october 11 23

October 23

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Wednesday, October 23

LUKE 12:39-48
I have given you much.

Prayerthoughts
a. Am I prepared to meet the Lord if my life would end right now? What should I improve?

b. The Lord speaks of a "faithful and prudent" servant. In what ways am I faithful? What kind of person would that be? Am I close to that definition?

c. The Lord says that I should be carrying out my duty when he comes at the end of my life. Given my living condition, have I made room for God and the spiritual life the way I should?

d. The Lord calls for sincere preparation for his coming. What am I doing right now to ensure my acceptance by the Lord?

e. The thought of "being beaten" is part of the story that Jesus is telling, not to be taken literally, but the thought of being prepared for the unexpected is the moral of the story. What unexpected happening has happened recently, and did I react to it in a truly Christian way?

f. Much has been given to me. Do I thank the Lord enough? Do I keep trying to do truly Christian deeds given my circumstances right now?

g. My prayerthoughts...

Today I will read Ephesians 3:1-13, and write an
important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE SPIRITUALITY OF STEWARDSHIP

+ The Gospel is a powerful one explaining the spirituality of making use of what we have

- the idea of a steward with today’s understanding is this

- we have been legitimately given things to use, put in charge of things in our lives

- i.e., we have jobs, we earn money, we have life, we have things

- what our American forefathers called—life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

- the question of the Gospel: how are we using those things

- does the master find us busy when he will return

- making proper use—using them, always remembering where they came from—

- remembering the master who gave them, that master who has said that we must be interested primarily in the poor and sharing with them

- or does the master find us in abuse

- misuse of the gifts, specifically, sexuality and eating and drinking—and by inference, all of the gifts that we legitimately have

- and they will be punished, even if they don’t know what they are doing

+ The important fact of all of that is probably: we know what we are doing

- we are the people to whom much has been given

- as Paul said of his ministry: I know what I am talking about

- we are blessed people, not only from the fact of redemption as Paul describes to the Ephesians,

- that is from a spiritual point of view

- but we are also blessed from a natural point of view

- much has been given to us

- we have goods, especially in America that were unimaginable in any other time or right now in any other place

+ And so, we have to be people who are busy as stewards of someone else’s goods

- using them, but at the same time acknowledging that they are not ours

- practically that is where the 10% comes from that Scripture tells us

- giving back to God what is already God’s

- we literally are stewards

- and is 10% enough—shouldn’t there be more given to our creator

- leading us to the important question: how much of our time and income are we giving away from which we get no return?

+ Jesus tells us that the spirituality of stewardship involves being busy doing what we should be doing with his goods while we have them.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "The Karate Kid -- beginning session
ADUSTING TO THE PROBLEM

The Gospel

MATTHEW 26:47-50a

While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs, who had come from the chief priests and the elders of the people. His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying, “The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him.” Immediately he went over to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and he kissed him. Jesus answered him, “Friend, do what you have come for.”

Gospelthink: Judas betrayed me.

One of the difficult things in life for any age is adjusting to a new lifestyle, one that the person has never seen before. Sherry Parker and her twelve year old son Dre both had to make such adjustments in the movie "The Karate Kid." When his mother was transferred to Beijing, China, Dre very dutifully went along. It was not an easy transition for either of them. The movie centers in on Dre in particular who meets friends, but also meets people who do not like him. Some of them turn into his tormentors, and Dre is physically beaten. Dre's life becomes extremely painful as he tries to adjust to his situation, and it is only after a man by the name of Mr. Han takes him into his care that he begins to understand what he can do. Mr. Han himself has an adult understanding of such suffering because he had to adjust to some very painful circumstances in his life as well.

Immature people often do not act well in crises. Sometimes they panic, or they will make decisions that only make matters worse, or they behave in a selfish way that does not help others. Mature people will calmly accept the situation, study what can be done given the circumstances they are in, and adjust to a course of action that is best for all involved.

Jesus of Nazareth knew well the meaning of "adjusting," especially as he approached the end of his life. He had spent time in prayer with his Father, addressing the problem of what he was about to encounter. Now it was time to calmly enter the central act of his life, namely the redemption of humankind. He had a very good idea about what was going to happen in this crisis situation in his life, and he bravely accepted it. In a composed way, he begins the most painful part of his life with the word, “friend.”

One of the signs of maturity is the ability to act well in crisis situations. Most people will not experience immense mental or physical pain during their early years, but they will be involved in painful situations that require actions reflecting maturity. It is difficult to adjust to those situations, but it can be done. Too often, young people find themselves arguing, criticizing and judging others, often blaming others for what has happened. Such immaturity usually causes added harm to an already harmful experience. Crises demand clear thinking, and clear thinking demands the mature ability to deal calmly with anything that happens.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son approached his death with serenity because he knew how to act with maturity. As we come upon some crisis in our lives, we ask for your grace to understand how to behave in a mature way. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme:  Adjusting to new circumstances, especially when there is pain involved, is very difficult, but it can be done.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
THE GOSPEL
1. Judas used the typical signs of how a disciple would greet his teacher to betray Jesus.  It is the absolute highest of insults.  What are the insults that are most difficult to accept?
2. Jesus bravely accepted what he knew would happen. Give your definition of courage.
3. The meditation makes it clear that Jesus was calm as he began this difficult portion of his life.  Why is “being calm” one of the characteristics of a leader?

THE MEDITATION
1. Adjusting to a difficult situation is the theme of this session. What are the best ways to adjust to a difficult situation?
2. What are the situations that are most painful for a young person? For a person of middle age? For an older person?
3. Give some examples of people who have adjusted well to situations in their lives.
4. What are some “crisis situations” that you have seen? How did the people involved act? How should they have acted?

THE MOVIE, PART 1 (approximately 43 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. It is always difficult to begin a situation that is new.  If you were in Dre’s shoes, how would you go about adjusting to a new situation in a foreign country?
3. Scene analysis: the group of boys fight Dre and hurt him. Sometimes this type of physical abuse happens in junior high school on a regular basis. If you were Dre, what would you have done?
4. Why did Dre not try to explain what happened to the appropriate authorities in the school?
5. Scene analysis: Mei Ying’s instructor is very demanding. In your opinion, what is the best way to teach a difficult subject? In particular, should a teacher be this demanding? Yes or no and why?
6. Scene analysis: Dre’s mother really wants to help him. In your opinion, why did he not tell his mother what was happening?
7. Scene analysis: Dre attacks the bullies. Why did he provoke the attack?