing of the demons that are within us, the demons that hurt and cause pain, the demons that make us feel useless, the demons that lead us to despair. The excellent video names some of those demons to be the feeling of loss, the feeling of despair over how we look, the horror of abuse, and the horror of war. We want to hide from the pain, and sometimes hurt ourselves just to relieve the mental pain. The demons conquer by making the person feel that there is no way to win. The group sings the thoughts of the man or woman in despair, "I can't escape this now."

But there is light in the song. The group sings of hope because the person in the song also realizes that there is help--you, they sing, whoever "you" may be--you can show me how to conquer those demons. The song becomes a cry for help. It could be a prayer to God, or a note to a friend, or a plea to someone capable of helping.

In the Gospels, Jesus controls every demon he faces. He expels them by the power of faith, telling his disciples that they can do the same. In Jesus's mind, demons have no power over a faithful person. People of faith will understand that they will win the battle over demons every time because they have the help of God or others.

The demons of our lives--the depression, the desire to give up, the mental pain--are real and are part of every one of our lives in one way or another. The point of the song is the same as that of the Gospel: there is a solution. We can work with the pain, we can understand that the demons are there in our lives, and we can work against them. We may not be able to conquer them completely, but we will conquer when we have the help, help from our God however we understand God, or from friends or parents or concerned people who will help us.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son conquered the demons that he encountered on earth. We ask for the same grace. Give us the desire to follow your Son completely so that we can overcome the demons that are part of our lives. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: There are demons within us, but we can overcome them when we accept some help.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. In the Gospel, Matthew concentrates on the faith of the apostles. What is your definition of faith? See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 156-165.
2. Text analysis: "The saints we see all turn to gold." What is the meaning of the phrase?
3. Obtain a copy of the excellent video to the song, discussing what is most striking about the video.
4. What are the most common demons that bother us in life?
5. Give your definition of a "person of faith."
6. What does the song "Demons" teach young people?