September 30

   [media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, September 30

LUKE 9:51-56
I remind the Apostles that our mission is not to condemn.

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem, and bring about redemption through his death and resurrection. What should Jesus's act of redemption mean for me personally?

b. The Samaritan village would not welcome them. Jesus rejects the possibility of destroying the village as his Apostles wanted. Am I a peaceful person, trying to bring about true peace in the situations in which I am involved?

c. I should take the time to pray for the people involved in those parts of our world in which there is very little peace.

d. Jesus rebuked James and John for wanting to hurt people. Have I hurt people by my words or actions lately? I should take the time to pray for them and if possible, ask pardon from them.

e. Notice that Jesus simply goes to another village. He shows no criticism at all to the people who were against him. In my words, actions and thoughts, do I harbor desire for revenge?

f. My prayerthoughts….

Today I will read Zechariah 8:20-23 and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE DOCTRINE OF NON-RETALIATION

+ One of the facts of our human nature is that we will experience negative feelings

- in the Gospel, the Apostles were upset with the Samaritans who had rejected them

- being human, they thought in terms of some type of retaliation

- they had just come from their mission in Galilee in which they had cured diseases and spoken eloquently

- they were saying: why not use that power to curse these people

- Jesus takes the time to patiently teach them one of the doctrines of his Kingdom, namely, non-retaliation

- you don’t get back at anybody

- when people reject you, you go to another town

- or generalizing, when there are negatives caused by others or situations, you simply continue on without revenge as best you can

+ There is a relatively easy application here for the truly spiritual person both on a personal and a general level

1 – on a personal level: things are not going to go well all the time

- there will be rejection, or simply “down” days

- there is a tendency to become depressed and blame God

- “I don’t deserve this” type of attitude

- and we let that attitude dictate how we act and what we say

- Jesus would say here: you treat this with an acceptance that somehow this is all in the plan of God

- and you do your best with the situation as in the Gospel: you work out another way

2 – sometimes, speaking in general, there will be people that will deliberately do things to us for whatever reason

- sometimes even with reason, sometimes totally unjustified

- the natural feeling is retaliation, revenge, a subject which is treated favorably in just about every TV show or movie

- Jesus says: you don’t say anything, you simply find another way—non-retaliation

+ The prophet Zechariah speaks in prophecy in the name of Yahweh

- here the Hebrew Scriptures once again are referring to the importance of Israel’s God, and later, as the Gospels tell us, God’s Son, Jesus

- Jesus is indeed the center of our doctrine

- God is with us through Jesus

- and Jesus gives an important lesson on revenge today

- it simply should not be part of Christian thought.                                                                                   

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Golden” (Huntr/X)

DOING THE RIGHT THING

Luke 12:54-57

Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately; that it is going to rain—and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot—and so it is. You Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? Why do you judge for yourselves what is right?”

Gospelthink:

We should be able to determine what is right.

The Song:

“I was a ghost; I was alone, given the throne; I didn’t know how to behave, I was the queen that I’m meant to be. I lived two lives, tried to play both sides, but I couldn’t find my own place. Called a problem child ‘cause I got too wild. But now that’s how I’m getting paid. We’re going up, it’s our moment. You know together we’re glowin, gonna be golden. I’m done hidin’ now, I’m shinin’ like I’m born to be; oh, our time, no fears, no lies, that’s who we’re born to be.”

The Thought:

We tend to do things the same way day after day. We don’t like to disturb those routines, and if we have put into those routines negatives, something wrong, we tend to keep doing the same thing, and therefore make the same mistakes. In order to live a good life, we have to determine the right thing to do, and move ourselves to do it.

In the song “Golden” by Huntr/x, a Korean trio of talented singers, (from the film “K Pop Demon Hunters) it sounds as though the heroines have determined what is right, and they go after it with all their might. They studied their lives, and studied what had to be done.

Jesus felt the same way as he dealt with the religious leaders of his day. He wanted them to do some serious thinking about what they were doing, asking them to judge what is right and what is wrong.

The Question:

In my living, am I always trying to discern what is right according to the laws of Jesus?