| September 27 | |
| [media presentation below] GospelThink
Tuesday, September 27LUKE 9:51-56
PrayerthoughtsI remind the Apostles that our mission is not to condemn. 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 consider some times when I was hurt, and take the time to pray for the people involved.
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Some Thoughts on
the Liturgy NON-RETALIATION
+ In the book of Job, God allows Satan not only to touch Job’s family and livelihood - but to touch him personally with all kinds of physical and mental ailments - and so Job’s question, “why” is not a curse of God so much, although his friends urge him to do that throughout the book - but it is a statement of bewilderment about God’s goodness - in his speeches, Job therefore becomes pre-occupied with depression + Those negative feelings are part of any life - and case in point—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 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 his doctrines of the Kingdom—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—easy, but very difficult to carry out 1 – personal: things are not going to go well all the time - we won’t have the problems that a Job had - but there will be rejection, and 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 in life - 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 Jesus does in the Gospel: you work out another way 2 – in general, there will be people that will deliberately do things to us, to our friends, for whatever reason - sometimes with reason, sometimes totally unjustified - the natural feeling is retaliation, revenge, a subject which is treated favorably in just about every TV show or big screen movie - Jesus says: you don’t say anything, you simply find another way—non-retaliation + Jesus gives an important lesson on revenge today - it simply should not be part of a Christian’s thinking. |
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| MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: "Applause" -- Lady Gaga
LIVING FOR THE APPLAUSE
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| The Gospel | LUKE 1:49-52 |
[Mary said:] "The
Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His
mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might
with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has
thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly."
"I stand here waiting for you to bang the gong, to crash the critic saying, ‘Is it right or is it wrong?’ If only fame had an IV, could I bear being away from you. I found the vein, put it in here. I live for the applause, live for the way that you cheer and scream for me. Give me that thing that I love—applause. I’ll turn the lights on. Put your hands up, make ‘em touch, make it real loud.”
One of most beautiful prayers contained in Scripture is the one attributed to Mary the Mother of Jesus. Known as the Magnificat, Mary
takes justifiable pride in what God has done for her, and at the same
time understands what will happen to those who are "arrogant of mind
and heart." Both parts of pride are important for anyone interested in
living a good life.
Singing of pride in her song "Applause," Lady Gaga calls attention to both parts of pride. First, there is a justifiable pride in being accepted by someone we love. The lady in Lady Gaga's song wants more than anything to have someone "cheer and scream" for her, a feeling that is justifiable in a love relationship because both must feel good about the other.
But, there is a pride that is harmful as well. A person who only wants applause, that is, a person who only wants praise from others can easily fall into arrogance, placing him/herself "above" others, making others feel less important in their lives, and in general, desiring only what they want as a guide to life in general.
In day-to-day living, we must be aware of both of those elements. We must have pride in ourselves, recognizing the abilities that we have, and understanding the contributions that we can make to the ones that we love. It is the foundation of being able to accomplish what we want to achieve as we grow. But we must know the sinfulness of pride as well. Too many people who are accomplished in life forget about the importance of others, what others have done for them, and often destroy any possible relationship, whether romantic or otherwise.
The virtue of pride helps us live well because we know that we can learn from others. The sin of pride makes us lose sight of others because we only see ourselves.
Singing of pride in her song "Applause," Lady Gaga calls attention to both parts of pride. First, there is a justifiable pride in being accepted by someone we love. The lady in Lady Gaga's song wants more than anything to have someone "cheer and scream" for her, a feeling that is justifiable in a love relationship because both must feel good about the other.
But, there is a pride that is harmful as well. A person who only wants applause, that is, a person who only wants praise from others can easily fall into arrogance, placing him/herself "above" others, making others feel less important in their lives, and in general, desiring only what they want as a guide to life in general.
In day-to-day living, we must be aware of both of those elements. We must have pride in ourselves, recognizing the abilities that we have, and understanding the contributions that we can make to the ones that we love. It is the foundation of being able to accomplish what we want to achieve as we grow. But we must know the sinfulness of pride as well. Too many people who are accomplished in life forget about the importance of others, what others have done for them, and often destroy any possible relationship, whether romantic or otherwise.
The virtue of pride helps us live well because we know that we can learn from others. The sin of pride makes us lose sight of others because we only see ourselves.
PRAYER
Good
and gracious God, your Son's earthly mother Mary is one of the great
examples of living that you have given to us. May we learn from her as
we understand what we can accomplish in life, and how selfish pride can
harm us. Be with us, we pray.
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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT
GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT
Theme: We must have pride in ourselves, but not too much.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. The Magnificat may have been an ancient hymn that Luke inserted in his narrative and attributed to Mary. From the excerpt given in the reading, what is the overall meaning of the hymn?
2. Where is God's mercy shown the most?
3. Text analysis: "Lifted up the lowly." What is the meaning of the phrase?
4. Text analysis: "I stand here waiting for you to bang the gong." What is the meaning of the sentence?
5. What is the meaning of "applause" in the song?
6. Living for applause will cause problems when the applause ceases. How should we look at ourselves once we are no longer a center of attention?
7. Give an example in today's world of "justifiable pride."
8. The meditation says that we must have pride in ourselves. How do we show pride in ourselves without "being proud"?
9. In today's world, we cannot judge whether "celebrities" are proud. What is a good way of determining whether another person is proud or not?
10. What does the song "Applause" teach young people?
©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America