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March 31

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday of Holy Week

JOHN 13:21-33,36-38

His apostles did not understand what would happen to him.

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus was deeply troubled, a very human quality. He was deeply troubled because of Judas. As I study my life, is there anything that I am doing that might deeply trouble our Lord?

b. The evangelist John does not say who “the disciple whom Jesus loved” is. In what ways can I claim to be in a spiritual sense a disciple whom Jesus loves?

c. I will not formally deny Jesus, of course, but there may be little things in my life right now in which there is some type of betrayal of Jesus. What would they be?

d. Judas took the morsel. Judas received from Jesus as I have. For what should I be most thankful?

e. It was night, a symbol of the darkness that John the evangelist felt at this time. There are many examples of “darkness” in our world. What causes me the most concern at the present time?

f. Not only did Judas betray the Lord, but so did Peter in his denial as Jesus predicted. What are some small faults that I should correct at this time?

g. My prayerthoughts…

Today I will read Isaiah 49:1-6 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

OUR OWN BETRAYALS AND DENIALS

+ The second servant song of Yahweh from Isaiah which is the first reading today, speaks of the Messiah as the light of the nations and whose salvation reaches to the ends of the earth, and therefore that all should be gathered to him

- but that Messiah had to undergo humiliation and betrayal by people closest to him

- both today’s Gospel and tomorrow’s Gospel recalls the betrayal of Judas

+ Today’s Gospel brings to mind not only the betrayal of Judas but the denial of Peter

- it is important for us, I believe, to identify with those actions

- not so much because we will actually do any formal denying of Jesus

- but we can identify with the very humanness of the situation

+ We have two people here who knew Jesus very well

- they had watched him perform miracles

- they had heard him teach the people

- they had watched him touch people’s lives in a unique way

- they had even been given power to do the same

- and they still deny him

+ You and I are believing Catholic Christians

- likewise we have seen the Lord’s actions in our lives and in the lives of others

- but there is still the possibility of denial or betrayal

- maybe, again not with any formal denying of Jesus

- but there can easily be some forgetting about Jesus and what he taught

- as seen in the way that we go about our lives

- and in particular, the type of attitude we present to the world

- our attitude should be a Christian attitude and our betrayal or denial is going to come in the small things of forgetting what Jesus should mean to us

- we forget about his message of forgiveness

- we forget about his message of not holding grudges

- we forget about his message of true love of all

+ Our spiritual lives will grow if we manage to keep the Christian attitude at all times.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "A Man Called Otto" -- beginning session

THE EFFECTS OF PAIN

The Gospel

MARK 5:22-23

One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live."

Gospelthink: People who were desparate came to me.

The main character of the movie "A Man Called Otto" is Otto Anderson, a retired steel worker who recently had lost his wife Sonja to cancer. He was devistated by her death. She had been the glue that kept him and the marriage alive. They had no children because of an accident early in their lives. His personality was one whereby he would do things in a particular way and who generally did not care about others. He became even more eccentric after his wife died, calling the people "idiots" if they did not do what he thought they should do. Otto thought that the only way to work with his feelings was to join Sonja in eternity. Consequently, he tried to commit suicide three different times in three different ways. He never succeeded, but in general remained a distraught person who could only be unhappy most of his life.

The fact of death in family was just as difficult in the time of Jesus, perhaps even more so than it is now. And so, one can understand the feeling of Jairus in the Gospel account as he sought the help of Jesus for his dead daughter. He was beside himself with sorrow, and he approaches Jesus with that thought in mind. If Jesus could not help him, he no doubt would turn to despair.

Today, we have so many ways to "prolong" our lives, and usually death comes to an older person after some years of "preparing" for it in some way. However, if it is unexpected as the result of a disease that we have no cure for, like cancer, it can be as devastating as any sudden death. Such was Otto Anderson's "problem" in the movie named after him. His love and dependence on his wife Sonja was extensive, and when he lost her to cancer, he became completely irretable, unable to function as a worthwhile human being. The beauty of the movie lies in the fact that the people of his life were able to bring him out of his sickness.

The movie clearly shows what happens when the sickness of the loss of someone completely overcomes a person. The person simply gives up on life and easily accepts the possibility of relief of the pain by suicide.

Jesus understood the feelings of Jairus because he was able to "feel with"--show compassion for--his pain. The conclusion of the Gospel story for Jairus was nothing less than the complete return of his daughter. His daughter would eventually die of course, but Jesus's thought at that moment in time with Jairus was that he should have his daughter a little longer, for his sake.

The follower of Jesus should pay attention to the thought of Jesus here. The Christian will not be able to bring the dead back to life, of course, but she/he can at least learn to feel the pain of another, and as far as possible help the person who is hurting. The people in Otto Anderson's life did not bring Sonja back, but they helped Otto in such a way that he could function without her.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, there are many ways in which human beings feel the pains of life. As you know, they have a profound effect on us. Help us be the type of people in life who discover the pain another feels and attempts to do something about it. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: The death of someone close to us is difficult to deal with, and can lead one to despair.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 63 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. How should a Christian act toward a thoroughly negative person if the person does not know the negative person very well?
3. How should a Christian act toward a thoroughly negative person if the person does know the negative person well?
4. What is the best way to prepare for death?
5. What can a person do if his/her best friend threatens to commit suicide?
6. [personal question] Who are the people in my life with whom I should show more compassion?
7. In your opinion, do most Christians show as much compassion as they should?