November 28

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Friday, November 28

LUKE 21:29-33

Know for certain that these things will come to pass, and my words will last forever.

Prayerthoughts
a. The Lord goes to nature in order to talk about eternal life., and in particular, trees here. Do I have a proper reverence for nature and what God has created? Perhaps a prayer of thanksgiving for creation is in order here.

b. The Lord points out that if people can read the signs in nature, they should be able to the signs of the coming of spiritual happenings (i.e. The Kingdom of God). Am I developing a strong spiritual life as I live my life?

c. "This generation" can refer to the generation as Jesus was speaking, thinking of "these things" to be the Jewish revolt which happened between 66 and 70 AD or a timeless reference to the end of the world which is always imminent. What is the best way for me to prepare for my death?

d. The Lord's words will never pass away. Do I read from the Scriptures as often as I should?

e. As I read those Scriptures, what are the most important words spoken to me in particular?

f. My prayerthoughts…

Today I will read Daniel 7:2-14 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS HERE

+ If one were to ask what the central doctrine of Jesus in the Scriptures would be,

- Scripture scholars will tell you that it is not love, or forgiveness, or peace

- all of them are part of the central doctrine

- the doctrine that is central is the third mystery of the mysteries of the Rosary proclaimed by John Paul II called the mysteries of Light

- the central doctrine of Jesus is the idea and concept of the Kingdom of God

- all of his doctrine fits into this one idea in one way or another

+ In the Gospel today, as Luke thinks of what Jesus said in his lifetime, apparently Jesus in his human form thought that the Kingdom of God was going to come relatively soon in or shortly after his life

- saying in the Gospel that the Kingdom is near

- also that Kingdom was understood to be proclaimed by the Hebrew Scriptures as well

- in the first reading from the book of Daniel, as one studies the kingdoms that Daniel was referring to

- they are not modern references at all

- but the four beasts symbolized the human kingdoms of Babylon, Medea, Persia and Greek

- and the significant part of the reading for us is that those kingdoms—and you are led to believe—every human kingdom no matter where

- must remain subject to the kingdom of the Ancient One—God and the one to whom the Ancient One gave dominion, namely, the son of man sitting on the clouds of heaven—Jesus

+Obviously, since this doctrine of Jesus is central for him, a whole course of Scripture and applications can be built around it

- for our spiritual lives, it is simply important that we are living within the Kingdom of God right now

- trying to develop ourselves and our world according to the concepts that Jesus taught about the Kingdom

- perhaps there are two principal ideas about the Kingdom that we can think about today:

1 – that it is open to everyone

- and therefore everyone is important in the Kingdom

- giving rise to our doctrine of concern for others and the importance of love of enemies that is such a major part of the doctrine of Kingdom of God as Jesus taught it

2 – it is not for the hypocritical

- the principal difficulty Jesus had with the religious leaders in the Gospels, as evidenced in so many chapters of those Gospels

- was that the religious leaders above all should have understood religion, and they did not

- because they made it a show

- they only acted like it was important

- in terms of the Kingdom, if we are part of the Kingdom—and we all are—then religion must be real and not just something we talk about

+ The doctrine of the Kingdom of God is very simple for us right now

- we are living within it

- and therefore our actions should show it.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Black Widow" -- beginning session

THE IDEAL OF A FAMILY

The Gospel

MATTHEW 2:13-15

When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Gospelthink: The family of Jesus had to react to the hostility of the world. Do I too easily give into what the evils of the world suggest?

The movie “Black Widow” opens with a man-made family, the husband, Alexia Shostakov and wife, Melina Vostokoff, and two children Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova. The husband and wife are Russian undercover agents, and after they escape back to Russia via Cuba, Natasha and Yelena are sent to the Red Room for training from Russian General Dreykov. Then years past.
Natasha managed to escape to SHIELD, the Avengers organization, while eventually Yelena is freed from the Red Room’s hold on her as well. They team up together and looking for the place of the Red Room and General Dreykov, they free Shostakov from prison and eventually join together with Vostokoff, whom Romanoff convinces to join them in overcoming Dreykov. Although they were not a real family, they wanted to have the feeling of being a family together.

The concept of family is of vital importance as we try to live well in today's world. No matter what the situations of the individual members, being part of a family often is the glue that not only holds people together but gives its members a foundation from which one can function. Families, of course, are of all kinds, and in some cases because of human frailty and sin, families are a source of pain, but for the most part, being part of a family is good for human beings.

The little family that the Church has chosen to call the Holy Family had many difficulties. Not even considering the fact that Jesus was divine-made-human, the family lived during a time and place in which most people were poor and hurting. Not only that, but there were special difficulties that arose because of the people who thought of Jesus to be someone special. The magi from their point of view saw him as a king which caused jealousy from the local king, and the family had to react to the insane hatred of that king.

It is very interesting that in the understanding of the Marvel comics world, family is likewise an important concept. The made-up family in which the Black Widow was to grow lived a lie to begin with, but during and after the conquest of evil, the one thing that the original four member make-shift family desired was to be a family again. The understanding of family was important to their well-being.

Whether we like it or not, we all can point to a family of origin. Even if the family is "messed up" because of whatever circumstance, each of us have can benefit from the good feeling that comes from being part of a family. We all should be aware of both how to help our families and how to interact with them.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, You have created us to be members of a family. Each of us are very aware of the gifts and needs of that family. Help us do the best that we can to make our families be better. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Even in the most difficult of circumstances, the appeal of being a family is strong.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 62 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. In your opinion, why is a good family important in today's world?
3. What can friends do when some of their friends are hurting because of family problems?
4. What causes jealousy among families?
5. In your opinion, what are the most important virtues that every family should have?
6. If there are problems in your own family, what is the best way to help solve them?