[media presentation below] GospelThink Saturday, August 5 MATTHEW 14:1-12 The story of the martyrdom of my friend John. Prayerthoughts a. Herodias and Herod were evil people. There are many evil people in the world, although I should not judge them. Perhaps I should take the time to pray for those that I consider to be evil. b. Herod enjoyed the dance. There is nothing wrong with legitimate pleasure. Pleasure          becomes immoral when people are hurt because of it. What pleasures do I enjoy in life, and are they good in the sense that no one is hurt? c. There are many people who are hurt because of the evil. What people are most hurting in my own little world? Can I do anything about it? d. Herodias “used” her daughter for her own evil desires. Do I “use” anyone in my             acquaintances to get what I want? e. Generalizing from the fact that Herodias was a young person, do I treat the young people in my immediate circle with the respect they deserve? f. John’s disciples buried him. Do I show sorrow for my friends’ families who have died, like go to the funerals and help the families if they need it? g. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will make a list of those who have died in my recent memory, saying a prayer for each one. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  OUR CONSCIENCES  + As Matthew saw it in the Gospel, Herod killed John the Baptist because of ill-founded human respect           – although he knew that he should not have done it, he did it anyway           – it may have been Herod’s conscience that bothered him with regard to keeping John alive,                      – but it wasn’t strong enough to keep him from giving into what others wanted           – as we look at our own consciences, we see the importance of having a strong foundation                      – almost like a law set up to form it                                – as God had to set up laws for the Israelites to make them be the type of people he wanted them to be                                – and as we look at our own consciences, we see the importance of knowing and understanding the Lord’s words, making him the pattern and measure of everything that we do  + The book of Leviticus’ rule of the jubilee year is interesting to study           – the whole Jubilee year was to be treated like a Sabbath, with the land lying fallow           – also it required the compulsory return of all property to its original owners or their heirs except the houses of laymen within walled cities           – it also required the freeing of all slaves or servants  + The reason for it: the land was the possession of God, and its current occupiers were merely aliens or tenants and therefore the land shouldn’t be sold forever           – also the Israelites were the servants of God, and therefore everyone should be free because no man should have two masters                      – no servant of God should be a servant of man  + We take the idea of the Jubilee year with the idea of conscience and a couple of things stand out:           – our consciences should be formed by realizing the principles that Jesus gave us by his life and teachings                      – we are New Testament people, of course, and Jesus is our guide,                                – but thinking back to the idea of the Jubilee year, a couple of things that we should especially be interested in:                                          – one, the sanctity of land because it is God’s possession not ours                                                    – bringing to mind our necessity to be interested in how we treat our land           – two, the sanctity of all people because we are all servants of God                      – which Jesus was to point out as well  + The Hebrew Scriptures wanted to legislate conscience           – and that was what was behind the Jubilee year                      – law was so important           – too often we got all hung up on law as well                      – our law must only be what Jesus wanted                                – and we form our consciences accordingly. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “A Man Called Otto” — final session THE FUNDAMENTAL LAW The Gospel MARK 12:32-34 The scribe said to [Jesus], “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that [he] answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Gospelthink: You are not far from the Kingdom of God if you follow the fundamental law of love of God and neighbor.

In the movie “A Man Called Otto,” Otto had become a disgruntled, unhappy, angry man, and showed it in many ways. He was most of all angry at himself although he could not understand it. He should have understood it because he felt that he had to take his own life in order to overcome the pain of losing his wife Sonja. He finally had to face the fact that his wife was gone, and at the same time begin to “feel again” as he interacted with the different people in the place where he lived. They taught him that other people were important and slowly he began to accept the fact that his life was indeed worthwhile. He saw that he needed other people to improve his own life.

The insight of the scribe in the Gospel was that love of God and love of neighbor were even more important than “church” as the Hebrew people understood it. Throughout his life on earth, Jesus called people to such a love. It might indeed be called the “fundamental law of Jesus.” The standard Christian teaching is that if we follow that fundamental law, then the whole world will benefit because the world will be at peace with one another. The law will bring about a personal healing in the sense that once we understand how important other people are, it will do something to us. Otto in the movie “A Man Called Otto” was in pain after he lost his wife, thus making him bitter toward everyone. But when he began to understand that the people around him truly were important with their particular situations, he finally began to see that life was indeed worth something. Unfortunately, such love does not fill our Christian minds the way that Jesus wanted. As can be seen in the movies that are produced in our world, when the possibility of our own survival is at risk, many of us tend to think only of ourselves. The prejudice, the favoritism for a privileged few, using panic for one’s own profit all show a fundamental desire that too many have–we want to protect ourselves no matter what, even if we hurt others in the process.Jesus wants us to be interested in ourselves. Otherwise he would never have told us to love others as we love ourselves. But loving God and others must have the priority. The Christian doctrine of love is written with the thought that even though we must work at self-preservation, our guide as we live must be the love that goes beyond ourselves. Jesus told us as much by his own death. Personal conversion is possible in our world as can easily be seen with the progress that Otto made in the movie named after him.  We must always be aware that any personal conversion will come about only when we have understood the love of God and others.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, you gave us your fundamental law of love. We all know it, and indeed we can all see the benefits of the law for humankind. But often we lose sight of the law because we are so concerned about our own situations. Help us help ourselves by understanding your law of love. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Conversion is possible only when we recognize the importance of others. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 63 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. In general, do most Christians follow the law of love that Jesus taught? 3. In general, what is the best way to show others that we care? 4. Every Christian should learn maturity as they grow. When do most people show their desire for more maturity? 6. What are the elements of true conversion? 7. Love of God is not seen in the movie in a direct way. Judging from Otto’s life in the movie, do you think that there was prayer in his life? Yes or no and why? 8. Is it possible for someone to live a good life and show no acceptance of God? 9. What is the principal virtue that the movie “A Man Called Otto” teaches?