October 29

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, October 29

LUKE 13:18-21
The Kingdom is like a mustard seed and like yeast.

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus explains the Kingdom by stories. As I study my life, there are no doubt times when I did not proclaim the Kingdom of Jesus as I should have. I should take some time to pray for forgiveness.

b. In Jesus’ comparison, the Kingdom began very small, that is with Jesus and his Apostles. From my knowledge of Jesus’ teachings, what are the most important teachings for me? (This is the task of the meditation.)

c. The Kingdom of God is meant to extend to everyone without exception. Do I find myself “excluding” certain people from my consideration of God’s people? Perhaps I should take the time to pray for those whom I have forgotten.

d. The Kingdom of God was to develop throughout the world as yeast goes throughout the product. Am I promoting God’s Kingdom in my own small world? (Look at yesterday with that thought in mind.)

e. My prayerthoughts...

Today, I will carry out letter b.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THY KINGDOM COME

+ The theme of Jesus’ preaching throughout his public ministry was the idea of the Kingdom of God

- a primary petition of the Lord’s Prayer that he taught to his followers was very simply: “Thy Kingdom come”

- what did Jesus want to do with this idea

- the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that it was more or less a general attitude

- an attitude that was to embody gradually all of life and culminate in the final coming of Jesus at the end of the world

- that attitude can be best described as the “accepting the teachings of Jesus”—what he talked about when he was here, what he wanted people to accept

- one of the characteristics of that Kingdom as Jesus wanted it to be—as we see in the Gospel—is that it will be small at its beginning—namely the individual band of Jesus’ followers in the first century

- and will gradually become a true force in the world

+ Such is the understanding of the Kingdom on a global scale

- but there is a personal understanding of the Kingdom as well

- the way that the global picture is to be accomplished is by individual people—you and me

- if we profess ourselves to be Christian, we are called to take the understanding of the Kingdom and make it our own—it will start small because we have to come to understand it gradually in our adult thinking

- and then it should be like yeast that permeates the whole batch of dough—that is, the attitude of Jesus must overtake our every thought, word and action

+ It is a great challenge to Christians

- we are to take the principles of Jesus Christ—the things that he said about love of God and love of neighbor, about forgiveness of others, about peace in the world, and so forth and make them our own

- and that is difficult given the way our human natures want to be satisfied

- we do not like to change our way of thinking to Jesus’ way of thinking

+ Paul speaks with hope to the Christians of Ephesus as he describes his idea of marriage

- for him at that time, the hope of the people as they were persecuted was the fact that they would eventually see Jesus

- it is our hope as well

- and the fulfillment of that hope begins right now as we live our Christian lives—by accepting Jesus totally into our thought, thus bringing about his Kingdom with us.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Aquaman" -- final session

WE MUST HAVE HELP

The Gospel

JOHN 3:13-15

Jesus said, "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life."

Gospelthink: I remind you that you must honestly believe in me and what I have done. Have I accepted everything the Lord has said and done for me?

Princess Mera and Arthur, now Aquaman, have teamed up to fight against Arthur's half-brother Orm, but they met defeat after defeat. They finally had to flee and seek out a means to defeat Orm and his army. They sought a trident that will help defeat Orm. (Orm had already defeated Arthur and had smashed his mother's trident which Arthur possessed.) They attempted to discover something that will help defeat Orm from attacking the surface world. At one time they were rescued by Atlanna, Arthur's mother who gave them confidence to carry on their fight. Finally they discovered a special trident with Atlanna's help. Together they fought the enemies of the surface, and won, but Aquaman allowed Orm to live. Eventually Arthur was crowned the king and protector of the land and the seas, although it is clear that Orm will come back if he possibly can.

The Scriptures often say to us that we who are human need help. In the Hebrew Scriptures at one time as the Israelites were wandering in the desert before they were allowed into their Promised Land, they were bitten by serpents that killed some. After consulting with his God, Moses directed them to "make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard; and it shall come about that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live" (Numbers 21:8). Jesus refers to that instance saying that He would be mounted on a standard called the cross, and everyone who looks at it will be saved.

The whole message of the Christian Scriptures is that we need help in order to have the life that we seek. We all desire eternal life with God, and the help that we must have in order to achieve it is the person of Jesus, the "Son of Man." If we look on the Lord's cross and believe in what He did for us, we will have the help we need.

It was obvious that Princess Mera and Aquaman were going to need help. At one time in the movie "Aquaman," they had to hide in a mouth of a whale, and they finally had to flee to the Sahara desert which once was an ocean. They were looking for the special trident, that is a sword-like weapon that would help them defeat Orm and his armies. To find it, they had to have the help of Atlanna and others before Arthur could finally use it to become the king.

Whether we are dealing with fantasy or real life, one of the important facts is that we must have help in order to live. We cannot depend on ourselves alone. In real life, we must see that there are people that will always help us. In the spiritual life, we must be aware that looking upon the cross of Jesus and believing in him, will give us ultimately what we all desire.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Your Son is ultimately the help that we must have in order to live well. Give us the grace to turn to You through Your Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit so that our lives can be better here on earth and later in eternal life with you. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: If we want to save our world, we will need help.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 67 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. What does the movie "Aquaman" teach young people?
3. Analysis: Atlantean people show no forgiveness. What is the result of a world that would show no forgiveness?
4. Mounting a serpent on a pole makes a cross. Already in the Old Testament, the cross became of symbol of salvation. We see the cross everywhere in our lives: our jewelry, our decorations, etc. Do you think that we have the proper understanding of the Christian cross? Yes or no and why?
5. Many Christians feel as though God has not given them the help they need. How would you answer someone who requests your help to explain how God answers prayers?
6. There are some people who will say that they do not need help. Is there anyone on earth who really does not need help? Yes or no and why?
7. What are the principal helps that young people have in order to live better lives?
8. The spiritual help we need comes from believing in what Jesus has done for us through the cross. In your opinion, do most Christians believe the way they should? Yes or no and why?