[media presentation below] GospelThink Friday, August 25 MATTHEW 22:34-40 I changed the basis of all law—you are to love your God, and you are to love your neighbor. Prayerthoughts a. They “tested” him. No doubt, it was done with malice. In my conversations with others about others, do I speak with “malice”? b. Jesus is giving me His two commandments of love. Is it clear that my love of God is a strong part of my life? c. As I listen to Jesus say that I must love my neighbor as myself, is there anyone that I am excluding from that love right now? What can I do about it? d. What are the three or four “guides” to my life right now, that is, what are the major reasons that I have for doing the things that I do. Where is the virtue of “love of God and others” in that list? (This is the task of the meditation.) e. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will carry out letter d. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  LOVE SHOWN IN ACTION  + The Pharisees of Jesus’ time felt compelled, in the spirit of Moses, to set up religion with a number of laws           – and as they dealt with that law, they always wanted to find a central law, a summary law                      – and so quite naturally—even though with a little malice (they wanted to trick Jesus to say the wrong thing)—they asked another rabbi, Jesus, about that law  + Jesus answers with the traditional Shema which was and still is part of every Jewish service: Hear O Israel, The Lord……           – but then, he goes into the book of Leviticus to get a minor law, changes its meaning somewhat to include everyone, namely love of neighbor, and places it on the same level as love of God                      – saying in effect that the law—as important as it is (and in Matthew’s Gospel, it is treated with respect)—the law depends on love           – and as we take into account the reading from the Hebrew Scripture’s book of Ruth,                      – such a love will show itself in action as Ruth did for her mother-in- law Naomi  + A two-fold easy application for us as we try to develop our spiritual lives           1—love: it is Jesus’ law, love of God and love of others           2—such love must be shown in action                      – a complete retreat can be spent on the questions: how well am I showing my love of God                      – and how am I loving my fellow men and women MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Allegiant” — beginning session LEAVING A SITUATION The Gospel LUKE 4:28-30 At these words the whole audience in the synagogue was filled with indignation. They rose up and expelled Jesus from the town, leading him to the brow of the hill on which it was built and intending to hurl him over the edge. But he went straight through their midst and walked away.

Gospelthink: I upset my neighbors with my words of truth, but I showed no fear of them. Do I make sure that everything I say is the truth?

Although the old leadership in the entity that was Chicago has been defeated, a new one had arisen governed by Evelyn, Four’s mother and the rebel leader. Suddenly, she had become another dictator, trying to restore order. As she did it, she found that there had to be so called trials and executions of previous Erudite and Dauntless leaders. Evelyn and even Amity’s leader Johanna who had formed a group called Allegiant tried to get Tris and Four to join them, but Tris and Four judged that the violence would not solve the problem. They felt that there was a possibility that something “outside the wall” would be more appealing. They managed to escape and go over the wall, only to run into a super-modern city with a man known as David as the director. Later the town and what the people professed would not live up to the expectations that the group had, but they knew that they had to leave the old Chicago in order to accomplish anything worthwhile.

Sometimes leaving a situation is the only way to “solve” a problem. At one time, Jesus had spoken disturbing words to his neighbors in the synagogue in Nazareth, and they reacted in an angry way. It might have been a time when Jesus could have done some valuable teaching; he may even have convinced a couple people to his way of thinking. But he assessed the situation, concluding that the only way to bring about a solution was to leave and perhaps address it later. The evangelist Luke does not tell us how he brought it about, only that he left the situation. In the movie “Allegiant,” as Tris and Four led the rebel cause to a victory and killed the evil Erudite leader Jeanine, they wanted peace to reign in the world that was made up of ruins of Chicago. They could see what was happening though, and they made the decision that there had to be a better way, choosing to leave rather than take part in the violence that was spreading. As it turned out, their choice led them to another set of like circumstances, but they did not realize that as they left. They knew that in order to accomplish anything, they simply had to leave the situation, and try to discover a better life in another way. The application is a difficult one in today’s world, especially when there are nations and millions of people involved with men and women who seem to be leading the world to ruin. There is little that “regular” people dedicated to a good life can do in those complicated circumstances. But in our own lives, it is a different story. Perhaps the only way to “solve” a difficult moment is to remove ourselves from it. It may mean accepting some insult when you cannot correct the person or putting up with an injustice for a while in order to correct it later on. It may mean something as simple as keeping our further opinions to ourselves once we have offered a solution that we think is correct. It certainly would be the way of action to consider if our solution would end up hurting another. Sometimes we must accept the fact that we can probably do very little other than accept what has happened and move on. It is not easy to accomplish.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we human beings often bring ourselves into situations that are difficult to solve. Give us the grace to understand the best way to act in every circumstance. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Sometimes the only way to help a situation is to temporarily remove ourselves from it.        DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 56 minutes) 1. What scene during this session is most striking and why? 2. The words that disturbed the people in the Nazareth synagogue in the Gospel dealt with people who were not Israelite and the fact that they also could be saved. Granted that there is religious prejudice in our world today, do you see any religious prejudice around you? Yes or no and why? 3. As you study our world right now, what are some words that Jesus said that people would not want to hear? 4. Why does it seem that violent ways of acting are a solution when a new “regime” takes over a country? 5. What are some areas in our own lives in which we should just “leave the situation”? 6. Do you think that “accepting a solution even though it is not good” can be a good solution? Yes or no and why? 7. Analysis: In your opinion, does all of the killing in the movie have any significant influence on the young minds who are watching the movie? Yes or no and why? 8. Analysis: The movie speaks of what happened in the past to the world. As you study the technology of the world today, what are the principal threats that the world must face? Why?