june 9

June 9

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, June 9

MATTHEW 5:13-16

Salt and Light

Prayerthoughts

a. Jesus tells me that I am salt, the means to make others feel good about themselves and giving the ingredient of sincere faith to them. When I study how I interact with others, in general, am I person that wants to help them in some way?

b. He also calls me the light of the world. I am not the light that Jesus was, of course, but what is the principal message that I am giving others by the life that I am leading?

c. I give light to everyone I meet, whether I am thinking of it or not. Do I include in my prayers the people that I only incidentally meet?

d. Jesus calls attention to my deeds, and making sure they are “good.” As I study my actions yesterday, would they be called “good” or “not so good.

e. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read 1 Kings 17:7-16 and write an important thought from it.

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Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

SALT AND LIGHT TO THE WORLD

+ In the story of the Hebrew Scriptures, God tells Elijah to go to a non-Jewish town where the pagan god Baal is worshipped

- and God brings about a miracle on behalf of a non-Jew (that later on Jesus would refer to in his teaching)

- primarily because of the person’s goodness to Elijah

+ Bringing about good is the subject of the second introduction to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel

- the first introduction was a listing of the “Beatitudes,” a general portrait of life for the believer in Jesus Christ

- here as Matthew has Jesus present his moral doctrine,

- he calls the believer in Jesus a person who is like salt for the earth

- salt is both a spice and a preservative

- that is, the believer is a person who adds the spice of goodness to everything that person does

- and then, he calls the believer in Jesus a person who is like a light for others to see in order to learn to be good

+ A couple of things can be said for our meditation here:

- 1 – it is the believer who is salt and light

- not just those who might be called “religious” like a priest or religious sister

- Matthew and Jesus are talking about everyone of us here

- 2 – the end result of our spiritual lives should be the same as the widow in Sidon: bringing about something good

- goodness to a world that desperately needs it in spite of the consequences to ourselves

- as Jesus says: bring about goodness and praise of God

- the second introduction to the Sermon on the Mount is plain and simple the statement that you and I are called to be good people in every circumstance

+ You and I are called to be salt and light for this earth

- will we be able to accomplish that in light of what we are doing with our lives now?

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Gravity" -- final session

NEVER GIVE UP ON LIFE

The Gospel

MARK 2:1-5

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”

Gospelthink: I desire you to have faith in what I can do. Am I showing enough faith in my actions throughout the day?

At one particular moment as she tried to stay alive, Dr. Ryan Stone in the movie "Gravity" realized that what she thought would save her life, did not work. Even though she had determined that she would not give up, she saw no way out of her predicament. Deliberately turning down her oxygen supply, she knew that she would die by falling into a deep sleep. At the last minute, she had a vision of her fellow astronaut, Matt Kowalski who had died earlier. Asking her the vital question of whether she wanted to live or die, she began to understand that she could indeed find a way to help herself, and as she would say through the final crises that she faced, she would not quit.

Like the houses themselves, the porches to the houses in Jesus's time were nothing elaborate. Those porches were more or less bunches of branches loosely laced together that could protect from the weather in some way. At one time, Jesus was preaching on the porch of one of his listeners. Not able to reach him, the bearers of a stretcher on whom was a paralyzed person refused to give up their task of helping the paralytic. They removed the branches and allowed Jesus to attend to the needs of the person. Jesus rewarded their persistence.

Being persistent about getting close to Jesus is a relatively common thought in the Gospels. The more people thought that Jesus was close to God, the more they were determined to know him. Their cause was good, and they were committed to follow through in every way they could.

Finally understanding that her life was important and that she still had the possibility of saving herself, Dr. Ryan Stone in the movie "Gravity" became committed to the life that she still possessed. As the vision of her fellow astronaut challenged her to choose either life or death, she chose to be persistent in her pursuit of life, no matter what the circumstances.

When the cause is good, the Christian is called to be persistent in carrying it out. The foundation of all morality is the importance of the human person, beginning with ourselves, and extending to all people. Consequently, sustaining our lives is certainly a good cause. It calls for us to truly love the "self" we possess not in a selfish way, but with the conviction that our lives are worth our efforts.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, there are times when we want to give up on life, maybe not in a physical way, but simply refuse to keep trying to be better than we are. Give us the grace to understand how important life is, and help us always to be committed to living it as best we can. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Committed people will never stop trying to sustain their own lives.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 43 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. In the Gospel, the bearers were persistent in carrying out their task. Name another place in the Gospels in which we see the virtue of "persistence."
3.. In the spiritual life today, how do we get "close" to Jesus?
4. What can you do to help someone who threatens suicide?
5. What is the difference between true love of self and selfish love?
6. Analysis: Dr. Stone says that she never prayed in her life, but she did when she thought that her life was ended. In your opinion, do most people believe in the power of prayer? Yes or no and why?
7. Dialogue analysis: Stone says that "she's ready." What is the best way to prepare for our deaths?
8. Dialogue analysis: Stone says "Thank you" at the end of the movie, presumably thanking God. Do you think that she would choose to have God back in her life after the ordeal? Yes or no and why?
9. What does the movie "Gravity" teach young people?