[media presentation below] GospelThink Thursday, March 30 JOHN 8:51-59 I tell the religious leaders of my divinity. Prayerthoughts a. Is it clear by my actions, words and thoughts, say, yesterday that I am keeping the Lord’s words? b. The religious leaders were arguing with Jesus. But it is a good question to address to myself: who do I make myself out to be? That is, what is most important in my life at the present time? Why? c. Finish this sentence: “Since Jesus is divine, then I….” d. Jesus uses the familiar definition of God throughout John’s Gospel, namely I AM. We are close to our God at all times. What should that mean to me? e. My prayerthoughts…  Today, I will read Genesis, chapter 17, and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy LISTENING TO JESUS  + The first reading is very important as we study theology           – God changes the nomad Abram’s name to Abraham                      – thus making him the Father of many nations,                                – and at the same time setting up the covenant/agreement that was to last forever, something that was repeated often in the Hebrew Scriptures, and therefore in force even right now                                          – I will be your God, and you will be my people                                                    – God promising to be with us always, and as a result, we promising to always allow God to direct our behavior  + In the Gospel, Jesus recalls that covenant           – and teaches the specifically Christian element—namely,           Before Abraham came to be, I AM.                      – that is to say, since Jesus was God (I AM is the name for Yahweh), Jesus existed before Abraham                                – it is no wonder that the religious leaders reacted and wanted to stone Jesus—he was making himself equal to God                                          – something they simply could not understand and therefore they would not listen to + One can understand the way the Hebrew religious leaders felt,           – but the fact is that they should have allowed themselves at least to listen to what he was saying                      – maybe they wouldn’t agree, but maybe they would learn some things in the process  + The action of listening to Jesus is an important element of our spirituality           – we do it every time that we hear the Scriptures proclaimed                      – primarily here at Mass           – and many times, we do not let what Jesus said sink in the way it should                      – we hear the words, but we do not really listen                                – and apply them to our own specific circumstances the way we should                                          – and thus we don’t change the way the way we should  + The liturgy points out the foundation of our spirituality:           – Abraham was the father of the human religious families           – Jesus perfectly fulfills what God began with Abraham           – we must listen to this Jesus now                      – as we accept our part of the covenant—to allow Jesus’ words to direct our behavior. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “The Peanut Butter Falcon” — final session EVERYONE IS IMPORTANT The Gospel JOHN 5:2-9a There is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Gospelthink: I pay attention to everyone who needs help. Do I pay attention to the people around me who need the most help?

Zak in the movie “The Peanut Butter Falcon” was a Down’s Syndrome young man. He lived in a retirement home in North Carolina where he was cared for by a kind young lady named Eleanor. He dreamed of becoming a professional wrestler and attending the wrestling school of his hero, the Salt Walter Redneck, whose videos he watched obsessively. After a failed escape attempt, he finally sneaked out of the home with the assistance of his elderly roommate. He stowed away on a small fishing boat which Tyler an immature young person who was totally selfish had stolen. After they met, Tyler began to realize who he was, but more importantly for Zak, that Zak was a young person who deserved to be treated with respect and love. Together with Eleanor, he began to understand that Zak was a real person, and not someone who simply should be put away.

There was a young lady in the nursing program of one of our universities who was asked a question on her final exam that she could not answer. She was a conscientious student and was doing quite well in the course and felt good about the exam until the last question. It read: “What is the first name of the maintenance man who works in our building?” Of course, she had seen the maintenance man several times—he was a rather unorthodox man who was never very happy and not friendly, and consequently she had never talked to him. The young lady handed in her exam paper leaving the question blank, and it was marked “wrong” when she received the exam back. The professor explained something that the young lady never forgot. Her professor said: “In your career of helping people, you will meet many people; all are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say ‘hello’.” She went up to the maintenance man a couple days later, found out his name, and asked about his family and life, and spoke to him often while she was involved in her Registered Nurse training. Everyone is important. Of all the characteristics of Jesus, the importance of everyone is basic. He would go into a place in which many sick people were gathered, and pick out one in particular who needed the most help. He was even known to heal all the sick gathered around him because everyone, even the most neglected, was important to him. This is one of the basics of good living. The fact is that we all have different personalities and all have different ways of looking at things. If we could learn to accept those personalities a little better, our world would turn out to be a little better. In the movie “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” Zak knew that he was different, and everyone who met him knew that he was different since he had Down’s Syndrome. But Eleanor and later Tyler finally realized that he was someone who had a life and therefore needed to be respected for that life. Everyone is important. Jesus said it and much of our modern film says it as well.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, Your Son taught us that everyone in our world is important. It is a lesson that we all must learn, and we need your help to do it better than we are. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Christians must recognize the importance of other people, no matter who they are.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 45 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. In the Gospel, the people believed that the first person to enter the pool would be cured. In your opinion do “miracles” happen in our world? Yes or no and why? 3. In your opinion, what is the most difficult thing in caring for a handicapped person? 4. Granted that everyone is important, are there some people more important than others? Yes or no and why? 5. Who is the most neglected in our society? What can we do to help them? 6. What does the person of Zak in the movie teach us? 7. What does the movie “The Peanut Butter Falcon” teach young people?