TGIMMdivegernce1

September 24

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Thursday, September 24

LUKE 9:7-9
Herod was confused about who I was, thinking I was my friend John the Baptist.

Prayerthoughts
a. Herod has always been considered as “evil.” As I consider “evil” and the different places of “evil” in the world, can I do anything about them besides praying that the evil will be conquered?

b. John the Baptist above all spoke the truth. Perhaps there are some “truths” which I should speak. What are the principal "truths" which should be present in my life?

c. The talk that Herod heard concerned prophets that had reappeared. Who are the modern prophets of our day today, and what should I learn from them?

d. In my life, I, too, keep trying to see Jesus in the sense of making him part of everything I do. In my life right now, what needs the most improvement?

e. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 and write an important thought from it.

+++++

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

TRYING TO SEE JESUS

+ An interesting meditation can be supplied by Herod’s question and Luke’s comment

- Herod’s question: Who is this?

- Luke’s comment: He kept trying to see Jesus.

+ As one tries to grow spiritually, Herod’s question is fundamental: who is this person, this Jesus?

- it is the foundation question that must be asked

- why do we choose to follow this man?

- it can easily lead to commitment, deep involvement and acceptance as Lord and Savior

- but in order to accomplish that, we have to go further than merely trying to see him

+ As one studies the idea of getting to know who a person is

- in our case, who Jesus Christ is

- there are perhaps two steps to doing it

- one is the idea of “trying” to figure out who he is

- Herod was curious about Jesus

- that is the beginning of faith

- we have heard about this Jesus, and we want to go further

+ But the follow-up part of “trying to see” is absolutely necessary in order to know Jesus

- Herod couldn’t do it

- once we have heard about this Jesus, and have some idea about him,

- we have to accept him

- we have to accept his words, actions and thoughts

- we have to put them into practice in our lives

- and change if necessary

- we cannot be like the negative poem of the beginning of Ecclesiastes—there is nothing new under the sun, and so they just live from day to day without change, and go no further in life

- we have to change and say that there is something new under the sun and make Jesus our Lord and Savior

+ Herod asked the question of who Jesus was, and tried to see him,

- but he went no further

- as true followers of Jesus, we have to ask the question and answer it, and once we know who he is, we have to let that affect our lives.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Divirgent" -- beginning session
WHO WE ARE

The Gospel

MATTHEW 26:63b-65a

Then the high priest said to Jesus, “I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “You have said so. But I tell you: From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.’” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed!”

Gospelthink: I say exactly who I am. I know who the Lord is, but do I carry the answer into everything I do?

The movie "Divergent" takes place in Chicago in the future. A war has brought about the destruction of the United States, and all that remains are the people who have congregated in the once-upon-a-time metropolis. To bring about good order from the chaos of differences, the society has been divided into five independent factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave) and Erudite (the intellectual). The remaining population are the Factionless, people who have no status, the "poor" of the society. The story is that of Beatrice Prior who was born into Abnegation. She discovered through the universal test given to every young person that she was Divergent, capable of being in several factions, and therefore a possible threat to the system. She had to recognize who she was and choose to live with the choice.

Jesus knew who he was, and therefore what he had to do. The high priest who questioned him understood exactly Jesus's answer to his question of who Jesus was, and therefore wanted to have him executed. Quoting the Psalms and the Book of Daniel, Jesus identified himself to be the Messiah, the Promised One, and therefore he knew that his task was to redeem humankind, even those who were then persecuting him.

Beatrice Prior or "Tris" in the movie "Divergent" had to determine who she was. She had discovered that she could have been of the faction Abnegation or Erudite or Dauntless, and therefore Divergent, and a possible threat to the strict separation of the classes. As she chose to be Dauntless, she managed to maintain her selfless love of others from Abnegation and her knowledge of human nature from Erudite. She was able to choose well what she wanted her future to be, even as she realized that others had to be important in her life.

It is a fundamental and important lesson to learn: every one of us must choose who we want to be in the life that we are given. We are given a certain set of circumstances, a certain set of "preparation years" during which we have been formed in one way or another. There must come a time when we see what we were, and then what we can be for the future.

Jesus was able to identify what his life-calling was as he told the religious leaders exactly who he was. "Tris" was able to identify who she was as she came to understand her future role in the city. In a similar way, when we know who we are, we have a knowledge of what our future should be as well.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, You have given each of us our own personalities. Give us the grace to truly understand who we are so that we can freely choose to be what You want us to be. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: In order to choose a good life, it is important that we know who we are.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 67 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. What is your understanding of the Messiah? See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 436-440.
3. True blasphemy, the act of showing contempt for God, was punished by execution. Where do you sense true blasphemy in our world today?
4. What is your understanding of "redemption"? See Catechism, numbers 613-614.
5. When is the best time in a person's life to determine what their future should be?
6. If you could choose which faction in the movie you belonged to, which one would you choose and why?
7. What does it mean to "think independently"?
8. In general, what are human beings' worst fears?