October 11

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Sunday, October 11. Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

MATTHEW 22:1-14

The Wedding Feast

Prayerthoughts

a. I obviously desire to dine in the Kingdom, that is, go to heaven. Does I think of eternal life as often as I should?

b. According to Scripture scholars, these are all legitimate excuses since the wedding feast could last a couple of days. Do I make excuses so that I do not spend enough time to pursue my spiritual life?

c. Does the thought that the Lord has chosen other people “less than I am (in my selfish opinion)” upset me? Why?

d. Our God is the type of God who “makes” people come to enjoy the Kingdom. Do I think of our God to be a compassionate God?

e. Everyone is invited to the wedding feast. Is there anyone that I exclude in thinking of the people I pray for? Perhaps I should think of the people that I have a difficult time with right now praying that God will be part of their lives.

f. The wedding garment was given to the people as they enter the feast. There is no excuse for the man not to have it on. Putting it on implies a complete change of heart. What is holding me back from a complete turning to God?

g. The master condemns those who are without the proper disposition to change. Notice that it is the person’s own fault. He/she chooses not to change.

h. “Many are invited, but few are chosen.” I am among the “chosen” simply because I am thinking about what I can do to change. I should not become scrupulous about having eternal life. I simply must keep doing my best to change for the better.

i. My prayerthoughts...

Today, I will read Philippians 4:12-14,19-20 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE INVITATION TO CHANGE

+ A number of years ago in the city orchestra of a large eastern city, there was an outstanding oboe player who was confined to a wheelchair

- during a documentary TV show about him from his home

- the interviewer noticed an invitation that had been placed in a large beautiful frame, and was in the living room located where everyone would notice it

- the interviewer thought that it might be an invitation to—say—a presidential inaugural ball, a famous event, or the oboe player’s own wedding

- but as he looked further, he saw that it was a simple invitation to another couples’ wedding

- he asked about it, and the oboe player told him that that was the invitation that literally changed his life

- he and his wife had not wanted to go to that wedding; they had just been married themselves, the couple were not really good friends, but it was one of those times where it was politically correct to go

- on the way there they had an accident, his wife was not hurt, but he was confined to the wheelchair forever

- after some time of feeling sorry for himself, he had decided to do something with his life

- he took up the oboe, which he had begun to play early in his life but never taken it seriously

- that invitation and his acceptance of it changed his life

+ If we study Jesus’s story with the idea of changing our lives in mind,

- we see that Jesus is saying that there are times when we have to change our way of thinking

- he invites us to change by calling us to what he wants: the wedding feast idea in Jesus’ story

- but often we refuse because we want our way: in fact, we completely disregard his invitation, and treat the people who invite us with no respect—the servants in the story

- even when we do change and accept his invitation, sometimes we are called to make a radical change

- that fact is symbolized in the wedding garment which was probably given at the door of the celebration in the custom of the time, and so there was no excuse not to put it on

- it means that we have to deliberately place upon ourselves the characteristics of the kingdom of Jesus—peace, forgiveness, kindness, love in general

- and in the process, change radically

+ The problem is, of course, that we don’t like to change, and we find all kinds of ways to stay away from it, no matter what area we are talking about

- one of the second grade teachers at St. John’s in Lawrence where I was stationed suggested to the kids as part of their preparation for First Confession that they go to their mothers and ask her how they could be better

- one of the mothers related that her son had done that and after she got over the shock, she told him that he could clean up his room a little, help with the dishes a little more, pick up his toys, and help clean up the garage

- the boy said very quickly: “I don’t want to be perfect, I just want to be a little better.”

- that’s the way we think most of the time

+ The fact is that if we want to accept Jesus’ invitation to his Kingdom, we have to do more than a little

- we may have to make the time to read Scripture every day, or pray formally every day or change our language, or we may have to take the time to teach our kids and grandkids a little more about God and morality whether they want us to or not

- and the operating thought there: we have to take the time to do it because we are called to do a little more when it comes to changing our behavior

+ Jesus has given us the invitation to enter his kingdom

- to do it, we may have to change—more than a little

- it is not easy, and ultimately, why Jesus closed his story with the ominous words:

Many are invited; but few are chosen.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Black Widow" -- final session
PAIN MAKES US STRONGER

The Gospel

LUKE 24:1-11

At daybreak on the first day of the week they took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them. They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. They said to them, "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day." And they remembered his words. Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others. The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James; the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles, but their story seemed like nonsense, and they did not believe them.

Gospelthink: Jesus rose from the dead proving His divinity. Have I completely accepted the Lord if everything that I do?

Eventually, the whole initial “family” end up at the Red Room pursuing the evil General Dreykov. Dreykov and his practically undefeatable Taskmaster who was actually Anotonia, Dreykov's daughter whom Romanoff thought that she had killed were set on killing them all. Dreykov had control of literally the whole world through Black Widows who were placed all over the world. Romanoff and Yelena led the fight against Dreykov who eventually tries to escape. Yelena thought that she would die as a result of trying to overcome Dreykov, but Romanoff saved her. Eventually with the Red Dust that frees the hold Dreylov has over people, Romanoff is able to free all the Black Widows throughout the world. In the end Romanoff heads off to help the Avengers while Yelena and “parents” Shostakov and Vostokoff move on to presumably a happy life. The pain in their lives had made them all stronger.

Ever since the Scriptures have been read, Mary Magdalene has been a fascinating figure for writers. She has been portrayed in a fictitious way to have been romantically involved with Jesus, even to the point of being married to him. But the Scriptures only present her as one of the many that Jesus inspired to be better. In Mark's Gospel, she was a person who was overcome with evil, and Jesus freed her from those demons. Further, in Mark's and John's Gospels, she was the first person that Jesus appeared to after his resurrection. In Matthew and Luke's Gospel, she is one of the important people in the new way of Christianity.

Studying Mary Magdalene's life, one can conclude that somehow all of the negatives that happened in her life became a means by which she could grow. One can see that Jesus gave her the incentive to accomplish it, but Mary herself no doubt had made the decision at some time in her life that she had to change her behavior. With Jesus's help she was finally able to do it, albeit with pain, becoming a stronger person in the process.

Ultimately, if we want to grow well, every one of us must conclude at some time in our lives that we want things to be better. We know that pain has been part of our lives, even to the point of completely overpowering us, and taking complete control. There are indeed such negatives, but the psychology behind those negatives is that they can actually be aids to help us grow. They can make us stronger. We will realize that we have been hurt, and how we have been hurt, and be able to learn from the experiences. And so, as the "family" of Shostakov, Vostokoff, Romanoff and Yelena in the movie "Black Widow" discovered in their lives, "Pain makes us stronger."

The Christian addition to such a psychological fact is that God will always give us the help that we need in order to bring it about. Mary Magdalene became one of the stronger promoters of the Christian religion because Jesus gave her the power to overcome the demons that were part of her life. The Christian believer knows that God always gives us the strength that we need in order to accomplish the good things that will help us be better people.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son always had power over evil. Evil never got the better of anyone who asked for his help. Give us the grace to understand that we can overcome the pain in our lives, and with your help, actually allow those negatives to teach us the good that we can become. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: When fighting evil, one must always remember that pain makes us stronger.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 62 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. Why did the disciples not believe that Jesus rose from the dead even though he had foretold it several times?
3. In your opinion, why is Mary Magdalene so important as we consider our Christian way of life?
4. In your opinion, is it a true statement that negatives can make us stronger people?
5. In general, why do some people not want to be better in their lives?
6. Are there some situations that you know of in which negatives helped people be better than they were?
7. What does the movie "Black Widow" teach young people?