TGIMMpart

September 3
[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, September 3 LUKE 4:31-37 Controlling Evil Prayerthoughts a. a. Jesus kept the Sabbath day holy. My Sabbath is of course Sunday. Do I give a proper amount of time to prayer and to my family on Sundays? b. Jesus was a teacher. In many ways I am a teacher to those around me. As I study what I do, say yesterday, what are the principal themes of my “teaching”? c. Evil knows when holiness is present. My holiness should control my words, actions and especially my thinking. Am I evil in these things? d. Jesus controls every evil. What evil do I want Jesus to help me with today? e. A good phrase to meditate on: “What is there about his word?” We see holiness in action before our eyes. In our world, where do we see holiness the most? (This is the task of the meditation.) f. If your “fame” would spread in the place around you, how would people describe you. g. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will answer letter e.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy IMBUED WITH THE MIND OF JESUS + In the first reading from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, Paul makes an important distinction for anyone interested in the spiritual life - calling for us to understand the difference between a natural man/woman and a spiritual man/woman - natural man/woman—does not understand what pertains to the Spirit of God - spiritual man/woman—a man/woman is able to judge everything because he/she has the mind of Christ - the fundamental element of the spiritual man/woman is that which rules his/her thought process - namely, the mind of Jesus the reason why Scripture is so important - it is the only way to determine the mind of Jesus + The Gospel gives us one of those characteristics of the spiritual person imbued with the mind of Jesus - as Jesus, he/she must be interested and concerned about the liberation of those who are oppressed by evil - “the spirit of an unclean demon” means various things in Scripture - and one of them is the control that evil has in one’s innermost self - evil is controlling the situation in the man’s life - and Jesus addresses that evil directly, freeing the man + It is the mind of Jesus to free from evil - the person imbued with the mind of Jesus will simply not allow evil to control a situation, if he/she can possibly prevent it - there are many applications of this Scripture in daily living, of course - one of them, we might consider, is in our speech - we have so many bad examples of that happening wherever we are - we are surrounded by it right now at political campaign time with the negative campaigning of candidates + The spiritual person is a person who has been overcome by the mind of Jesus—that is a great image: to be overcome with the mind of Jesus - and today we hear that one of the characteristics of the mind of Jesus is that such a one attacks evil whenever it is present.
MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: "Part of Me" -- Katy Perry YOU CAN NEVER BREAK A SOUL

The Gospel

LUKE 14:1-6

On a sabbath [Jesus] went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people were observing him carefully. In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking, "Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?" But they kept silent; so he took the man and, after he had healed him, dismissed him. Then he said to them, "Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?" But they were unable to answer his question.

Gospelthink: I wanted the religious leaders to understand that people are much more important than law. Have I placed the good treatment of others as a priority in my life?

"Days like this, I want to drive away; you chewed me up and spit me out like I was poison in your mouth. But that was then and this is now. This is the part of me that you’re never gonna ever take from me. Throw your sticks and your stones, throw your bombs and your blows, but you’re never gonna break my soul. Now, look at me: I'm sparkling, a firework, a dancing flame. You won't ever put me out again. I'm glowin'."

Jesus always had the highest regard for human beings, especially those who were set aside by the majority of the people. One of the ways that he showed it was by his attitude toward the laws of the sabbath. Jesus considered the sabbath sacred, as did the religious leaders, but the laws of the sabbath were not as important as a human person or even a suffering animal. Observing Jesus' attitude toward the human person, one must always conclude that every human being is very special because every human being is a child of God.

Katy Perry's song "Part of Me" is an excellent song about the importance of every individual. The person in the song has been hurt by her boyfriend, but she is saying that she will survive. She has the highest regard for the human person, and in particular, her own humanity. She knows the importance of her own soul, as she says, and no one will ever be able to take away the depth of who we are.

Of course, there are going to be problems: we are going to feel like we have been chewed up, and spit out of people’s lives because of whatever reason. Sometimes, unfortunately, we are at fault, and we should be chewed up a little. That in itself is very difficult to face, because we do not like to think that we are at fault. But sometimes, we are not at fault; the other person should not be doing the chewing up and spitting out. It is totally wrong, and it should not be happening, but it is. The person in the song has the attitude that it is not going to make any difference in her life because she realizes who she is, that she has a soul.

Now, of course, the sticks and stones and bombs and blows are going to hurt the lady in the song, no matter how much she says that such a thing is not going to happen. We are all human and we are going to feel the mental pain of someone not liking us or talking us down, especially when we do not deserve it. But her attitude is the one to be learned and sought after by every one in our world. We are human beings; there is greatness in our lives because of it. We must treat ourselves and others with that in mind.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, you have given us the great gift of creation. May we always thank you by being aware of the importance of who we are, both for ourselves and for others. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: We must understand the greatness of our humanity at all times in our lives, even when we have pain.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. In the Gospel, the man with the disease may have been the reason why Jesus was invited to the meal, hoping for a cure. One of the laws of Christian love is that we are good to the sick. In general, do Christians have a true loving care for the sick in the world? Yes or no and why?
2. In general why is the Sabbath (Saturdays for Jewish people; Sundays for Christians) such an important day? Do you think that people treat the Sabbath any differently from other days of the week? Yes or no and why?
3. Should shops and stores be open on the Sabbath? Yes or no and why?
4. Why are breakups often so bitter?
5. The person in the song has a very positive outlook on life as she sings the song. What will it take to keep such a positive attitude in her life?
6. What is the best way to treat a person who has hurt us in a past love relationship? Is it the way most people would behave? Yes or no and why?
7. Analysis: no one will ever be able to take away the depth of who we are. What is the meaning of the statement?
8. In general, do most Christians think that every one is a special child of God?
9. The presenter may want to make a presentation on "body and soul." See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 362-368.
10. The meditation refers to times when we should be chewed up a little. In particular, what are some of those times?
11. Jesus has said that we must forgive those who have hurt us. In general, do Christians follow the doctrine of forgiveness all the time? Yes or no and why?
12. What is the best way to heal the mental pain that comes into our lives because of what others do to us or our families?
13. What does the song "Part of Me" teach young people?