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When a maid saw Peter seated in the light,
she looked intently at him and said, “This man too was with Jesus.” But he denied it saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” A short while later someone else saw him and said, “You
too are one of them”; but Peter answered, “My friend, I am not.” About an hour later, still another insisted, “Assuredly,
this man too was with him, for he also is a Galilean.”
But Peter said, “My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.” Just
as he was saying this, the cock crowed, and the Lord
turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord,
how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three
times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly. |
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Gospelthink: After
saying that he would never deny Jesus, he did it anyway. |
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After
Paul and Lady Jessica have been accepted by the Fremen, Jessica
travels south in Arrakis to unite with the Fremen there while Paul remains in
the north. During a raid on a smuggler spice harvester, Paul reunites with
Gurney Halleck who shows Paul the hidden atomic warheads of the House
Atreides. Meanwhile Feud-Rautha unleashes a
devastating attack on the northern Fremen, destroying Sieth
Tabr, their former home and forcing Paul and the
survivors to journey south. Once there, Paul drinks the Water of Life, and
with Lady Jessica and Chani’s help, awakens, possessing unique abilities,
leading him to declare himself Lisan al Gaib, the
messiah. Paul sees a path to victory among all possible futures, sending a
challenge to Shaddam who arrives on Arrakis with
the renowned fighters, the Sardauker. The Fremen
launch their offensive using atomic power and sandworms to overpower Shaddam and his fighters. Paul challenges Shaddam for the throne and demands to marry Irulan, the
eldest daughter or Shaddam, much to Chani’s dismay.
Paul defeats Feyd-Rautha who was fighting on behalf
of Shaddam. Shaddam
surrenders to Paul, but the Great Houses who are in orbit around Arrakis
reject Paul’s ascendancy. So Paul orders the Fremen to attack the orbiting fleet,
but Chani continues to refuse Paul’s leadership. |
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There
are many people who might be called “important” in Jesus’s ministry on earth.
One of them certainly would be the person whom Jesus appointed as the Rock,
upon whom the later Church would be built, namely Peter the Apostle. Peter is
an interesting character to study from a number of
points of view. One of them might be
his ability to say something that he totally believed in, but because of
circumstances, totally changed his mind.
Witness his denial of Jesus. He
must have known what Jesus wanted of him, and he agreed to it, but there were
other factors that he had not thought of, and, as a result, changed
completely his thinking. Becoming
the leader of a group might be a great honor and a great achievement,
something that one had hoped for, even worked diligently for. But, more often than not,
being a leader will involve responsibilities that the leader had never
considered. And, as in Peter’s case, cause extreme self-hatred and
embarrassment. Paul
of the House Atreides in the movie “Dune: Part Two” was destined to be a
leader. He sensed it as he began his
life; he continued the thinking as he took up his position with the Fremen of
Arrakis; and he culminated such thinking with his aceeptance
of the title “Lisan al Gaib,” the messiah, as he
defeated Shaddam.
In the process, he lost the love of his life, Chiani, and accepted the
responsibility of a people who were on the verge of extinction as the movie
ends. As
we live out our Christian vocation in this world, we are called to be leaders
in our own way. No matter what we choose to do in our world, as Christians we
accept the responsibility of Christian leadership. It means doing what we have chosen to do
with our lives from the point of view of doing it as best we can from a
Christian point of view. That is, as
Jesus would. Ultimately,
it means that we will do what we are doing well. And accepting the direction of Jesus given all
the circumstances, some of what happens will not be what we hope for or
something that we would never choose. Our
lives are difficult simply because we have chosen a Christian way—some of
which we want, some that we would never choose. |
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PRAYER Good and gracious God, you have called
us to be Christian leaders in our world, no matter what our way of life. Give us the grace to know and accept what
Your Son has taught us, even as it brings us to something very
difficult. Be with us, we pray. |
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+++++
Theme: When a person accepts responsibility to lead, that
person will have great honor but will have difficulties. 1.
What scene during this session was most striking and why? 2.
Why is Peter the Apostle a good example for us to study? 3.
What are some examples of Christians who have said one thing, and then done
another? 4.
What are the most important characteristics of a leader? 5.
In leadership, what makes a leader be a Christian leader? 6.
Do you agree that being a Christian in today’s world is difficult? Yes or no and why? 7.
What does the movie “Dune: Part Two” teach young people? |
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©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America |
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