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April 20
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[media presentation below]
GospelThink
Easter Weekday, Saturday, April 20
JOHN 6:60-69
I want you to believe and say that I have the words of
eternal life.
Prayerthoughts
a. What are the most difficult of all of Jesus’s teachings for me, and
what has been my response to them?
b. Those words of Jesus in the Gospel are a major part of my spiritual
life. Am I spending as much time as I should in developing my
spiritual life?
c. There are some who do not believe as we do. Jesus did not condemn
them. Perhaps I should adopt a new attitude toward believers
who are different in belief than I am.
d. I have been blessed by God in believing in the Eucharist and Jesus’s
other major teachings. Again, thanksgiving to the Lord is in order
in my prayer today.
e. We reply with Peter that Jesus has the words of everlasting life.
What thoughts, actions and words should I work on to make them
more indicative of Jesus’s influence?
f. The apostles tell Jesus that they are convinced that Jesus is the
center of their lives. We believe that Jesus is Lord for us. Do I
go so far as to say, “I am convinced”? What should I do to show
that I am more convincing in my words?
g. My prayerthoughts…
Today, I will read Acts of the Apostles, chapter 9:21-43
and
write an important thought from it.
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Some Thoughts on the Liturgy
COMING TO BELIEVE
+ There are two ideas that come from the readings
today, both of which concern the thought of becoming a believer in Jesus
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one of them is the thought of Peter and his particular process of
becoming a believer
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the other is the thought of coming to believe for all of us
+ In the Gospel, we see Peter in the process of
beginning to believe
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using strong words, words of real commitment
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“we have come to believe”, “we are convinced”
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of course, he was in process because we know of his struggles later on as
Jesus suffered and died
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his denial and running away from the situation
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but he was to end by the grace of the Holy Spirit in the Acts reading
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with complete trust in the Lord, total confidence because of him
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capable of miracles
+ The application to us Christians is pretty easy
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we too are in process
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we believe in the Lord, but we know that we also fail and have failed
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but our prayer is that we survive as Peter did
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and become true believers in the Lord who are willing to follow him
completely
+ Secondly, that phrase of Peter’s in the Gospel —“we
have come to believe”
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and a similar statement at the end of the Acts reading describing the
early followers of Peter—“many came to believe”
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meaning—“we have done some serious thinking, and we have arrived at the
conclusion”
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the Gospel statement is after Jesus’ discussion of the Eucharist in
John’s Gospel
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some people could not accept it, and left Jesus
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Peter says: we have carefully considered this, and have come to believe
in you, concluding—“to whom shall we go”
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in the Acts statement after Peter’s miracles
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people were trying to understand the world around them, how God was at
work
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and they finally conclude after seeing Peter’s miracles that they will
believe
+ The application here is that we have to be people who
carefully consider what Jesus says and did
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by study, by reading, by prayer
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and come to the conclusion as Peter did in the Gospel—“to whom shall we
go, you have the words of eternal life”
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and then follow through with those words in our living
+ Therefore, we have two thoughts to consider about
coming to believe
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Peter’s evolving into who he was
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our own evolving into what we should be.
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MEDIA PRESENTATION
Movie: "Top Gun Maverick"
-- beginning session
AGAINST ORDERS
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On
another sabbath he went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man
there who right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him
closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a
reason to accuse him. But he realized their intentions and said to the man
with the withered hand, "Come up and stand before us." And he rose
and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do
good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to
destroy it? Looking around at them all, he then said to him, "Stretch
out your hand." He did so and his hand was restored. But they became
enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.
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Gospelthink:
People are more important than law.
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Pete "Maverick" Mitchell was
a test pilot, maybe the very best test pilot at the time. And he knew
it. He was absolutely convinced that he was, and there was simply no
discussion, in his mind anyway. And so, when things did not go his way because
those who made the decisions felt that no one could do what had to be done in
his field of expertise, he was adamant. We see it as the movie begins when
Maverick against orders, took his plane to a Mach 10 speed; we see it later on when he proved again against all orders that
an action of war involving his plane could be carried out within a specific
time frame. Luckily, he had people in high places who could "cover"
his disobedience and keep him active. But he proved that he was right.
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In a situation that usually is
dictated by obedience, sometimes if we know we are right, some type of
independence may be in order. Jesus knew that principle of living, and he
also knew the law of not curing on the Sabbath. Therefore
he knew that he was breaking the law, but he also believed with all his heart
that what he was doing, namely curing another, was more important than any
law.
The tricky area, of course, is finding out the instances in which obedience
to a law is less important than what one thinks is right. Jesus felt that he
had good reason to disobey the law. In the movie "Top Gun
Maverick," Pete "Maverick" Mitchell felt the same way about
the law determined by an immediate superior. He was totally convinced he was
right.
When one justifies a disobedient action, such a one is leaving him or herself
open to harsh judgment. And the action should be carefully studied
before it is taken. In the movie "Top Gun Maverick," Maverick
probably did not take the necessary time to study the situation, but he felt
he was correct in his action.
As you and I in the "normal" situations of
life discover what is the best good that can be done, usually it will be the
path of obedience. But chances are that some circumstance may say to us that
we must disobey the law in whatever form it comes. Perhaps the best criterion
to measure such a moment was pointed out by Jesus, indeed was in Maverick's
mind as well: the good of people is more important than law.
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PRAYER
Good and gracious God, Your Son
constantly ran up against the fact that "the law" dictated action
that did not agree with the love that he was teaching his world. In whatever
we do, help us be able to follow "the law" but always be aware that
love is more important than law. Be with us, we pray.
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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT
Theme: The thin line between obedience and independence must be governed by
love.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 60 minutes)
1. What scene during this session is most striking
and why?
2. In your opinion, why did the religious leaders of Jesus's time
dislike him so much?
3. In today's world, do people in general "keep holy the Sabbath,"
that is for us, a Sunday? Yes or no and why?
4. People often will break some law, for example in driving, paying taxes,
and so forth. Do you think that people care about breaking such a law? Yes or
no and why?
5. Do people tend to consider carefully some law
that they are deliberately not following? Yes or no and why?
6. What are some instances today when helping people may be against some law?
7. In general, do the people of our world believe (and follow that belief)
that all people are good and should be helped in some way if they need
it?
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2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of
the Capuchin Province of Mid-America
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