October 27 23

October 27
[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, October 27, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time MARK 10:46-52 Have Pity Prayerthoughts a. We see many people who are begging around us. Should I do more for them than I am doing? b. The blind man’s words: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” We have many things that bother us in our lives. Have I taken the time to seriously speak to the Lord about them in prayer? c. The people said to the blind man: he is calling you. In a real way, the Lord calls us as we live our lives. What is the Lord calling me to do as I live my life right now? d. The blind man’s words: what do you want me to do for you? What most of all do I want from the Lord right now in my life? e. Obviously, the blind man asks that he may see. What are the things that I should “see” in this world that the Lord has given me? (This is the task of the meditation.) f. The most used spiritual word in the Gospels is “faith.” What are the most important parts of faith that I should have? g. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will spend some time writing down the good things the Lord has done for me.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy THE CRY OF A PERSON IN NEED + There was a movie a number of years ago which was the true story of a religious sister, Sr. Helen Prejean, - she decided to write a letter to a person who could be categorized as the poorest of the poor - in her mind, it was a convict who was condemned to death because of a brutal murder - when that person responded to her, it became evident to Sr. Helen Prejean that the convict, Matthew Poncelet, was crying out in some way, saying in effect: “I want to see.” - what would Jesus do as he recognized the need of the convict Matthew Poncelet? - If you watch the movie “Dead Man Walking,” you see a number of people who did not respond to Matthew Poncelet the way Jesus would have -but Sr. Helen did, and it took her on a journey that she never expected - the movie is inspiring for all of us + In the story of Mark’s Gospel today, Bartimaeus had probably spent his whole life crying “I want to see” - he couldn’t see, he probably didn’t look very good, he scared people, and the only thing people would do was ignore him, tell him to shut up and keep quiet - but Jesus listened to him - and even before the cure, because Jesus listened to him, Bartimaeus “sprang up”, according to St. Mark’s Gospel and ran to Jesus - as if the fact that someone finally listened to him was just as important as the cure + Jesus’ doctrine of love encompasses not only what we must do for others - but also, what we have to sense from others as they are living their lives - it involves a characteristic of love called openness - the prophet Jeremiah was open to the needs of his people and so his God was open to them (1^st) - Jesus was open to us as our priest, as seen in the letter to the Hebrews (2^nd) - openness might be defined as the ability to sense another’s needs even if they themselves do not, with the desire to respond to the needs of that individual + Real love of neighbor is built around openness, that is, the desire to sense the cry of “I want to see” in whatever form it comes - it is spoken to us in many ways - it is spoken by teenagers who are growing into a world that they do not often understand - it is spoken by hurting people in our world: the poor, the homeless, people rejected by society - it is spoken by people hurting in families, people close to us - it takes a person of love to sense exactly what their cry is - and maybe it will take time to respond to it - but being open to the cry for help in whatever form it comes from another person—whether it be by money or time—is part of the love of neighbor that Jesus calls us to - exactly the way he responded to Bartimaeus in the Gospel + A closing thought, though, that is very important - some people cannot be helped because they have shut themselves off from the help - the most we can do for them is to allow ourselves to help if they would ask and keep trying to help + There is no doubt that there is a Bartimaeus in our lives right now, someone who needs some kind of help - maybe even more than one - crying out to us, in some form: “I want to see” - the Christian must be open to such a cry - and try to respond in whatever way he/she can.

MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" -- Train OUT OF LIES

The Gospel

JOHN 4:25-26

The Samaritan woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking with you."

Gospelthink: I tell the Samaritan woman exactly who I am. I know that Jesus is Lord and the question is: do I act that way?

"My heart is paralyzed; my head was over-sized. I’ll take the high road like I should. You said it’s meant to be, that 'it’s not you, it’s me'. You’re leaving now 'for my own good.' That’s cool, but if my friends ask where you are, I’m gonna say," ... and he goes on to make up reasons why she left—reasons that include among others, "she fell into a cement mixer full of quicksand," "she met a shark underwater," "she was eaten by a lion," and "she got run over by a crappy purple Scion." He ends with the plea: "Help me, help me, I’m no good at goodbyes, I’m all out of lies, and ways to say you died. My pride still feels the sting, you were my everything, someday I’ll find a love like yours."

Train's song "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" is a lighthearted, almost happy song about a very serious problem. The problem is that we do not like others to think that there is something wrong with us. So, when his lady friend decides to leave the man in the relationship because of her own personal reasons, he does not want people to think that it was his fault, and, as he admits, he lies. The song is exaggeration, of course, but the point is made: we like to look good. When we do, we are often not honest with ourselves.

The encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman in John's Gospel is an encounter of two people at opposite ends of the continuum of honesty. Jesus is totally honest with the woman, even admitting that he is the Messiah. The woman on the other hand, at first was not honest at all concerning her life. She only arrived at being honest with herself the more she talked with Jesus.

The virtue of honesty is without doubt one of the most important virtues for the human being because it involves how we look at ourselves and others. "Honesty," Thomas Jefferson said, "is the first chapter of the book 'wisdom'." It is the foundation of true living. It begins with ourselves, and very simply, as Train alludes to in their song, it involves being "all out of lies" at every moment. It means studying our words and actions and even our thoughts to see if we are lying to ourselves about who we present ourselves to be, about the relationships that we have, or about the way we truly believe.

Jesus knew that the Samaritan woman would only be saved if she became honest with herself about her life and what she was doing. It took some soul-searching on her part and some difficult words from Jesus to do it. The only path to salvation and happiness is one paved with honesty. We must take the time to study how we are walking that path.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, through your Son, you constantly call us to be honest in our approach to life. Unfortunately, we are often not inclined that way. Continue to give us the grace to understand ourselves a little more and always to be honest with ourselves and others. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: We must strive to know the truth about ourselves at all times.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Project: outline the story of the Samaritan woman in chapter 4 of John's Gospel. What is most striking about the story?
2. Jesus is the Messiah. What is your understanding of the title? See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 436-440, 711-716.
3. Text analysis: "My head was over-sized." What is the meaning of the sentence?
4. Text analysis: what is the "high road" that he is speaking of?
5. What is the meaning of "being honest with ourselves"?
6. Is there ever an instance where we can actually not tell the truth? Yes or no and why? (See Catechism, numbers 2488-2492.)
7. If "honesty" is the first chapter of the book "wisdom" (as Thomas Jefferson says), what do you think are the other parts of wisdom that are essential?
8. Do you believe that there are people in our world who never lie? Yes or no and why?
9. In what ways do people present a false picture of themselves to others?
10. In what ways are we not honest in our relationships?
11. What are the best ways to "search our soul"?
12. What does the song "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" teach young people?