[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, April 4, Tuesday of Holy Week JOHN 13:21-33,36-38 Two of my apostles did not understand me as I could perceive what would happen to me. Prayerthoughts a. Jesus was deeply troubled, a very human quality. He was deeply troubled because of Judas. As I study my life, is there anything that I am doing that might deeply trouble our Lord? b. The evangelist John does not say who “the disciple whom Jesus loved” is. In what ways can I claim to be the disciple whom Jesus loves? c. I will not formally deny Jesus, of course, but there may be little things in my life right    now in which there is some type of betrayal of Jesus. d. Judas took the morsel. Judas received from Jesus as I have. For what should I be most thankful? e. It was night, a symbol of the darkness that John the evangelist felt at this time. There are many examples of “darkness” in our world. What causes me the most concern at the present time? f. Not only did Judas betray the Lord, but so did Peter in his denial as Jesus predicted.  What are some small faults that I should correct at this time? g. My prayerthoughts…   Today I will write a prayer about the darkness of the world that most concerns me, asking for the Lord’s help. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  OUR OWN BETRAYALS AND DENIALS  + The second servant song of Yahweh from Isaiah which is the first reading today, speaks of the Messiah as the light of the nations and whose salvation reaches to the ends of the earth, and therefore that all should be gathered to him           – but that Messiah had to undergo humiliation and betrayal by people closest to him                      – both today’s Gospel and tomorrow’s Gospel recalls the betrayal of Judas + Today’s Gospel brings to mind both the betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter           – it is important for us, I believe, to identify with those actions                      – not so much because we will actually do any formal denying of Jesus                                – but we can identify with the very humanness of the situation  + We have two people here who knew Jesus very well           – they had watched him perform miracles           – they had heard him teach the people           – they had watched him touch people’s lives in a unique way           – they had even been given power to do the same                      – and they still deny him + You and I are believing Catholic Christians           – likewise we have seen the Lord’s actions in our lives and in the lives of others                      – but there is still the possibility of denial or betrayal                                – maybe, again not with any formal denying of Jesus           – but there can easily be some forgetting about Jesus and what he taught                      – as seen in the way that we go about our lives                                – and in particular, the type of attitude we present to the world                                          – our attitude should be a Christian attitude and our betrayal or denial is going to come in the small things of forgetting what Jesus should mean to us                                                    – we forget about his message of forgiveness                                                    – we forget about his message of not holding grudges                                                    – we forget about his message of true love of all  + Our spiritual lives will grow if we manage to keep the Christian attitude at all times. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “The Shack” — final session YOU MUST FORGIVE The Gospel MATTHEW 18:21-22 Peter…asked Jesus, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.”

Gospelthink: I must learn to forgive. Have I truly forgiven everyone that has hurt me or my family?

Mack encountered God in three persons at the shack. Gradually realizing that God had seen and allowed his daughter’s tragic death, he became severely angry at God. He called God a liar as God was speaking in the form of a loving mother. God was responsible for all the hate in the world even though God said that God could only bring about good. Mack lived with his anger as he spent time with the three persons, and eventually began to understand that free will caused the evil and the pain. But once he understood it, God in the form of a American Indian medicine man this time told him that he had to do more than understand. He had to actually forgive some people for what they had done to him. He forgave his father, and with extreme difficulty finally forgave the person who abducted and killed his daughter. It was an action that changed his life.

Jesus knew about life. He knew especially that often we would not get along completely with one another. Peter realized the fact as well, and so he wanted Jesus to tell him just how many times we should forgive someone. We could imagine that a friend of Peter’s had offended him in some way, and he did not want to keep forgiving him. Jesus gave the classic answer that every Christian knows, but very few really carry it out. Jesus said that we must forgive everyone all the time, no matter. “Seven” is one of the numbers in the Gospels that usually means “infinitely many.” The thrust behind the three persons whom Mack met at the shack, that is, God, was that he had to forgive instead of complain or get angry at God. It was extremely difficult for him to do, because of the circumstances of the situation. Jesus understands that it is difficult, but does not lessen up in any way. Honestly, looked at in that way, we all have major problems forgiving others given our own circumstances. It means that we must forgive those who do not like us. That is, we must continue to forgive the people who are holding a grudge against us, or those who are hurting our family. Because we understand that a Christian must forgive everyone. It means forgiveness to the people on death row, to the people who are killing others, and people who are going out of their way to put us down.  It means everyone. In every circumstance. Mack makes the decision to forgive, even to the point of forgiving the man who kidnapped and probably killed his child. It is extremely difficult to do. The movie and books present the classic Christian statement that the only way to achieve true life is to be complete in our forgiveness of others.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, Your Son gave us the directive to forgive others. It is among the most difficult things that He said. Give us the grace to understand His meaning. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: When we forgive, we take on new life. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 64 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie was most striking to you? Why? 2. In general, do most Christians follow Jesus’ directive to forgive people all the time? Yes or no and why? 3. When a person claims that they are “angry with God,” what do you think the person means? 4. Why would the action of “forgiveness” change a person’s life? 5. In your opinion, is there any time when we should NOT forgive someone? Yes or no and why? 6. Other than the fantasy part of seeing God, do you believe that a person will change with regard to being able to forgive another after he/she had not been able to? Yes or no and why? 7. Scene analysis: Mack almost takes his own life. Why is suicide never an answer to a problem? 8. Scene analysis: Jesus helps Mack to walk on water, signifying that he can do anything with God’s help. Do most Christians truly accept this fact of Christian belief? Yes or no and why? 9. What does the movie “The Shack” teach young people?