TGIMMtry

September 15
[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, September 15, Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time MARK 8:27-35 Who is Jesus? Prayerthoughts a. I obviously agree with Peter that Jesus is the Messiah. In what ways has my belief made my life different? b. Who do I consider to be prophets in my world? c. Have I made someone or something other than the Lord more important in my life? d. Jesus did not want his disciples to spread the fact that he was the Messiah because too many people had the wrong idea of what a Messiah should do and he did not want to confuse them. What has been the most important fact that Jesus has taught me? e. Jesus predicts his death and resurrection. As I think of my own death and resurrection to life, what should be my most important thought? f. As Jesus pointed out, Peter was thinking too much as a human being. In what ways am I thinking human thoughts and not God-ly thoughts? g. What strikes me the most about Jesus’s statement to “deny himself, take up his cross and follow me”? h. What does Jesus’s statement mean to me: “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it”? g. My prayerthoughts…. Today I will read the letter of James, chapter 2, and write an important thought from it.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy HUMAN THINKING AND GOD THINKING + Scripture scholars identify today’s Gospel as a pivotal point in the Gospel of Mark - up until this Gospel, the Apostles and disciples do not understand who Jesus is - they are constantly pictured by Mark as being baffled, not sure of what Jesus was all about - with today’s Gospel, it becomes clear, although there are still some times in Mark’s Gospels in which the Apostles do not understand the Lord - but in the Gospel today, Peter proclaims: “You are the Christ” - and it seems that it is a matter of personal conviction + Once that fact was out, now that Jesus had confirmed it - then, it is interesting to see what Jesus and Peter say - what Jesus said was how God was thinking - what Peter said was how human beings were thinking - and then Jesus says that we must think as God thinks and not as human beings think + To see how human beings think, we can study any of the things that entertain us and see a general pattern - the pattern is pretty much dictated by what I want and how I feel - the top songs at any time can give us that - e.g. right now (September, 2015), the number 1 song is “Can’t Feel My Face” by an artist who calls himself The Weeknd - it is a song about the emotions of a couple in a relationship - the man knows that the relationship is not what it should be, but he feels good when she is around, and so he wants it - she, on the other hand, tells him not to worry about his feelings, and just allow the relationship to happen - the overall message is the idea of satisfying themselves - and that governs their behavior - that suggests the real problem with thinking as human beings do - the real problem is that we are not seeking the truth as such - what we are doing is merely acting out of our own prejudices - we are taken up with ourselves, with our history, with our situation, with the way we feel about the problems we face, the way we have been treated, the way we use our money - we all think and we all come at our thinking in different ways with different opinions - that is the way human beings do it—approaching everything with our own prejudices and what we want + Jesus says today that we have to start thinking the way God thinks—that is, with our hearts, where we are not taken up with our own prejudices - for Jesus, that meant a whole new thinking, thinking totally foreign to human beings—denial, acceptance of crosses, giving up one’s life - fundamentally, for Jesus, it meant doing what he said—“follow me” - that is the way God thinks—following Jesus without prejudice + For the writer of the letter of James, the second reading today, that translates to good works, good things that can be measured, not in the sense of bragging or wanting to show others up - but in the sense of good works that flow from a heart free from prejudice - a letter, a phone call, a conversation of kindness to someone whom you haven’t been kind to - a re-evaluation of the way you give your money and talents on behalf of the church or people who need help - an attitude change about the way you go about your life + I think the pattern of what happened with Peter in the Gospel is quite applicable to us - Peter makes a profession of faith, sincere, from the heart—“You are the Christ” and then proceeds to be prejudiced by his own thoughts - you and I tend to do the same thing - the beginning of any spiritual thinking, any spiritual life is to finally understand that we cannot do what we always do as human beings and accomplish anything spiritual—we are human beings - we honestly have to work against our natural tendencies as human beings in order to think as God thinks.

MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: "Try" -- Pink GET UP AND TRY

The Gospel

MATTHEW 20:29-34

As they left Jericho, a great crowd followed Jesus. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!” The crowd warned them to be silent, but they called out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!” Jesus stopped and called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They answered him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” Moved with pity, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately, they received their sight, and followed him.

Gospelthink: I was moved with pity for those who needed help. Do I show the type of compassion for others that I should?

"Ever wonder about what he's doing, how it all turned to lies. Sometimes I think that it’s better to never ask 'why'. Where there is desire, there is gonna be a flame. Where there is a flame, someone’s bound to get burned. But just because it burns doesn't mean you’re gonna die. You gotta get up and try. Funny how the heart can be deceiving more than just a couple times. Why do we fall in love so easy even when it's not right? Ever worried that it might be ruined and does it make you wanna cry? When you’re out there doing what you’re doing, are you just getting by? Tell me, are you just getting by. You gotta get up and try."

Pink's song "Try" describes a love endeavor that has hurt the lady in the song. She had thought that everything was working out, but in truth it was not. The man in the relationship had been dishonest, and as a result, she felt like things would never be resolved, even to the point of feeling like she was dying. But she was not ready to give up. In fact, she was ready to do the opposite--she knew that she had to overcome her feelings, and try again.

The blind men in Matthew's Gospel had probably felt down and out for a number of years. They were blind and no doubt wondered whether life would ever improve for them. But they had not given up. They looked for every chance possible to better their lives. Then Jesus came into their lives, and because of their determination, they received their sight again. They knew that if they tried hard enough, their lives could change.

We often feel like our lives are not going well. Sometimes it is only a feeling, but often, it is true. Perhaps it is the situation that Pink describes in her song: we discover that a person that we thought was in love with us really is not. Or maybe things have just not gone the way that we have wanted or the way we planned. Maybe, even, there has been some tragedy in our lives or families, and we think that we will never get rid of the painful feelings. Indeed, as Pink describes in her song, the flame of life will often burn us, and leave us feeling alone and defeated.

It is at such times that we must discover what the lady in Pink's song discovered and what the blind men of the Gospel experienced: we can come out of it if we want. There is always a choice. We can feel sorry for ourselves and give up or we can choose to get up and try again. We will always have a good future if we try.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, when he was here on our earth, your Son rewarded those who were willing to try to improve their lives. Give us the grace we need to continue to try to be better no matter what the circumstances of our lives may be. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Even when life makes you feel down and out, you have to get up and try again.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Scripture scholars point out that the healing of the blind men in the Gospel is symbolic of the healing of the "blind" apostles who will only understand Jesus' mission after the Resurrection. In your opinion, what was Jesus' principal accomplishment on earth? Why?
2. Why do people "lie" in love relationships?
3. Text analysis: "Sometimes it's better to never ask 'why'." Do you agree with the statement? Why?
4. Text analysis: "Funny how the heart can be deceiving more than just a couple times." What is the meaning of the sentence?
5. When is falling in love not right?
6. What is the song referring to when it says that we are out there doing what we're doing and just getting by?
7. What should a person do when he/she discovers that the other in the relationship is lying?
8. The meditation gives some examples of things not going well in people's lives. What example in the world today is most indicative that things are not going right? What can be done about it? Is there anything you can do about it? Yes or no and why?
9. Why will some people not want to make the effort to try to get out of a bad situation?
10. When is it clear that a person is feeling sorry for him/herself?
11. What is the best way to help a person get away from negative feelings?
12. Why should a Christian agree with the meditation's final statement: "We will always have a good future if we try"?
13. What does the song "Try" teach young people?