October 14

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Wednesday, October 14

LUKE 11:42-46

The Hypocrisy of the Pharisees

Prayerthoughts

a. Jesus tells the Pharisees and therefore all of us that we both must give to the Church (pay tithes) and be concerned about judgment of others and love of God. As I study just yesterday, did I make a false judgment of anyone? Do make it a practice to give something to the Church or some charity?

b. In general, there is a situation in which I have some superiority to someone else. Do I allow this to affect my attitude toward them? We are all created equal.

c. Jesus calls the Pharisees that they are “unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” That is, they are ritually impure and at the same time tell others to be pure. As I study my actions, do I tend toward hypocrisy (pretend that I am “with God” but actually do not show it with my actions?)

d. Likewise with the law of the Church. Do I call others to follow the Law, but not follow it myself?

e. In general, studying my actions and thoughts yesterday, am I hypocritical in my thinking?

f. My prayerthoughts...

Today, I will read Galatians 5:18-25, and write an
important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

GUIDED BY THE SPIRIT

+ We don’t like to identify with the religious leaders of the Hebrew people—the Pharisees, Sadducees, lawyers of Jesus’s time

- because they are pretty much the “bad guys” in Jesus’s public ministry

- they give their 10% of everything they own, but they do not have a love for God

- they love to be noticed by others

- they know the law and obey it, but they do not help others who have to struggle

- their intentions are bad

+ We don’t like to identify with them, but we should

- not because we are so bad,

- in fact, everyone here is really trying to grow in their spiritual lives

- but we may be close to thinking the same way that they were

- anyone who sets out to live the spiritual life a little deeper is going to have the same temptations as the religious leaders of Jesus’s time

- that is us—we who come to daily Mass, we who pray the rosary, we who give ourselves to formal prayer, we who make profession as religious

+ Therefore, it is good for us to know how the religious leaders thought and what their temptations were

- and their main problem was thinking that they were a little bit better than others

- or as St. Paul phrased it as he warned the Galatians: they were not guided by the Spirit

- St. Paul points out what happens when you are not guided by the Spirit: “immorality, impurity, etc.”

- and he points out what happens when you are guided by the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”

+ We really are doing a little bit better than a number of Christians

- there is nothing wrong with that knowledge

- but we always have to be guided by the Spirit

- that is, our intentions have to be such that we want to be good Christians and never judge others

+ There are nine virtues that Paul enumerates to the Galatians

- I’m sure that he didn’t mean for them to be exhaustive

- that is, a complete list

- but they are very good, and cover just about everything about our spiritual lives

- if you want to spend some quality spiritual time today, go through each of those virtues and reflect on how you are doing

- it is what Jesus wanted the religious leaders of his day to do.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Jurassic World" -- beginning session

MORE TEETH

The Gospel

MATTHEW 22:24-26

Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?”

Gospelthink: I want you to follow what I tell you and not follow the ways of the world. How well am I following the Lord's directions?

The inventors of the Jurassic World theme park were in it for the business, of course. As the Park continued to attract visitors, the company responsible for its continued existence, Masrani Global Corporation who owned the genetic company InGens, knew that the Park was losing attraction. As Claire the Operations Manager of the Park tells the potential advertisers, the Park needed "more teeth." In light of that, the geneticists who created the dinosaurs chose to create Indominus Rex, a dinosaur even larger and more ferocious than T Rex.

When those who worked in the theme part Jurassic World noticed that they were losing business, they set their hearts on doing something about it. They knew the makeup of human nature; they knew that the public wanted more of everything, more attractions, more dinosaurs, more excitement, more relevance, more frightening things, bigger dinosaurs, or as Claire, the operations manager said, "more teeth."

Jesus knew that human desires resolved around the idea of having more. Human beings often believe that having more will make them more important, make them better in the world, not only richer, but more powerful. Therefore he told us quite plainly what we should be searching for in life--not more of anything, actually "less." Whoever loses his life, he tells us, will find it. That is, the less proud we are, the less we think about our selves and our wants, the better off we will be.

It is not the way of the world. The world has convinced our human natures that more is better. Our economy depends on it. The world wants us to want "more teeth." The world has told us that if we do not have more than someone else, the latest of everything, the best of everything, indeed more of everything, our lives will be less important than they are now. We will be left behind, not popular, not "with it" or the like.

Jesus is not saying that we cannot have any material goods as we strive to grow in the spiritual life. He is saying that material goods have a tendency to dominate any growth at all, and therefore we must be very careful about our desires to have "more." In life, he tells us, "more" is not only not better; "more" may actually be the worst of all.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, it is almost a "given" that we will always want more of everything in our material world. Give us the grace to listen to Your Son and eventually realize what it is that really helps us be better people. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: We often hurt ourselves and others because our human natures tend to want more of everything.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 60 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2.As we study the Gospel, denying oneself means disowning ourselves as the center of existence. Why is this so difficult for the human being?
3. In your opinion, do most Christians truly follow Jesus Christ? Yes or no and why?
4. What are some examples of human beings wanting more of everything?
5. In your opinion, what would happen to our world if we would follow what Jesus said with regard to "losing our life"?
6. What is your definition of the spiritual life?
7. Scene analysis: In general is it good to send the kids "away" as the parents are working toward a divorce? Yes or no and why?
8. Analysis: why did Claire evacuate only a part of the park when Indominus Rex escaped, and not the whole park?
9. Analysis: in your opinion could dangerous animals like the Velocirapters and Indominus Rex be used in military operations? Yes or no and why?
10. Are the action scenes in the movie too explicit for younger audiences? Yes or no and why?