[media presentation below] GospelThink Wednesday, January 10 MARK 1:29-39 It was necessary for me to pray before I worked. Prayerthoughts a. Jesus led a human life like I do. As I visit friends, am I as kind and gracious as I should be, especially thinking of conversation about others? b. We will run into people who are sick or ill, maybe some in a hospital. Am I willing to visit them, showing that I truly care for them. c. Obviously, I cannot heal people physically. But I can psychologically simply by my presence and concern and promise of prayer. d. Simon’s mother-in-law is a good example of showing gratitude. She rose from her bed and was open to other’s needs. Do I thank people enough? Do I spend time in thanksgiving to God? e. Evil is very much alive in our world. Sometimes I must confront it head on, although always with caution. Perhaps, without judgment, I should pray a little more for those who are perpetrating evil. f. Once again we see Jesus taking the time to pray. Again the question comes: do we take the time to pray as much as I should? g. Jesus’s purpose was to preach. What are the main themes of Jesus’s preaching, and how do they apply to me? (This is the task of the meditation.) h. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will list the answers to letter g, applying them to myself. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  LISTEN AND PREACH  + In the first reading, Samuel is called to listen closely to the word of God          – and as a result he became, as the book says, an “accredited prophet”, that is, one that everyone knew that they should listen to  + In the Gospel today, Jesus tells Peter that the reason why he came to our earth was to preach the good news  + So, as we think in meditation, we might ask the question of ourselves: what our spiritual purpose is in life          – and from a spiritual point of view, the underlying reason why we are here should not be far from the actions of Samuel and Jesus                   – our call is to listen and then preach  + That is, our Christian purpose involves listening to the word of God as Samuel did          – listening especially to how Jesus went about his life and how he attacked the problems of his day          – and then “preaching”                   – not in the same way that Jesus did,                            – but to preach the good news in the sense that we tell people by our lives that Jesus must be a guide for this troubled world  + And as we do that—listen and preach—          – I believe that it is significant to study what Jesus also did:                   – we have to be concerned about others                            – again, we are not able to heal them as Jesus did, but we can give of ourselves to those in need                   – and we have to spend time in prayer                            – significant time assimilating the words and thoughts that we have heard from Jesus  + Our call as Christians is to listen and then preach,          – and as we do it, to help people and spend serious time in prayer. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Mission: Impossible–Fallout” — final session VIOLENCE ON A LESSER SCALE The Gospel MATTHEW 5:21-26 Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

Gospelthink: One of my most important doctrines I give to you today–do not judge others. This is one of my problems as it is for everyone; I need to face it today.

As the IMF team fought to capture the plutonium cores from the enemies in the movie “Mission: Impossible–Fallout,” Ethan Hunt made the decision to save one of his team members. In the action, the plutonium cores fell back into enemy hands. His judgment was that an individual person was more important than the immediate result or the success of the mission. Throughout the movie, it is clear that although there would have to be killing, the actions of Ethan Hunt in particular showed that the less killing in a dangerous situation, the better. Hunt and the IMF team believed that although violence had to occur, people–all people–were always more important than material gain.

Jesus had much to say about how to love other people. The Gospels are full of situations in which it is clear that other people are important and cannot be treated as less. His classic statement comes in what we have come to call the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is teaching primarily about anger, but as he speaks, he places the idea of the treatment of others higher than even worship of God: “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Incredibly, in Jesus’ mind, being good to others is more important than acknowledging God’s presence in public worship. What would Jesus say about the terrorism of our world right now? No doubt, first of all, he would point out that there is no need for terrorism because everyone should be treated with justice. But if there had to be violence, it should be used as the last resort and only with the least amount of violence possible. As the Second Vatican Council says, “Nor does the mere fact that war has unhappily begun mean that all is fair between the warring parties.” It seems that Ethan Hunt and his team were aware of the directive since they were trying to use the least violence that they could even as evil was seeking destruction of one third of the world. We, of course, live in a violent world. What is our duty as we live here? As the Second Vatican Council reminds us, our first duty is to do our best to being about peace. It means peace on a national and international level, but most especially on a personal level. As we deal with other people, we are called to justice, but even more than that, we are called to love.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, peace in a violent world is very difficult for all of us. We pray for the grace to be good to others if as we deal with a desire or need to be against the others. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: All people must have a basic love of neighbor, even if people must use violence in their lives.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 69 minutes) 1. What scene during this session is most striking? Why? 2. What does the movie: “Mission: Impossible–Fallout” teach a young person? 3. Jesus’ directive in the Gospel passage may be the most difficult of Jesus’ doctrines. In our world, what is the best way to keep it? 4. In general, would most people of our world make the judgment that an individual is more important than any material gain? 5. Do you think that your country has responded with as little violence as possible in the wars that have been part of your history? 6. What should your country’s response to terrorism be? 7. What does it mean to be “called to love” in our daily lives?