[media presentation below] GospelThink Saturday, January 6 MARK 1:7-11 I go through the rite of Baptism even though I did not need it. Prayerthoughts a. John knows that Jesus is more important than he is. Do I find myself considering myself to be more important than others and thinking accordingly? b. I have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. How should that affect the way I am living right now? c. Jesus was baptized because he wanted to appear as one of us completely. Thinking of my life right now, what helps me most to know that Jesus was just like me except for sin? d. Obviously, there were no miraculous actions at my Baptism. But a miracle did occur for my soul. What are the other miraculous happenings that have occurred in my life? e. As I think of my spiritual life right now, would the Lord say to me that He is well pleased with what I am attempting to do? f. My prayerthoughts….   Today, I will look up the baptismal promises that I or my sponsors made and reflect on them. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  PUT GOD MORE INTO LIFE  + Jesus did not need the baptism of John         – but it is a perfect example of the human Jesus showing us the way to better spirituality:                 – you begin the process with Baptism or admitting of sin                 – theologically, we understand that at Baptism original sin is wiped out in the sense that it is no longer a force that will destroy our relationship with God                         – unfortunately sinfulness, that is, our tendency toward evil, remains, but because of our association with Jesus, we can overcome it + The voice from the heavens as recorded by Mark says that to us:         You are my beloved Son; with you, I am well pleased.                 – that is, everyone should recognize that they must have Jesus’ thoughts and actions to overcome the sinfulness that remains in their lives, that is, to grow spiritually                 – what exactly does that call us to do?                         – fundamentally, I think that it means that we do what Jesus did in his life which was to make an effort to place God into everything that he did  + I think that we have to work from a basic premise which says: we must bring ourselves and our children to God because no one else will do it:         – society won’t do it / public schools won’t do it / the media in general won’t do it         – therefore we must do it         – are we giving God a priority in the way we go about things?         + I’m asked often: why don’t we have more people wanting to be priests and religious         – I think that very much of it has to do with the image of God/Church/religion that is present in our society and that is shown to the young people of our world         – too often that image is not good at all  + Our thinking today began with the Baptism of Jesus which he didn’t need, but went through anyway to teach us how to begin our spiritual growth         – and our spiritual growth deals with the importance that we place on God in our lives                 – as the world outside watches us and how we act, what importance do we place in the presence of God? MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “The Way” — Ariana Grande featuring Mac Miller THE JOY OF FEELING GOOD The Gospel LUKE 10:17-20 The seventy [-two] returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Gospelthink: My disciples were joyful when they come back from their preaching. Do I in general show a joyful attitude?

“I love the way you make me feel,” the woman of the relationship sings, and the man sings, “I’m thinking ‘bout her every second, every hour.” She continues, “You give me that kind of something, want it all the time, need it every day. On a scale of one to ten, I’m at a hundred. If you want it, I got it, I’ll never leave you. I got a bad boy I must admit it, you got my heart. I love the way you make me feel.”

Ariana Grande and Mac Miller’s song “The Way” is a song about a love relationship with strong feelings and a relationship that both feel will last. It is one of those truly joyful moments in a relationship, portrayed very well in the official video of the song. Obviously, the feeling of joy is one that we want often in our lives. Studying the Gospels, we discover the description of joyful feelings quite often. At one time after Jesus had sent his Apostles out on a mission, they came back “rejoicing” because they felt success in their endeavor. Success in an undertaking is always a time to celebrate. It is important to notice how Jesus reacts with the Apostles in their moment of joy. He first celebrates the same joy, but he then takes the occasion to teach. Even as he celebrates their success, Jesus points out to them what should be the ultimate joy, namely that they will have eternal life. We should take note of the lesson here. There are occasions to rejoice, but we do not want to lose sight of what is true joy. It brings up the whole discussion of emotions in general. Emotions or feelings will always be part of our lives. We obviously want joyful emotions as in the song and as the Apostles felt in the Gospel story. But there are strong negative emotions in our personal world as well. Feelings of disappointment, rejection, hurt and sorrow can easily dictate negative behavior. The lesson for joyful feelings as well as negative ones is the same. We must always put them in perspective of what our true feeling should be at every moment of our lives, namely, whether we are on track with God or not.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we are people who have strong feelings about our lives. Sometimes those feelings are quite positive, sometimes just the opposite. Give us the grace to control the feelings that we experience. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT   Theme: We have to “work with” our strong feelings. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. In the Gospel. Jesus sent the seventy-two disciples to the towns that he intended to visit in order to prepare for him when he came. In many ways Christians are the “seventy-two” of today. What is the best way to prepare for Jesus’ coming in our lives? 2. Analysis: “Satan fall like lightning.” The good news of Christianity is that Satan is conquered. In our world today, where do you think that Satan or evil has the most influence? 3. Analysis: “Your names are written in heaven.” It is another way of saying that they will have eternal life. Is the thought of “going to heaven” or “eternal life” truly important for the Christian today? Yes or no and why? 4 The song says that we need the good feeling of joyful love every day. We actually do not “need” the feeling, but it makes life better with it. What are the things in life which make us feel most alive? 5. Analysis: “on a scale of 1-10.” It is a good scale to talk about the things that should be important for the Christian. The presenter may want to take a number of Christian topics, and ask the question of “On a scale of 1-10,” how important is …..” 6. Text analysis: “I will never leave you.” These are strong words of commitment. In general, do you think that people who are beginning love promise too much too soon? Yes or no and why? 7. Text analysis: “I got a bad boy.” What is the meaning of the phrase? 8. What have been the moments of the greatest joy in your life so far? 9. As you think about “success in an undertaking,” what is most necessary in order to bring about success? 10. What are the strongest negative feelings that people experience in the world today? 11. In today’s world, what  keeps us on track with God most of all? Why? 12. What does the song “The Way”  teach young people today?