September 4

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Thursday, September 4

LUKE 5:1-11
I chose my apostles, telling them that they will influence others.

Prayerthoughts
a. The crowd was listening to the Word of God. How well do I listen to the Word of God? Are there some elements of that Word that I do not pay as much attention to as I should?

b. The Lord is truly “in my boat,” that is my creator and giver of life. I should take the time right now to thank God for all that God has done for me, especially something that happened yesterday. (This is the task of the meditation.)

c. Sometimes it seems as though the Lord is giving me a directive that does not make sense, as Simon thought. It especially happens when something is happening to me that I wish were otherwise. I must take the time to see that the Lord is working with me in whatever that happens.

d. The Lord is always working and many times He will work as I want. Do I thank the Lord as often as I should?

e. One of my thoughts ought to be that I have sinned, and as a result to ask the Lord for forgiveness and for the honor of being created.

f. I truly should be astonished at what God has done for me and the world.

g. Jesus tells the Apostles that they will be “catching men,” signifying their future with Him. I may not have the same directive from the Lord, but I see people every day. I should take the time to accept His directive to love everyone I meet today.

h. I do not need to “leave everything,” but there are probably some things that I could easily give away to those who care for the needy of the world.

i. My prayerthoughts...

Today, I will read Colossians 1:9-14 and write an important thought from it.





Some Thoughts on the Liturgy


A TOTAL RESPONSE TO JESUS


+ The last phrase of the Gospel is the statement of how Luke describes the ministry of the Apostles:

- they left everything and became his followers

- that is, the Apostles gave a total response to Jesus


+ As you and I attempt to be spiritual people, there must be a total response to the Lord as well

- and from the liturgy today, there is some idea of what that total response means

1 – From Paul or a disciple of his writing to the Christians of Colossae in the first reading

- you have to be living a life worthy of the name of Christian, fully pleasing to God as far as possible

2 – From the Gospel, and Peter’s statements

- here, his statement: “But at your command…”—that is, he is going to follow what the Lord says even if it doesn’t seem to be the way he thinks it should be

- if we want to respond totally to God as a spiritual person,

- we must follow the word of God in Scripture

- determine the mind of Jesus and then if in the Gospels, Jesus says to do it, do it

3 – Again, a statement of Peter: “I am a sinful man”

- if we want to respond totally to the call to be a spiritual person

- we must admit the possibility of sin in our lives

- not only in the sense of having sinned,

- but especially in the sense of need of help right now


+ The liturgy today presents three important helps to the spiritual life and a total response to God

- these are not exhaustive, but they are all necessary:

- giving to self to the Christian cause, determine and follow the mind of Jesus, and recognize our real absolute need for God.







MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" -- beginning session

ACTING ONLY WITH THE TRUTH



 

The Gospel

LUKE 22:1-6

LUKE 22:1-6

Now the feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover,* was drawing near, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to put him to death, for they were afraid of the people.Then Satan entered into Judas the one surnamed Iscariot, who was counted among the Twelve, and he went to the chief priests and temple guards to discuss a plan for handing him over to them. They were pleased and agreed to pay him money. He accepted their offer and sought a favorable opportunity to hand him over to them in the absence of a crowd.

Gospelthink: My apostle turned against me. Are there times in my life when I turn against the Lord by my thoughts or actions or words?

The first session of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" is the story of Bruce Wayne/Batman's mistrust of Superman about how Superman was dealing with the problems of Metropolis. At the same time Clark Kent/Superman was questioning the way Batman had been working in Gotham City and he wanted his place of employment, the Daily Planet, to do an investigation of Batman. Bruce Wayne/Batman realized that to subdue Superman, he had to first discover a way to obtain kryptonite which made Superman weak. At the same time, with the evil intent of desiring the power of being in control, Lux Luthor was also attempting to find the kryptonite. Obsessed with his conviction that Superman was not good for earth, Bruce Wayne/Batman discovered a way to obtain the kryptonite from Luthor, and came close to destroying Superman forever.

When we are absolutely convinced that something is true, we usually will commit ourselves to pursue it. It is interesting to study Judas in such a light. Somewhere in his relationship with Jesus, Judas had come to the conclusion that Jesus was not good for the Jewish people. Whether it was something that Jesus said or the influence of the scribes and Pharisees, Judas finally convinced himself that he was the only apostle who understood the truth of Jesus, and he therefore set out to hand him over to the chief priests.

In the movie "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," Bruce Wayne/Batman became convinced that Superman was not good for the earth, and likewise Clark Kent/Superman was convinced that Batman was not good for the earth. Giving into their selfish desires, neither superheroes were able to think through their actions, and in the process caused much more damage than the evil could have caused by itself.

It is an important lesson to learn. No matter who we are, whether president or servant, if we do not think through an action, and rather continue to place all of our trust in our own point of view, we will cause damage. We must be committed to the truth, and therefore must determine it completely before we act. People cause much harm when they act with conviction without thinking through what they are doing.

Judas should have reasoned out what he was doing. Batman and Superman should have understood why their thinking was in error. Every one of us have the obligation to think through a solution before acting on it.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we study the people connected with Your Son's life, and we discover only too easily that many of them were governed by selfish behavior rather than the truth. May we always seek the truth in everything we do. Be with us, we pray. 

 

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: We cause harm when we act without thinking it through.
      
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 70 minutes)
1. What scene during this session is most striking and why?
2. In the Gospel passage, the Pharisees were "afraid of the people." Why were they afraid?
3. Note that part of the reason why Judas betrayed Jesus was money. Why can money be a cause of evil?
4. How would you described the character of Judas Iscariot?
5. What are some things that we must do in order to think through some serious decision?
6. Dialogue analysis: Batman is extremely pessimistic about "bad buys" who are more plentiful than "good guys." Do you believe that there are more people who are inclined to evil in our day? Yes or no and why?
7. Analysis: The killings in the movie. In your opinion, do the several killings in the movie have an effect on young people who see it? Yes or no and why?
8. Analysis: The mothers of Batman and Superman play an important role in the movie. In general, do you think that we respect our parents enough in our world? Yes or no and why?

 

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America