december3

March 16

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Sunday, March 16, Second Sunday of Lent

LUKE 9:28b-36

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Prayerthoughts

a. There are certain times during Jesus’ human life when his divinity “shines through” and the Transfiguration is one of them. In my life, where do I see the Lord’s presence most of all?

b. Elijah symbolizes all the prophets. In my life right now, where do I most need to be guided to do better?

c. Moses symbolizes the law. Which directive of Jesus is most important to me at the present time?

d. “It is good that we are here.” Jesus’s saying should encompass everything we do on earth. Do I have a positive attitude toward life?

e. How can I be more positive right now?

f. They became frightened. When we truly sense the Lord’s presence in our lives, it can truly be incredible. In what area of my life do I most sense the Lord’s presence?

g. “Listen to him.” This is one of the five or six most important directives from God in my life. Do I truly “listen,” that is, not only “hear” but desire to follow the Lord’s directives in every way?

h. My prayerthoughts…

Today I will read Philippians, chapter 3, and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

IT IS GOOD THAT WE ARE HERE

+ The man finally made it up to the airline counter ticket agent

the agent looked at him and pleasantly asked, “how are you today?”

- the man suddenly grew tense, became quite angry, it seemed, and said:

“I’ve been waiting here for 45 minutes when I know my plane is leaving 30 minutes from now. The cab I took to the airport cost me $10 more than it should have. My wife told me that if I have to go on one more business trip this month, she may not be there when I get home, my kids asked me who I was when I got home last night, and I have to go to a meeting where the company is firing our firm because we didn’t care enough about them, ... and you have the nerve to ask me how I am!”

- then he paused, smiled and said, “I’m fine, how are you?”

+ Sometimes I am tempted to do something like that when someone asks “How are you?”

- we often say things are fine when the fact of the matter is that they are not fine

- in that vein, we are led to question Peter’s statement in the Gospel about how it was

- Peter said: “Master, it is good that we are here”

- he said that even though he was not sure about this Jesus in the first place, and suddenly Jesus is obviously not behaving normally

- two people appear whom he somehow realizes are Elijah who had gone off into the skies 600 years before, and Moses who had been dead for a thousand years

- he hears a voice from a cloud which is suddenly coming over them…

…and he says it is good to be there

- as I say, we might wonder about his statement

- in fact, Mark the evangelist in his rendition of this Gospel says that Peter made the statement, but that he and the Apostles were “terrified.”

+ Peter’s statement is a good one to dwell on: “Lord, it is good that we are here.”

- every psychology book in the world will say that we must learn to be happy in our state of life--wherever we are--

- or else we are in for ulcers, a bad disposition, and generally one miserable life

+ I believe that as a Christian--simply because we are Christian--we should be able to say such a statement every moment of our lives

- first of all, God has given us life,

- and now God through Jesus has given us eternal life

- and even right now before the bliss of eternal life, even in the worst of all scenarios, at least we have life and the Holy Spirit continues to work for us

- the spirituality of Christianity is thoroughly positive even as negatives happen

- we can say the words that were found on one of the walls of the Dachau concentration camp: “I believe in the sun even when it isn’t shining.”

- just as Paul reminds the Philippians in the second reading: “Our citizenship is in heaven.”

- so, it is with true conviction that we should be able to say, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.”

+ But there are some things that block our acceptance of that statement

- one of those major blocks is what I call the “if only’s”

- if only I had been born into money, or in Arizona or in Southern California

- if only I had more time

- if only I had been a little smarter

- if only I had just a couple more breaks

- if only I could win the lottery

- if only I could have a better job

- if only things had not worked out the way they did

- if only my health could be a little better

- many keep saying “if only” and never see what they have right now

- and therefore their approach to life becomes essentially negative

+ If we truly believe in God, we believe that it IS good for us to be here—right here: this Church, this time, this life, this situation, these circumstances

- yes, we can try to make it better, but we have life

- and life easily gives rise to the statement: “I’m fine, how are you.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

"Flowers" -- Miley Cyrus
LOVING ONESELF

The Gospel

MATTHEW 26:69-75

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about!” As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazorean.” Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man!” A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away.” At that he began to curse and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately a cock crowed. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly.

Gospelthink: Peter was a human being who was too concerned about himself and therefore denied that he knew me.

"We were good, we were gold, we were right till we weren’t; built a home and watched it burn. I didn’t wanna leave you, I didn’t wanna lie, started to cry; but then remembered I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, talk to myself for hours, say things you don’t understand. I can take myself dancing and I can hold my own hand. Yeah, I can love me better than you can.”

Peter's denial of Jesus is well-known in Christian circles. He had boldly proclaimed to Jesus that he would never deny him, but in a moment of weakness, he did deny him, as Jesus had predicted that he would. There were no doubt many reasons why Peter made the promise originally, but perhaps the principal one was his over-confidence in himself, believing that he would never do such a thing. The problem with over-confidence is that we lose sight of who we are, and we tend to exaggerate our abilities. It is nothing more than selfishness.

Bragging about being self-sufficient is in the same category as being over-confident. A person who is self-sufficient can be a good or bad thing. In the same way that being confident can be good or bad. The lady in Miley Cyrus's song "Flowers" has been hurt in a love relationship and therefore argues that she must become self-sufficient in her life. Such a conclusion is very good because we must become confident in what we can do, but it could be something that will hurt her in the long run if she becomes too over-confident in her need for love and therefore neglects others.

There is an important lesson here for the Christian as well as the person interested in romantic love. Being self-confident and self-sufficient is often the single ingredient that distinguishes a successful person from someone less successful. But being too concerned about oneself always allows for selfishness to enter into one's thinking. We tend to think that we can do anything, so to speak, and actually begin to speak and act with such thinking. It lends itself to self-deception and loss of friendship because people cannot tolerate selfishness.

The remedy to over-confidence is objectivity. We must be aware of our human natures, and the selfishness that we all quite naturally possess. We want to always look good in other's minds, and we tend to think the very best of ourselves. But we must always remember our humanness, and be careful when we make statements that may be nothing more than self-serving.

Peter made that mistake in his relationship with Jesus. The person in Miley Cyrus's song might be making the same mistake.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we want to be confident in our thinking and consider ourselves self-sufficient, but because of our human natures, we tend to be over-confident at times. Give us the grace to know our abilities and the humility to admit our shortcomings. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Being self-sufficient is good, but it can lead to selfishness which is bad.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Flowers" teach young people?
2. When Judas realized he had betrayed Jesus, he killed himself. In your opinion, why did Peter not do harm to himself?
3. How would you define "self-sufficient"?
4. As you study the song, is the person in song being selfish or becoming self-sufficient?
5. What is your definition of "selfishness?
6. What does it mean to be "objective"?