TGIMMmoneyball2

October 10

[media presentation below

GospelThink

Friday, October 10

LUKE 11:15-26

There is evil is this wonderful world that I created. Resist that evil with all your might.

Prayerthoughts
a. The Lord was in control of the evil. I too am in control of the evil in my life if I call upon the Lord to help. Do I continually call on the Lord to be present in my life?

b. Some people misunderstood Jesus whether deliberately or not. Am I patient with the people who do not understand what I am trying to accomplish?

c. Jesus realized the fact that nothing can be accomplished if a group is divided. In general, do I try to bring about unity in the places where I am?

d. Other people were exorcists in Jesus time. Jesus controls evil by the hand of God. Is it evident by my life that I call on God in what I do?

e. Obviously, I will say that the good is strong in my life. But have I permitted some small evil in the things that I do?

f. Evil never rests. Am I always aware that I could turn to evil in the situations of my life, and therefore pray with that in mind?

g. My prayerthoughts...

Today, I will read Joel 1:13-15,2:1-2 and write
an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

JESUS OVERCOMES EVIL IN OUR LIVES AT ALL TIMES

+ In Luke’s Gospel, we have a healing story

- a casting out of the devil

- but it is also a consideration of evil as Jesus argues with people around him

- first of all, evil might be defined as the evil one directing us to act, say or think things that are in direct contrast to what Jesus says in the Scriptures

- and there are a couple of points concerning evil from the liturgy today worth considering:

- 1 – the finger of God conquers evil

- the prophet Joel talks of the evil in the sense of neglect of God’s temple,

but even though that evil is present, God will continue to be with the people—the “day of the Lord” will come

- saying in effect that God will always conquer evil, even though the people are prone to it

- in fact, from Jesus’ words in the Gospel, God’s work is the only way to conquer evil

The finger of God casts out demons.

- and it is clear from the Scriptures that the finger of God includes a dedication to God through prayer and meditation on the Scriptures

- and so we never have to worry about evil in our lives, as long as we have allowed ourselves to be touched by the finger of God

- 2 – there is the possibility of accepting evil by not doing enough to get rid of it

- the Gospel’s discussion about what is stronger in a person’s life is apropos here

- simply not being against the Lord is not enough for action against evil

- we have to be pro-active

- taking steps to stop the evil in our lives by truly accepting the Lord as friend, taking the necessary time to pray and read the Gospels

- truly turning against the evil that does happen, and not letting it sneak up on us, gradually becoming stronger than God

- unless we are active against anything evil in our lives, it may gradually find a place in our hearts

- 3 – and evil is not going to stop

When an unclean spirit has gone out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest, but, finding none,

- it goes back where it came from

- we might conquer—say—some evil at one time

- but we always have to be prepared because evil never stops

- perhaps as we consider our thoughts, words and actions, it is our thinking here that we should consider

- our thinking constantly must be purified of the evil that lurks

- the thinking of pride, judgment of others, placing ourselves as better, etc.

+ In all of this talk of evil, we must remember that we need not be afraid—

- Jesus has overcome evil in our lives and will continue if we constantly ask him to help us.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Moneyball" -- final session

THE WAY TO MEAN SOMETHING

The Gospel

MARK 1:14-15

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Gospelthink: My task of preaching was to repent and believe in me. Am I living my life in that way now?

Baseball people usually think in terms of winning, and in particular winning "the last game of the season," that is, winning the "World Series." Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics in 2002, was interested in that, of course, but he was interested in more. Influenced by his own life as a baseball player and by his particular situation of family--a divorce and a 12-year old daughter whom he dearly loved--he knew there was something else. As he told his protege Peter Brand in the movie "Moneyball," he wanted his life and contribution to "mean something." He wanted to make what he was doing something better than it was before he entered into it. He accomplished it in baseball.

Paul the Apostle defined the "kingdom of God" to be a place of "righteousness, peace and joy" (Romans 14:17) and therefore a place much better than the world in which we dwell. The gospel is the "good news" which proclaims such a kingdom according to Jesus. In short, Jesus wanted the world to be better than it was. Preaching the gospel of the kingdom was his way of doing it.

Billy Beane in the movie "Moneyball" was not interested so much in the outside world as he was in the baseball world, but his desire was the same. He wanted to make baseball better. Billy explained to Peter Brand: "I'm not in it for the record. That's when people get hurt. But if we win on our budget, with this team, we'll have changed the game. And that's what I want. I want it to mean something." For Billy "meaning something" was the same thing as accomplishing something better. With Peter Brand's help, he was able to do it.

Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets once said that "My hope is to leave the world a bit better than when I got here." Such was the attitude of Jesus as he began the process of redemption. It was likewise the attitude of Billy Beane as he worked in the sport of baseball. If we accept the Christian way of life, it is exactly what you and I are called to do as we live our daily lives.

Our personal worlds can be so much better than they are now. We can work for the kingdom of God to come into our lives, and thus "mean something" for our world. If we work at making our lives "mean something," we can accomplish amazing things. And make the whole world better than when we got here.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son redeemed our world, and thus made the world a better place. Give us the grace to accept his redemption completely into our lives so that we can make our world a little better than it is. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Our desire in life should be to change things for the better.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 63 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. Outline the presentation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition on the kingdom of God. See numbers 2816-2821.
3. Why do Christians call the Gospels "good news"?
4. Most Christian say that they "believe in the Gospel." In your opinion, do most people completely believe in the Gospel? Yes or no and why?
4. What is your understanding of "repent"?
5. If there is one thing that could be done by someone to make the world better, what would it be?
6. With your knowledge of baseball, what is something that could make the game better?
7. Scene analysis: Beane talks to David Justice about being a leader on the team. What is necessary to be a good leader of a group of men or women?
8. Scene analysis: Beane talks to Brand about the strength of his belief: "Do you believe in this or not?" What is necessary before one can say that he/she really believes in something?
9. Analysis: the Athletics win twenty in a row, the American League record. Why is winning so important in a sport?
10. Scene analysis: The media says that the reason for the success is the "manager." Beane does nothing to say otherwise. Is there ever a time when it is necessary to tell the truth, and accept personal praise? Yes or no and why?
11. Scene analysis: Beane usually does not attend a game, probably out of superstition, something very prominent in baseball. Why do people, especially baseball players, fall into superstitious practices? In your opinion, does doing the same thing all the time really help a player?
12. Scene analysis: Despite all the success, the Athletics lose in the first round of the post-season, and actually have not won the World Series yet. Analyze this fact together with the fact that they won twenty in a row. Did Beane's and Brand's method fail? Yes or no and why?
13. Scene analysis: Beane passes up the opportunity to be the Red Sox general manager. In your opinion, why did he make the decision?
14. Scene analysis: Brand shows Beane the video about the person hitting a home run and not even realizing it. What did he want to accomplish by showing it to Beane?
15. What does the movie "Moneyball" teach young people?