sound 2

October 25

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Friday, October 25

LUKE 12:54-59
You must read the signs to know what is right.

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus reminds us that we can read the signs of nature. I should be able to read the signs of what is happening in the world. And in particular, how people are turning away from God. In my life right now, what are instances where I am turning away from what God wants?

b. Jesus tells us to determine what is "right." What are the best means to help me form my conscience? As I form it, do I try to follow what is right even if it is difficult?

c. In particular, how do I treat the people with whom I have a particular problem? Do I "confront" them in a sensible way with love as a guide? Or, if I can't do that, do I at least pray that they will allow God's graces to be with them?

d. As I think of the court system where I am, are there some laws that are harmful to some people? What can I do about them?

e. My prayerthoughts...

Today I will read Ephesians, chapter 4 and write an
important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

INTERPRETING THE PRESENT TIME

+ One of the best ways to use Scripture as a personal meditation is to center in on the questions that the Lord proposes according to the different Gospel writers

- here the question from Luke’s Gospel is:

Why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

- Jesus is referring to the fact that the people should be able to predict some things about their personal futures

- he calls attention to the fact that they know how to interpret the weather by studying the earth and sky

- if you know that, Jesus says, then you should be able to interpret the things of the present day and in particular things that are going on in your own lives

- that is, what you are doing with your life, saying that a person should be able to judge for him or herself what is right

+ Paul is speaking of the same thing in a way

- he urges the Ephesians to live a life in a manner worthy of the call they have received

- basically a call to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and in particular, what Paul is talking about here,

- the call for unity

+ And so the question becomes from both readings: why can’t we followers of Jesus interpret what is happening in our lives and see the possibility that we may not be living in a manner worthy of our calling to be one with God

- which leads to a number of deep questions that we should be asking ourselves

- what about the way we treat others?

- what about the language we use when we are with other people who agree with us?

- what about the deep desires for power that is so clearly evident in our world, and in the end hurts other people?

- what about the materialism in our lives, and our need to have more and more things

- and so forth

- deep questions that requires real meditation on our parts

+ Jesus’ point is that we should be able to figure out what the direction of our lives is

- we are following a certain pattern in our lives

- we should be able to tell what it is just by looking at the things that we are doing

- and if we see some things that need changed, we are called to do it.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Sound of Freedom" -- final session
SHOWING THE COURAGE NECESSARY

The Gospel

MATTHEW 1:18b-20,24

When Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.”... When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Gospelthink: It took courage for Joseph to begin his family.

Because he had to work overseas to free the children sex slaves, Tim Ballard had to resign his job with Home Security. But with the help of some powerful people at the US Embassy in Columbia, he went undercover looking for a way to free the children and perhaps Rocio, whom he was searching for in particular. Discovering that Rocio was sold to the "Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia," Ballard, disguised as a doctor, entered the rebels' area. He discovered that Rocio was the personal sex slave for the leader, "The Scorpion." He was forced to kill the leader, and despite the rebels pursuing and shooting at him, he joins up with Vampiro at a prearranged place and is able to take Rocio with him, eventually back to her father. The epilogue to the movie states that Tim Ballard testified before the United States Congress and that his testimony influenced the government to cooperate with foreign countries on sex trafficking investigations. The epilogue also explains that there are more people enslaved today than at any other time in history, including when slavery was legal.

As we consider the Gospel, namely Joseph's acceptance of Mary as his wife, time should be spent with the way Joseph thought through his actions. He knew that Mary was pregnant by someone other than him, and that meant a horrible death for Mary if he followed the law. The law of Moses called for her to be stoned (Deuteronomy 22:23-27). But such a law was not in Joseph's nature. The angel solved his dilemma, but those who knew of Joseph's situation would certainly have judged Joseph to be wrong. It was with courage then that he took Mary as his legal wife because he would face the criticism of the people who followed the law.

One of the traditional gifts of the Holy Spirit, coming from a reading from Isaiah is what we call “courage,” a virtue that is important for a good spiritual life. It is both an exterior virtue and an interior one.

Most of the time we think in terms of the exterior part of courage, namely the spoken word and/or action, the ability to preach the message of Jesus no matter what, allowing the Spirit to direct our words and actions without fear. There may be people who simply do not like the way we live or what we believe as Christians. It is with courage that we continue to choose the Christian life.

But the element of courage that may be more difficult is the thought of interior courage, that is, the ability to look carefully at ourselves, studying our behavior and asking why we do the things that we do. Once we have determined that we should change, it takes courage to actually make such a change. We often prefer simply to let things be because it would be easier or would take more energy.

In the movie "Sound of Freedom," Tim Ballard showed the external courage necessary to free the children sex slaves, and he continued to do so long after he had initially freed Rocio and Miguel.

We probably will not be called upon to go into the Amazon jungle to free the slaves that are there. But we can carefully look on our lives, and determine whether we should be more courageous in the way we speak and act or the way we study our own Christian involvement.

PRAYER
Good and gracious God, we have the example of Joseph, the foster father of Jesus and many others to call us to a courageous way of living. Give us the grace that we need in order to lead truly courageous lives. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: It takes real courage to stand up against an evil undertaking.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
(session: approximately 61 minutes)
1. What does this session of the movie teach young people?
2. What does the movie "Sound of Freedom" teach young people?
3. Besides Jesus, Joseph is the main "character" in Matthew's infancy section. Why is Joseph such a good example[e for us?
4. Give your own definition of "courage."
5. In our world now, where do you see people with the most "courage"?
6. In general, do most people spend time really thinking about their behavior? Yes or no and why?
7. How can we eradicate the sin of child sex trafficking?