creed

	FINDING SOMEONE TO GUIDE US

The Gospel

JOHN 14:1-6

Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way." Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Gospelthink: Jesus promises a place for me and I promise to make him my way, truth and life. Do I carry out that promise all the time?

The Media -- "Creed" (beginning session)

Adonis "Donnie" Johnson was a fighter all his life. The movie "Creed" which is his story begins with his constant fighting as a young boy. Thanks to the efforts of his step-mother who was the wife of Adonis' father, Apollo Creed, Donnie was introduced into the corporate world. He did quite well with his life, but he did not feel any fulfillment with his accomplishments. "Fighting" was still in his blood, with thoughts of being a boxing champion. Realizing that he could not accomplish it on his own, he begged his father's friend and former opponent Rocky Balboa to train him. Adonis understood completely that if he wanted to do something well, he had to have direction from someone who could give it well.

If one wants to grow in the Christian spiritual life, one must follow the words of Jesus in the Gospels. And in particular, the Christian must hear the words specifically spoken in John's Gospel: "I am the way and the truth and the life." Jesus knew our human natures and therefore he knew that in difficult matters, we had to have a certain direction, saying to us that he was the guide to such spiritual maturity.

In fact, no matter what kind of maturity that we seek, we always need some guide, some specific direction that we should go. The unselfish way of understanding such direction is to realize that we cannot do it ourselves. We play an extremely important part, of course, because we must motivate ourselves to seek the maturity. But we must in general seek out someone or something that we can "copy" or at least try to learn from. Such was Adonis' thinking in the movie "Creed" as he sought out the gifts and talents of a person very close to his father in the boxing world, Rocky Balboa.

The general lesson is easy enough to understand. You and I must mature as we grow. Honestly speaking, no matter how old we are, we can always learn from some mentor or some guide. Discovering our skills is one part of our maturing process. Our spiritual maturity is just as important. In truth, the more we turn to the Lord as our guide--our way, our truth and our life--the better we will discover the maturity in every area of our lives.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, You understood how we would need help in this complicated world in which we find ourselves. Give us the honesty to always seek Your Son's guidance, and thus learn to mature as You want us to. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: When we grow into maturity, we need some guide to help us.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 62 minutes)
1. What scene during this session is most striking to you and why?
2. In he Gospel, what do you think Jesus means when he says that he will prepare a place for the Apostles?
3. In your opinion, have most Christians truly chosen Jesus to be the way, the truth and the life for themselves? Yes or no and why?
4. Who or what is the primary guide for most Christians in our world?
5. How do we motivate ourselves to be better than we are?
6. Is it possible to bring about true motivation for others to follow a certain path? Yes or no and why?
7. What does it mean to say that we must mature as we grow?
8. In your opinion, do most people consider their spiritual maturity as important as any other personal maturity? Yes or no and why?
9. Scene analysis: Adonis' early life. In general, do our correctional institutions for the young accomplish what they should in life? Yes or no and why?
10. Analysis: what is your opinion about whether the art of professional boxing is morally good or bad? Why?
11. Analysis: It has been suggested that a certain amount of "arrogance" is necessary for the sport of professional boxing. In your opinion, is it a true statement? Yes or no and why?

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike