TGiMMhotline

November 11

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, November 11

LUKE 17:7-10

I give you my idea of being a servant to all.

Prayerthoughts
a. The Lord spends some time with the idea of being a servant, a person who waits on others. As I interact with others, do I interact with them as with the thought that I am their servant?

b. As I think of the calling to be a servant, what are three main characteristics that a true servant should have?

c. Do I honestly feel that those around me are more important than I am?

d. How does pride enter into my life right now?

e. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read Wisdom 2:23–3:9 and write and important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

BEING A SERVANT

+ One of the Christian characteristics that we should be developing is the idea of servant-hood

- Jesus says in today’s Gospel that that is what we are called to do

- be servants of others

We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.

- what is a servant?

- someone who subjects his/her will to another with true humility

- to God for sure, following God’s directives through Jesus

- but also to one another

- in fact, that is the whole point of Jesus’s story in the Gospel

- his listeners knew what servants were

- they knew that the richer people among them had servants who waited on their masters

- they knew the point of Jesus’s story: you have to spend time serving other people, simply because it is one’s duty as a follower of his

+ And so the question is formulated by the liturgy today: what kind of a servant are you, am I?

- are we the type of people who want to work for others, who want to help them

- or are we the type of people who expect things from others, from our families, from our friends

- it is a subtle mind-set to develop

- because it produces a Christian attitude of behavior—either we will want others to take care of us or we will want to help and serve others

+ The book of Wisdom says that peace awaits the just person, and one of the marks of the just person is that he/she has learned the value of being a servant to others.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: “Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter

THAT’S ME: ESPRESSO!

The Gospel

LUKE 24:32-35

Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Gospelthink: The disciples on the road away from Jerusalem came back full of confidence in the Lord.

"Now, he’s thinking ‘bout me every night:I is it that sweet? I guess so. Say you can’t sleep; I know that’s me: espresso. I can’t relate to desperation. My give a cares are on vacation, and I got this one boy and he won’t stop calling. When they act this way, I know I got ‘em. Too bad your ex con’t do it for ya. Walked in and dream came trued it for ya. Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya. I know I Mountain Dew it for ya. That morning coffee brewed it for ya. One touch and I brand newed it for ya. That’s me: espresso.” [lyrics adjusted]

It finally dawned on the disciples on the way to Emmaus who this Jesus was and what they had to do, moving them to action. They gave up what they were going to do and went back to Jerusalem, symbolically saying that they “turned around” and were accepting Jesus and his way. They became confident that this Jesus was the one to choose as a guide and follow. Self-confidence is immensely important as one lives his/her lives. The disciples on the road to Emmaus gained it as they understood their situation on that Resurrection Day.

Sabrina Carpenter talks of self-confidence in her song “Espresso.” She said of the song: “The song is kind of about seeing femininity as your superpower and embacing the confidence of being that lady.” She actually used another word for “lady,” the “b” word that symbolizes a certain hostility toward those who would disagree with her.

According to our dictionary, self-confidence is a positive attitude and belief in oneself and one’s abilities. It means accepting and trusting oneself and having a sense of control in one’s life. It enables one to express one’s knowledge and opinion freely and to face life’s challenges and opportunities.

Sabrina Carpenter’s song “Espresso” says that, showing her fiancé what she has done for him, altering the English language somewhat by using nouns as verbs. It means that she is the espresso and therefore the one totally in charge, able to understand herself in a positive way and see herself as one who is on top of what happens.

We are probably not as self-confident as to have our friends say that we are the espresso to the world around us, but it is a necessary virtue to have. The more confident we become of our own abilities, the more we will find ways to make a relationship work.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, You inspired people to be confident as they believed in Your Son. Give us the grace to see that we must develop self-confidence in such a way as to function as a complete human being, even as we respect others. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme:
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Espresso" teach young people?

2. What is most striking about the Emmaus story?

3. Why would the lady in the song show “hostility” toward her fiancé?

4. Why is “self-confidence” necessary in a love situation?

5. Granted that we must have confidence in ourselves, but can we be over-confident? Yes or no and why?

6. What happens in a love situation when one of the couple do not have confidence in herself/himself?