October 1

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, October 1

LUKE 9:51-56
I remind the Apostles that our mission is not to condemn.

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem, and bring about redemption through his death and resurrection. What should Jesus's act of redemption mean for me personally?

b. The Samaritan village would not welcome them. Jesus rejects the possibility of destroying the village as his Apostles wanted. Am I a peaceful person, trying to bring about true peace in the situations in which I am involved?

c. I should take the time to pray for the people involved in those parts of our world in which there is very little peace.

d. Jesus rebuked James and John for wanting to hurt people. Have I hurt people by my words or actions lately? I should take the time to pray for them and if possible, ask pardon from them.

e. Notice that Jesus simply goes to another village. He shows no criticism at all to the people who were against him. In my words, actions and thoughts, do I harbor desire for revenge?

f. My prayerthoughts….

Today, I will consider some times when I was hurt,

and take the time to pray for the people involved.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

NON-RETALIATION

+ In the book of Job, God allows Satan not only to touch Job’s family and livelihood

- but to touch him personally with all kinds of physical and mental ailments

- and so Job’s question, “why” is not a curse of God so much, although his friends urge him to do that throughout the book

- but it is a statement of bewilderment about God’s goodness

- in his speeches, Job therefore becomes pre-occupied with depression

+ Those negative feelings are part of any life

- and case in point—the Gospel—the Apostles were upset with the Samaritans who had rejected them

- being human, they thought in terms of some type of retaliation

- they had just come from their mission in which they had cured diseases and spoken eloquently

- they were saying: why not use that power to curse these people

- Jesus takes the time to patiently teach them one of his doctrines of the Kingdom—non-retaliation

- you don’t get back at anybody

- when people reject you, you go to another town

- or generalizing, when there are negatives caused by others or situations, you simply continue on without revenge as best you can

+ There is a relatively easy application here for the truly spiritual person both on a personal and a general level—easy, but very difficult to carry out

1 – personal: things are not going to go well all the time

- we won’t have the problems that a Job had

- but there will be rejection, and down days

- there is a tendency to become depressed and blame God

- “I don’t deserve this” type of attitude

- and we let that attitude dictate how we act in life

- Jesus would say here: you treat this with an acceptance that somehow this is all in the plan of God

- and you do your best with the situation as Jesus does in the Gospel: you work out another way

2 – in general, there will be people that will deliberately do things to us, to our friends, for whatever reason

- sometimes with reason, sometimes totally unjustified

- the natural feeling is retaliation, revenge, a subject which is treated favorably in just about every TV show or big screen movie

- Jesus says: you don’t say anything, you simply find another way—non-retaliation

+ Jesus gives an important lesson on revenge today

- it simply should not be part of a Christian’s thinking.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One" -- beginning session

HAVING THE POWER

The Gospel

JOHN 19:9-16

Pilate went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, Where are you from? Jesus did not answer him. So Pilate said to him, Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you? Jesus answered him, You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin. Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; He said to the Jews, Behold, your King! They cried out, Take him away, take him away! Crucify him! Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

Gospelthink: Pilate would not use the power he had to release Jesus. Do I use any power I have for the good of others?

The movie begins with a show of power that an advanced AI named The Entity can cause, and the reason why different groups of people desire it. It is activated by a two-piece cruciform key, and different groups throughout the movie are trying their best to obtain the key or at least one part of the key. The heroes of the IMF team, Ethan Hunt, Luther Stikell, and Benji Dunn were following the desires of their Agency. They invested the help of Ilsa Faust, a disavowed MI6 agent and eventually Grace, a professional thief. Together they fought off the different world powers who wanted control of the Entity. They end up in Rome, and then Venice as they battle Gabriel, a sadistic Entity liaison.

As one studies the Romans throughout their time in early history, and especially around the time of Jesus, we have to be struck by their desire for power. They wanted control of every situation, and they killed in order to get it. Pilate was that way, even though the Scriptures are more inclined to be easier on him than they are for the religious leaders who had the greater sin. Understanding his power, Pilate tells Jesus that he Pilate has the power to control life. Significantly, Jesus reminds Pilate and all of us that any power we have comes ultimately from above, that is God.

One of the common themes of adventure movies, and certainly the theme of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One is the desire for more power. It is clear that the Entity with its AI component can easily destroy, and a group of people who wants control, would dearly love to have it. Hence, the search for its key in the movie.

It is relatively easy to see the desire for power present in the movie and all the so-called adventure movies. But because we are so close to our own situation, it is difficult to see our own desire for power. In practically every situation that is more or less harmful to ourselves and to others, desire for power comes into play. There is little doubt that most evil is the result of selfishness, perhaps the premier sin, but closely connected with it is the idea of power. We want control because it will satisfy us, and the way to maintain control is by power over the situation.

The person interested in the spiritual life must study her/his motivation when it comes to pursuing their own desires and likes. There is a direct proportion between say, failed marriages or failure of any good pursuit and the desire on behalf of the parties involved for power. We like to be in control, no matter what the situation may be.

We may not be as evil as Gabriel in the movie, but if we continually try to be in control, we may discover how much we enjoy the power.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, in many ways we are selfish people. It is so true that we like to be in control. Help us recognize our own desire for power, and any decision we may make to control it more.  Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Human beings will do almost anything to have power.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 77 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking and why?

2. In the different parts of the world, where do you see the most desire for power?

3. What is the best control for weapons like the Entity ?

4. Do you agree with the meditation that selfishness is the premier sin ? Yes or no and why?

5. Do you agree that most failures in any pursuit are the result of desire for control? Yes or no and why?

6. Why does the desire for control of a situation always end up poorly?