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November 13

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Thursday, November 13

LUKE 17:20-25
How are you preparing for the end of the world?

Prayerthoughts

a. With the Pharisees, we sometimes wonder when the end of the world will come. The Lord gives no answer because it is not important. What is the most important thing that I do with my life during my time now?

b. The Kingdom is growing within and around us: we are part of the Kingdom right now. In what ways do2 I sense that the Kingdom is among us?

c. There are times in our world when things are not going well and we long for an answer such as the coming of the end of the world. I must learn to be more positive in my approach even when things are not good, always turning to God in prayer.

d. We believe that the Lord will indeed come either at the end of earth's time or at the end of our lives. If the Lord would come right now, am I properly prepared?

e. The Lord knows that he will suffer greatly and people will reject him. It certainly happened in his lifetime, and he continues to suffer in the peoples who suffer in our world. It is a good time to pray for those in our world who are suffering from persecution and hatred.

f. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read Wisdom 7:22b—8:1 and write an important thought from it.

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Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE WISDOM OF THE KINGDOM

+ Human beings have a tendency to want to know what the future will bring

- it might not be good for us to know, but that doesn’t diminish the desire

- especially we want to know the future where we are concerned

- and so the Pharisees here—as they listen to Jesus talk of the Kingdom of God, something that concerns them as religious leaders—they want to know when the Kingdom of God will come

- and Jesus’ response is basically critical of the Pharisees

- they did not recognize what Jesus was doing

- and so he has to tell them that he—Jesus—is bringing about that Kingdom here and now

- then Jesus goes on to talk of eschatology, the end times, with some insights that will come out in these daily Gospel readings in the future as we move into the final weeks of the Church year and as we begin Advent

+ I believe a good fact to meditate on for a spiritual person who wants to improve his/her life from this reading is the fact that the Kingdom of God is already in our midst

- it has some Scriptural difficulties, and is understood differently by scholars,

- but I believe that it is a good statement to take at face value

- the Lord is alive and well in our world:

- he is risen from the dead, he reigns over us

- we should both accept it and allow it to do something to us

- and therefore, there are a number of conclusions about the way we should live as spiritual people

+ The Book of Wisdom lists exactly what those conclusions are:

- the spiritual person will be a person of wisdom whose characteristics are “intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, certain, not baneful, loving the good, keen, unhampered, beneficent, kindly, firm, secure, tranquil, all powerful, all seeing, pervading all spirits”

- obviously, you and I are not quite there yet with these high qualities of wisdom,

- but the idea of the spiritual life is that we are moving that direction

- that is, we really want to be people of wisdom

- and although we may not be able to fully achieve it right now, we want it to happen, and we are trying to make it happen

+ Therefore, as followers of Jesus, part of our constant meditation must revolve around what true wisdom is and how to move ourselves to get it

- the Kingdom of God is in our midst and as believers in that Kingdom, we should be moving toward wisdom.

+ It might be good sometime during the day today to study the list of wisdom characteristics and see where we are with them.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Something Just Like This" -- The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay

SOMEBODY WE CAN TURN TO

The Gospel

LUKE 23:39-43

At Jesus’s crucifixion, one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Gospelthink: Even on the cross, Jesus was thinking of those who repented. Have I sufficiently expressed my sorrow for the sins I have committed?

The lady in the relationship says, “Where d’you wanna go? How much you wanna risk? And the man in the relationship sings: “I’m not looking for somebody with superhuman gifts, some superhero, some fairytale bliss, just something I can turn to, somebody I can kiss. I want something just like this."

What do we turn to in life? What are the rock solid things that we can trust. Sometimes it is a friend such as in the song "Something Just Like This," but as they sing, it has to be something that is real—not just a fairy tale or something that is false or fake. In the world of human relationships, it is often another person. In the spiritual world, it is the whole thought of God and the presence of God in our lives. The man who was crucified with Jesus knew that his life had not been a very good one. He had followed the wrong guide, and so he turned to the one person in his life that was to bring him happiness.

The important thing, perhaps, is that we have that Someone or something that is rock solid, that is something we can turn to, somebody that we can miss. We need the help of others or Other—capital O—to make it in the world that we live in. We are not meant to be alone, although sometimes we have to be alone with ourselves to do some serious thinking.

But the point is a personal one: who or what should we turn to to help us as we go through our lives. Christians have chosen to accept Jesus as the guide, the same one that the condemned man turned to on Calvary's hill. Christians will say that they have turned to Jesus with their words and even actions as they go to Mass, but the question is deeper. Has the Christian made Jesus the person that they honestly turn to as their sole resource in life?

You and I are Christian. We say we follow the Lord. We must look at the intensity of the good thief on Calvary, and ask ourselves whether we have the same strong desire to accept the Lord as he did.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we have placed our trust in you as our guide. You are the person that we turn to in times of trouble and despair. Give us the grace to always make you the guide that we need in our lives. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: God must be the guide of our lives.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. The presenter may want to explain the "Kingdom of Jesus." (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 543-556).
2. What are the worst crimes that are committed in our world? Is the death penalty for condemned people a good way of preventing them? Yes or no and why?
3. Who or what do most people choose as a guide in their lives?
4. Do you agree with the meditation when it says that we are not meant to be alone? Yes or no and why?
5. Do you think that most Christians have chosen Jesus completely in their lives?
6. In your opinion, what does it mean to have a strong desire to follow Jesus?
7. What does the song "Something Just Like This" teach young people?