[media presentation below] GospelThink Wednesday, March 8 MATTHEW 20:17-28 You must not be like my two Apostles; you cannot have pride that hurts others. Prayerthoughts a. Jesus is speaking of his death and resurrection. Am I prepared for my death? What can I do to prepare myself a little more? b. How would I feel if I were mocked and scourged for simply proclaiming something that I believed in? c. My attitude toward prayer is often the selfish attitude of the mother of the Sons of Zebedee here: “Command that these….” How can I be more unselfish in my prayer? d. I want to have eternal life, to be sure, but I must do something to earn it. Am I doing enough right now? e. Can I “drink of the cup” that Jesus gives me?  Can I say with all sincerity that I accept whatever God sends me in this life? f. The apostles are indignant at James and John. Do I see any jealousy in my life right now? g. Jesus gives a very straightforward explanation of people who want power in the world. In my thinking, do I spend too much time judging others as if I were more important than they are? h. Again, Jesus is very straightforward with me concerning how I should be in this world: a servant, even a “slave” to others. Am I the servant to others that I should be? i. My prayerthoughts….   Today I will be aware of someone to whom I should be more of a servant, and do something for that person. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy SERVICE TO OTHERS + The thought of the liturgy today, as it was yesterday, is the idea of serving others if we really want to be a Christian           – today it is said with a very human background                      – a mother wanting the best for her sons, wanting her sons to glory in what Jesus was preaching and then, her sons agreeing with her           – it is especially human as we consider the whole context of the Gospel                      – Jesus is predicting his own passion, death and resurrection                                – that which was especially close to Jesus, what he was thinking about as he was approaching the place it was to happen, namely Jerusalem           – but the people were not listening to him                      – the disciples were interested in their own welfare                                – and jealous of what anyone might receive           – Jesus very patiently gives them what is arguably the primary moral directive of his ministry:           Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.  + We already know that serving others can be very difficult at times           – an example of that is given from the Hebrew Scriptures and Jeremiah—when you try to serve others, especially if you have to do something that the people you are serving do not like, you will be attacked in some way                      – people will always criticize, especially if they don’t understand  + But it is the directive of Jesus that we serve anyway           – just as he—Jesus—served others especially by his passion, death and resurrection—redemption           – and so the message of the liturgy becomes very personal again                      – what kind of service do we give to others?                                – Jesus tells us today to serve, to be a slave for others                                          – it is good meditation material for us today—how am I showing the service to others that I should be showing? + I’m always struck by the force of some English translation of phrases in Scripture           – Jesus is talking of the way people want to have power over others, and he says:           It shall not be so among you.                      – what shall be so, what you stand for as Christians is that you are a slave to others,                                – that is difficult language and a difficult directive to accept. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “When the Game Stands Tall” — final session WE ARE A BROTHERHOOD The Gospel MATTHEW 23:6-12 Jesus said: “[The scribes and Pharisees] love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Gospelthink: I tell you to not be taken with honor, and instead make yourself a servant to all. Do I consider my actions to be honestly serving others?

After their embarrassing loss that ended “The Streak,” the players of the De La Salle football team are devastated, so devastated that they lost their next game as well. They were about to play the number 1 high school team in the country in the first nationally televised high school game in history. In preparation for it, Coach Ladouceur took the team to a Veteran’s Hospital. It changed their attitudes, and once again made them realize that they were all brothers who were united in doing one thing with and for each other. They managed to forget about their individual egos, and simply play for the team. With their attitude, they win the rest of their games, but more importantly, they realize that their coach has taught them to understand what a brotherhood is, and the close of the movie points it out well.

At one time during this session of the movie “When the Game Stands Tall,” the father of Chris Ryan, one of the football team, wanted him to perform well. In fact, Chris had a chance to break the all time record of most touchdowns scored in a season. His father, a much too rabid football fan, makes his son promise that he will do it. Because of his fear of his father, he promises, but he also says to his father “Matthew 23:12.” It is the message of Jesus to the religious leaders of his time: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Translated in Coach Ladouceur’s terminology for his team, it meant that one must forget about self and only worry about brotherhood. The coach’s whole philosophy was contained in that one word–brotherhood. It is important, the coach would say, that we know it in any game in which we have teammates, it is important that we know it in our relationships with others; it is important that we know it in the way that we look at people in every circumstance of our lives. We are brothers and sisters. We are one. If we want to accomplish something great in our lives, we will remember that giving up self and accepting others as important is the way to make better people. Jesus reminds us that titles of honor are not that important. What matters is that we are all in this world together, and if we want to make this world any better, we will consider ourselves as servants.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we like personal praise and honor from others, but help us remember what Your Son taught concerning what is really important–that we must work at giving up our personal egos and we must make ourselves servants of one another. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: A winning team calls for commitment from each member to give up self to achieve a goal.    DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 59 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. In the Gospel, Jesus says that we should not call anyone “Rabbi,” “teacher,” “master” or “father.” What is the principal message contained here? 3. In your opinion, have most Christians learned the lesson of humility? 4. What should a young person do if a father or mother shows physical abuse to them? 5. In our community, what is the best way to show brotherhood and to be a servant? 6. In our school, what is the best way to show brotherhood and to be a servant? 7. In our family, what is the best way to show brotherhood and to be a servant? 8. Scene analysis: the visit to the VA Hospital. What did Coach Ladouceur want to accomplish by this visit? 9. Scene analysis: in your opinion, what was most impressive about the game with Long Beach Poly? 10. Analysis: In your opinion, how often do people turn down lucrative offers in order to accomplish higher goals?   11. Scene analysis: What is the significance of Chris Ryan’s action at the end of the last game of the season? 12. What does the movie “When the Game Stands Tall” teach young people?