[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, December 10, Second Sunday of Advent MARK 1:1-8 My baptism is a remembrance of yours. Prayerthoughts a. John prepared the way for Jesus. In a sense I prepare the way for the Lord in my life. In general, am I bringing the Lord to the places I go? b. I should be preparing for the Lord by making straight his paths. One way of interpreting Isaiah’s saying is that my job as I prepare for the Lord is to be a person who is always honest in the way I speak and live. c. A baptism of repentance. Without condemning myself too much, am I aware of my past sinfulness as I should be? d. And have I asked for forgiveness from the Lord, and do I believe that the Lord has truly forgiven me? e. Obviously John was not concerned about his clothing and his food. Do I find myself to be too concerned about material things? f. John knows that Jesus is more important than he is. Do I find myself considering myself to be more important than others and thinking accordingly? g. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will look up the baptismal promises that I or my sponsors made and reflect on them. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy JOHN THE BAPTIST’S SPIRITUALITY           We know from historical writers who were writing at the time of Jesus that there were many prophets around Jesus’s time. There was a Simon of Perea active in a region to the east of Palestine who set fire to a royal palace, proclaimed himself king, and had a number of followers. There was a shepherd by the name of Athronges in Judea, in the same general area as John the Baptist who actively set up his own government different from the Romans. In Galilee, there was a man named Judas, Son of Ezechias, who took possession of a Roman armory, and proclaimed himself a prophet. Another person from Galilee, also by the name of Judas founded the Zealot party, and at least one of the Apostles was a member of it. They were a political party who wanted to overthrow the Romans.            All of those prophets were popular for one basic reason: they existed for the armed overthrow of the hostile Roman government. They never really got anywhere because the Romans were more powerful, but they said what the people wanted to hear. It took a certain amount of courage—some of them died for their cause. But it was a relatively “easy listen” because they were saying what their followers wanted them to say, “preaching to the choir” as we say today.            John the Baptist’s message was not easy to listen to. Many of his followers as well as later on, many of Jesus’s followers, wanted them to preach an overthrow of the Romans. But John’s and later Jesus’s message was not at all of that kind. They said nothing about the Romans or the overthrow of anything. They talked about personal lives. As John said in today’s Gospel, “a baptism for the repentance of sins.”            As such, it is a message for us as well.  In fact, as we study it, there may be three things to consider.            First of all, John the Baptist called the people to change and change with a specific purpose: leading to forgiveness of sins. John and later Jesus spoke strong words that call for a change, a complete change. So, we must ask ourselves: are there some changes we must make so as to stay away from sin?            Secondly, John had something to say about the externals of life—food and clothing. He did not actually say it; he merely lived what he felt. By his life-style, he said that externals do not amount to much at all. The basic foundation for him was God, pure and simple and nothing else mattered. This time of consumerism—so many shopping days till Christmas, the need to give gifts, and so forth—easily eat us up: food / clothing / toys—the externals can and do become more important than God around this time of year. It may very well be that one of the criticisms about us is correct: we are interested in only “increasing comfort.”            Finally, perhaps another basic part of John the Baptist’s spirituality might be labeled a lack of selfishness. John’s whole life was pointing to Jesus, and not to himself.           This is what he proclaimed: ‘One mightier than I is coming after me.’ John the Baptist could have easily given into self-satisfaction—after all, he was extremely popular:           People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were                going out to him. But he did not give into the selfishness. As we are involved in the spiritual life, we must recognize the tendency we all have toward selfishness.            And, if we do not reform, even as we keep going to Mass, we might want to think of this story which you have probably heard before:           Once upon a time, there was a person sent to hell and he protested to the gatekeeper:           “Why am I here, I went to Church, I kept the Lord’s Day.” The gatekeeper smiled and said: “You forgot some basics—           Mr. World went to Church; he never missed a Sunday;           Mr. World went to hell for what he did on Monday.” MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Dog” — final session MATURITY MEANS CARING The Gospel MATTHEW 14:28-33 Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

Gospelthink: Peter displays some selfishness here. How much selfishness do I have in my life?

Jackson Briggs and the dog Lulu travel on to the funeral of Briggs’s friend who had the services of Lulu during that friend’s time in Afghanistan. After the car breaks down, Briggs decides to walk the short distance to the funeral. On the walk, Lulu became so tired that she simply refused to go any further. Briggs ended up carrying the dog to the funeral, and the dog immediately goes to his friend’s memorial effects to “protect” them. It became clear that Briggs was growing attached to the dog, so that rather than euthanize her, he tried to get her to run away, but she wouldn’t. That night Briggs suffered from seizure, and Lulu comforted him. In the morning, as he was ordered, Briggs dropped Lulu off at White Sands, scheduled to be Lulu’s final resting place, but as he left, he saw the dog panicking, and he took the dog back to become his dog from then on.

Many spiritual writers suggest that there may be only one basic problem that human beings have, and that every other problem comes from that one. It is labeled plain old every-day selfishness. It is defined to be “wanting what WE want.” The Gospel narrative of Jesus’s walking on the sea is both a fact and an allegory. The storm is a symbol of our world. There are many problems, messes, things that go wrong, and even though we may think of ourselves as experienced in those problems, there will be turmoil. The Apostles thought they were good with a boat. In the midst of those problems, Peter becomes selfish. He sees that Jesus has calmed the sea, and so he asks of Jesus: “Command ME…”  Me, Me, Me. In many ways, Jackson Briggs was very selfish as he was struggling with how to mature in his life. But the point of the final part of the movie was that he managed to overcome much of it. He turned to the dog Lulu and says, “Thank you for saving my life.” He saw how much the dog cared for his friend, and he saw how much the dog began to care for him. He learned the lesson of caring. We all have problems, whether they are of our own doing or not. The circumstances of our day-to-day lives, whether it is in school, at work, or during times of relaxation always involve difficulties that will affect us in one way or another. There are pressures that tend to be overpowering. Our lives are often not easy to live. The lesson of Jesus in the Gospels and Briggs in the movie “Dog” is one to learn therefore.  Even in the midst of our own problems, we must be aware of other human beings or in this case, a dog, who can use our help, offering them the care that we can give. We do not want to miss the lesson of Briggs at the end of the movie. Perhaps the way to solve the problems that we have is to learn the lesson of caring.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, the world with all of its problems must have the example of your Son and some good people. Give us the grace to work with the problems that we have by learning the virtue of caring for others. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: A remedy for selfishness is learning to truly care for another.        DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 46 minutes) 1. What scene during this session is most striking and why? 2. In your opinion, what do most people desire in the world in which they live? 3. What are the three most significant problems in our world? In general, what can I do about them? 4. In your situation right now, what are some ways that we can “care” for others? 5. Why does “caring for another” overcome “selfishness” in a person’s life? 6. In our world right now, what are some good examples of “true caring for another”?   7. What does the movie “Dog” teach a young person?