November 17 

    [media presentation below]

GospelThink

Sunday, November 17, Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

MARK 13:24-32
The End

 

Prayerthoughts

a. What is my feeling about the “end of the world” shows?

 

b. Does the end of my world—my death—scare me?  What can I do better in order to prepare for my death?

 

c. The “abomination of desolation” (spoken of in Mark 13:14) is a reference in the Book of Daniel to the placing of a foreign statue on the altar of sacrifice in the Temple. In my world right now, what are the idols that we pay attention to more than we should?

 

d. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus predicts a “final glory” with Jesus’s coming. When I consider the end of the world or end of my life, do I tend to concentrate on the “scarry” part or on my final acceptance into God’s kingdom?

 

e. The Lord wants us to read the signs of nature with regard to his Second Coming. Do I read the signs of the times I am in order to understand better what is truly happening in our world? And to recognize the God is truly in charge?

 

f. Jesus’s words will not pass away. Have I made the words of Scripture, especially the Gospels, significant in my daily life?

 

g. My prayerthoughts…

 

 

Today, I will read the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 10

and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

 

HOPE IN THE END

 

+ In the religion section of bookstores and libraries

          - there are a number of books like the book named Planet Earth: The Final Chapter by Hal Lindsay or novels of the end time by Tim LeHaye

                    - books which talk of the last days and how close they are to happening and there is a lot of doom and damnation

          - one of the major sources for their material is the prophet Daniel (1st reading)

                    - they picture Daniel

as the work of a 6th century BC prophet who foretold the future, including certain events that they believe will occur in the 21st century

                              - actually, the book was written about 160 BC by an unknown author and it was a message of hope for people during persecution

 

+ Jesus, too, talks about the end time—and he does mean the end of the world

          - but it is always with an idea of hope, not of doom

          - the background of today’s Gospel is that it is being written by the evangelist Mark when the Christian community is being terribly persecuted around 70 AD

                    - Mark recalls that Jesus spoke of such times with hope

          - so even as Mark and his community were suffering, Mark remembers Jesus saying:

          They will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, and he will send out the angels and gather his elect.

          - God is in charge, not any human being, he tells them, and so there is hope

 

+ That is a basic spiritual insight to be lived out: we have hope in our lives because of God’s presence in our world

          - as we consider all of this, the basic question has to be:

                    - have we allowed God’s presence to be real in our lives

                              - or another way of putting the question for us who are Christians: is Christianity as real for us as it should be

          - our problem may be that it is not

                    - and that might be cause for fear about the end of our lives instead of the hope that it should be

 

+ When I taught a faith course to seniors in high school, I asked the question: what does your faith mean to you?

          - one of the answers was like many of them I received

                    - and touched the real problem with Christianity, I believe

          - the author was a young lady who said:

          (I asked her permission to use her words)

          “I don’t have adult faith like you have; you believe in words and laws which people accept and then do nothing about.  They go to Church, receive communion, and they go home and hate and lead hypocritical lives.  My faith is in certain people and sometimes in myself.  I don’t have to go to Church to find it.  It is something I know when it is in my life.  When my father loves me, it is there.  When I fall in love, it is there.  When I’m out in nature, it is there.  It is real and not fake.”

          - some generalizations there, I know, and I don’t agree with her completely

                    - but I know she really felt those words, especially when I knew that she and her Dad were having a difficult time at that point in their lives

          - young people can be very critical of church-goers because often they feel that you and I are not living out what we say in here

 

+ You and I profess a faith that has as its basis a hope that should direct everything we do

          - we live in hope: God is in charge of our world, and God will come at the end of our lives either at death or the end of the world to choose us as his “elect”

                    - such a belief ought to have a profound effect on everything we do from the way that we worship in here to the way that we live out there

 

+ The end of the world, the end of our lives in death is not something to be feared for the Christian

          - even the idea of the end of all things is hopeful

                    - the message of Christianity is that we are going to win, no matter what

                              - but we have to live it first.




MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Sunroof" -- Nicky Youre

MORE THAN A SUNSHINE



 

The Gospel

MATTHEW 2:9b-12

And behold, the star that [the magi] had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.   

Gospelthink: The Magi offered their gifts to me. Do I offer the gifts and talents I have to others? 

"I got my head out the sunroof, I'm blastin' our favorite tunes, I only got one thing on my mind, you got me stuck on the thought of you, you're making me feel brand new, you're more than a sunshine in my eyes. We driving down the freeway at night, I'm feeling like this might be the time to shine with you." 

What are the things that make us feel good about life? There are probably many answers, some very simple, some quite profound. The magi of Matthew's Gospel were looking for something. They themselves probably did not quite understand what it was, but they sensed that the something was a person who may have been some type of royalty. When they discovered Jesus and offered him their gifts fit for a king, they felt overjoyed because they realized that he was indeed a king. But, much deeper than that, as they prostrated themselves before him, they understood that he was someone who ultimately would help their world.

The popular songs of our day often give answers to the question of what makes us feel good. Nicky Youre sings a common answer as he sings the thought of what being together feels like. He is enjoying the presence of another as they travel down the highway in their car. 

Enjoying each other's presence is certainly something that makes us feel good about life. But, even as we enjoy the feeling, we often sense that there is so much more to really feeling good. It not only has something to do with each other; it has something to do with our deeper lives. We need something that can make us feel good about life in a permanent way that is more than a passing emotion.

Christians have always believed the feeling that the magi discovered. The person of Jesus Christ and what he stood for can direct us to true happiness. It is the ultimate answer to what can make us feel good about life.  

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we know in faith that your Son can make us feel good about life, even as we enjoy ourselves in this world that you created. Help us turn to him more by studying his actions and learning from his words. Be with us, we pray.


+++++


GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: There are some things in life that make us feel good all the time.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Sunroof" teach young people?
2. The Gospel passage speaks of being "overjoyed." What are the things in our world that make people "overjoyed"?
3. In your opinion, what do the three gifts of the magi represent? 
4. What are the top 5 things that make us feel good?
5. It seems that one of the actions suggested by the magi story in Matthew's Gospel is that of paying homage to Jesus because he is God. In your opinion, do most people honor God well in their lives? Yes or no and why?
6. The meditation suggests that we should think of our "deeper lives." In your opinion, what does this consist of? Why?
7. In your opinion, have most Christians truly accepted all the principles of Jesus Christ? Yes or no and why?

 

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America