[media presentation below] GospelThink Friday, March 10 MATTHEW 21:33-43,45-46 My story portrays the chosen people who rejected my teaching. You should look at the possibility of your rejecting my teaching. Prayerthoughts a. God has “leased” us the body we have. Do I take care of my body the way I should? b. God demands that we repay some of what we have produced in the form of money or the like. Have I given a significant amount of my income, say 10% to God, in the form of a Church or some charity or the poor? c. An important part of Jesus’s parable are the servants that God sends. Spoken to the religious leaders of the times, Jesus was referring to how they treated God’s messengers. How well do I listen to the directives of God as spoken by the religious leaders in my life? d. In allegorical language, Jesus refers to what will happen to him at the end of his life. Do I spend time in meditation on how Jesus was treated, and how I treat him in the person of others? e. Jesus refers to hell as the outcome of those who disregard God. Without judging myself too much, have I asked for forgiveness for the times I have disregarded God’s directives? f. There are “other people” in the world who are truly following God’s Will who are not part of my religious beliefs. Do I treat all religions with the respect that is their due? g. The chief priests and Pharisees realized that Jesus was speaking about them. Do I understand that Jesus’s words are directed to me as well as others? h. My prayerthoughts…   Today I will visit a Church and meditate on the Stations of the Cross. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  SELFISHNESS AND REJECTION  + There are two stories to consider in the readings today           – the story of Joseph and the story of Jesus concerning the vineyard                      – both stories portray selfishness on the part of the perpetrators of crime                                – the perpetrators wanted revenge and money—their own way                                          – in both, the important person—Joseph and the son—are almost killed or killed outright           – Jesus applies the story that he tells (and therefore Joseph’s story in a way)—to the Hebrew nation                      – saying to the Hebrew religious leaders that they are the ones who are rejecting what God has in mind                                – and in Matthew’s Gospel, the reason why he is condemned and executed  + There are a couple of things to consider here:           1 – the selfishness of Joseph’s brothers and the selfishness of the tenant farmers of Jesus’ story                      – selfishness continues to be the problem with the evil of our world                                – clear on an international level with the way people sacrifice principles for profit                                – clear on the national level with the same thing and the whole corporate American commercialism and consumerism                                – but especially on the personal level—our concern for our spiritual life                                          – it brings out the necessity of time for personal reflection                                – it is good spiritual practice to automatically assume that there is selfishness in our lives and set out to do something about it, to find it, and work on it           2 – the Kingdom is taken away from the people who were the chosen people                      – in many ways, we are the new chosen people                                – we believe that Jesus redeemed us                                          – and therefore Christians now are chosen to enjoy God’s Presence forever                      – good for us to listen to Jesus as he tells the original chosen people that they are no longer chosen                                – because they have rejected him—Jesus, just as Joseph and the son of Jesus’ story were rejected                                          – you and I could be rejecting Jesus in a small way by jealousy and other judgments and the like  + Therefore, two areas of our concern today:           – the selfishness we all have           – and the possibility that we are actually turning away from God even as we profess that we are staying close to God. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Wonder Woman” — final session ONLY LOVE CAN SAVE THE WORLD The Gospel JOHN 15:11-17 Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.”

Gospelthink: I chose you to learn to love. Am I showing true love to everyone I meet?

Princess Diana and Steve Trevor were both convinced that they had to stop World War I, and proceeded to help the Allied forces on the Western front of the war. They realized that they had to stop General Ludendorff and Isabel Maru from releasing the poisonous mustard gas. Steve with the help of some of his friends managed to capture the plane with most of the gas, and gave up his life as he destroyed the plane and gas. Diana killed Ludendorff and discovered that the god of war was really Sir Patrick Morgan a supposed ally. She finally conquered him, but realized that there was more to life that winning a war. She acknowledged that what she had to do in the future was to understand the evil that men can cause, and that love is the only answer for the world.

If we have truly committed ourselves to following Jesus Christ in our lives, we will listen closely when he says that some law is “his” commandment. Those are his words as he explains to his disciples and eventually to all of us that his commandment is to love one another. It is interesting to think of what is not “his” commandment. He does not say that loving his Father is “his” commandment, although it is quite obvious that Jesus considers love of his Father to be an “automatic” commandment. But the point here–at no place in Scripture does Jesus call any law “his” commandment other than this place in the Gospels. And “his” commandment is love of others. After Diana had lived a while on earth along side of Steve Trevor in the movie “Wonder Woman,” she gradually came to understand how important love was and she was committed to remind humankind exactly that. She says at the end of the movie: “I have seen the terrible things men do to each other in the name of hatred, and the lengths they’ll go for love. Now, I know. Only love can save the world.” Diana understood humankind, and wanted to help as much as she could to lead them to love others. Her understanding was how important “his”–Jesus’–commandment was. We absolutely must have love of others as part of our lives if we are to live well. We know full well what Diana discovered–there is evil and love in all of us. Our job consists of empowering the “love” part of our thought and personality to conquer the evil part, to understand how important Jesus’ commandment is every moment of our lives. It is not an easy task.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, Your Son called love of others to be “His” commandment. Help us be more aware of how our behavior should change in order to follow through with a true love of others. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Only love can save the world. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. Obviously a “friend” of Jesus will be someone who accepts what he says. In your opinion, do most Christians truly follow what Jesus taught? Yes or no and why? 3. Steve Trevor gave up his life to save the Allied forces. In fact, there were many people who died for the cause of their beliefs on both sides of the war. What is your opinion about war? 4. The meditation makes an argument concerning Jesus calling on one commandment to be “his” commandment,.namely loving others.  Do most Christians truly love all “others”? Yes or no and why? 5. If we lived the fact that “only love can save the world,” what is the first thing that would happen in the world? 6. Name two evils that are part of our world. What can be done about them? What can you do about them? 7.  What does the movie “Wonder Woman” teach young people?