notime2

September 5

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Saturday, September 5

LUKE 6:1-5
The religious leaders were not at all interested in my new way of life.

Prayerthoughts
a. Our Sabbath day is Sunday. In general, have I kept holy our Sabbath Day, refraining from unnecessary work and giving myself to prayer?

b. Jesus could see that an exception was given in the past to accommodate people, showing that people were more important than law. Have I shown a sincere love for all people in my immediate circle? In what area can I do better?

c. When Jesus tells me to love everyone, are their some whom I have deliberately excluded? Perhaps I should take the time to pray for them right now.

d. Jesus is lord of the Sabbath. The Pharisees had many laws about things that were not permitted on the Sabbath. Jesus has his own law. In your opinion from the Scriptures with which you are familiar, what are Jesus’s three most important laws for me right now?

e. In general, what does Jesus mean when he says that the Sabbath was made for man?

f. My prayerthoughts….

Today, I will read 1 Corinthians 4:6b-15 write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE LAW

+ The Gospel gives us one of the common points of disagreements between Jesus and the Pharisees, namely the law

- and how important is the law

- in this case, it is the law of the Sabbath

- and in particular, what can be done on the Sabbath

- we know from our study of Hebrew literature at the time of Jesus that the laws of the Sabbath were quite extensive

- hundreds of laws, telling the Israelite men and women how they were to behave, how many paces they could walk, and exactly how much work could be done

- one of those laws dealt with eating and the activity which led to eating, the case in today’s Gospel

- another dealt with healing, the case in Monday’s Gospel

- today, Jesus points out to the Pharisees that eating is more important than the laws of the Sabbath

- and in Jesus’s scheme of things, as he talks about the Kingdom of God that he was preaching,

- he, Jesus, the Son of Man as he frequently calls himself, will put the law of the Sabbath into the proper perspective

+ As we search for an application of that Gospel in our lives today in the twenty-first century

- probably that ideal is something that we should consider—we have to place law into the proper perspective

- unfortunately, our own Catholic history and heritage has imitated a stress on law that has been too strong

- and immediately, we have to say that law is important as a guideline

- Jesus did not do away with all law

- he just said that sometimes some things are more important than law, like people, and in particular ourselves, and our eating, the topic of today’s Gospel

- the same with our Catholic tradition—some things are more important than the laws that we have come to know such as the Ten Commandments or the Canon law of the Church

+ When is something more important than the law?

- usually the Gospels will suggest that situations involving people can be more important, like our eating, in today’s reading

- that is, taking care of self

- in the first reading from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, Paul is admonishing the Corinthians about their personal attitudes

- it is a complicated reading and probably would demand a little bit better knowledge of the situation than what we have

- but in general, it is a statement against boasting and pride, and recognizing the gifts that God has given us

- that is the law of Jesus, as Paul explains it

- if sometimes you have to boast as Paul does in some of his letters, then the law has to give way to what is more important

+ Even if law is most important as we live our Christian spiritual lives, there are things that are more important than the law

- Jesus reminds us of that today

- we have to have a healthy respect for what the law says, but we have to understand also that people—in today’s Gospel, ourselves—sometimes take precedence over the law.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "No Time to Die" -- final session

THE ULTIMATE GIFT

The Gospel

JOHN 15:12-17

Jesus said, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love that this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. I was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.

Gospelthink: My first practical commandment is that you show love to everyone. Have I managed to keep the commandment?

In the movie "No Time to Die," James Bond reestablished his relationship with Madeleine after discovering that she had not betrayed him. Lyutsifer Safin who was the real evil managed to infect Madeleine with the virus that killed Blofield, the leader of Spectre. In reality, Safin had directed all of the evil, even overpowering Spectre. Eventually, M and Q in MI6 headquarters enabled Bond to infiltrate the island in which Safin had set up his operation. Safin had set up the island to facilitate the manufacture of the virus in order to conquer the world, a virus that Obruchev of MI6 had invented, but Safin had taken over. Of course, as in all of the Bond movies, James Bond wins in the end, but this time after he has killed Safin, freed Madeleine and arranged for the destruction of the island where Safin had manufactured the virus, he was trapped. Having discovered that Madeleine was the mother of his child, he willingly died with the love of Madeleine and his son in his mind.

What would we do if we were in a situation that required us to die on behalf of another? Jesus, our redeemer, made such a decision. Paul the Apostle describes Jesus's death this way: "Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-7)" Jesus died for humankind, even though in many ways we did not love God the way we should, and could be called "sinners." James Bond's gift to Madeleine was given in the context of one who loves; it was not only the gift of love, but it was the ultimate proof of the gift of love. As Jesus reminded his followers, there is no greater love.

Again, the original question, what would we do if we had to die for another? We obviously do not know the answer because we are not in such a situation, and we do not know how we would act. We know we have great examples of people who have loved to such an extent, and we have seen it enacted on the movie screen. Usually the dying for another is in a romantic context as in the movie "No Time to Die," but as Jesus describes it, this type of love ought to be part of every believer in Jesus Christ on behalf of anyone else. It is a difficult doctrine. In fact, in today's world, some might even call it and impossible doctrine.

Knowing that such proofs of love exists is only part of the answer. Perhaps our principal concentration must be on managing to love everyone as completely as we can. Then, if the ultimate is required of us, we would be ready to show it.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son died for us, the ultimate statement that he loved us. We were not worthy of such devotion to us. Help us learn the lesson of love in such a way that if we were asked to give our lives for someone else, we would be able to do it. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: In the end, the way to die is to give up our life for love.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 77 minutes)
1. What scene during this session is most striking and why?
2. Concerning the Lord's directive to love everyone, do Christians even try to follow it?
3. Looking at this movie from the point of view of the end of this series of James Bond movies, what is the principal lesson that James Bond gives the world?
4. Do you think that most good Christians would die on behalf of another?
5. Besides, Jesus who is the best example of someone willing to die for another?
6. If everyone truly loved one another, what is the first thing that would change in our world?
7. What does the movie "No Time to Die" teach young people?