[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, January 21, Third Sunday in Ordinary Time MARK 1:14-20 Repent and believe. Prayerthoughts a. “Gospel” means “good news.” Is the Gospel “good news” to me? b. Among Jesus’ first words in the Gospel of Mark is “Repent and believe.” Notice what is first. If we repent first, we will acknowledge that we are sinners, and therefore have a need for a belief system. Do I sufficiently acknowledge my sinfulness every day? c. In what way is a Christian (therefore, me) a “fisher of men”? d. Notice the immediacy of the disciples leaving their work. Do I work at trying to follow the Lord, that is, doing the work of God/Church/religion in an immediate manner? e. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will read Jonah, chapter 3 and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  THE CHRISTIAN CRITICAL POINT  + There is a concept in mathematics called “the critical point”           – it has applications in making mathematical graphs and in engineering and physics                      – what it does basically is determine the place where something changes direction           – I believe that in the art of developing personal spirituality, there are many what might be called Christian critical points                      – I look at a Christian critical point to have the same function as the critical point in math—it is a point at which one must change direction                                – when the principles of Christianity are in conflict with the way our human natures want us to go                                          – at that critical point, Christians must see that if they pursue the course of human nature, they may end up in sin or evil, and therefore they must change direction  + The formula for the Christian critical point is given in Jesus’ preaching in the today’s Gospel           Repent, and believe in the Gospel.           – the order of that directive is very important, in fact, absolutely imperative: repent first, then believe                      – because if we repent first, we get into the habit of recognizing that we have a tendency from our human nature to sin or evil, and we get into the habit of reforming and repenting                                – so that when the Christian critical point comes, we will recognize that we must change directions in our lives, and we will believe with conviction                      – if we believe first, the chances are that we will simply accept the principles of Jesus in name only without acquiring the habit of repenting  + I personally believe that this is one of the major problems—if not the major problem—for the believer of today—many Christians have said that they believe, but they haven’t established any pattern of repentance,           – that is, they have not been convinced that they are sinners,                      – that they really do have the need to reform some things                                – and as a result, they do not think that they have to change           – and they end up with the contradictory phenomenon of saying that they are believers, and at the same time, allow some evil in their lives that they refuse to get rid of  + There are many examples of this, but this is an example of someone with whom you may be familiar           – he was a dedicated church person who accepted the Lord Jesus as part of his life at an early age                      – almost immediately began to use Scripture and the words of Jesus as a way of life                                – did all the right things, setting up a church which he called “The People’s Temple”, courageous to the point of death, fighting against prejudice, even to the point of being a pioneer against prejudice in the Indianapolis, Indiana area, reaching out to sinners, using his charismatic personality to lead others to God                      – his mistake was that he forgot to reform himself, that is, he did not acknowledge that he needed repentance in his own personal life                      – so he came to Christian critical points where he should have changed directions because his Christian principles came into conflict with what he wanted, his human nature                                – in terms of what we are talking about, he believed first, thinking personal repentance would come                      – and in the end, he led a group of people to another country, he had some influential people killed, a United States congressman among them, and he led approximately a thousand people to mass suicide in service of him                                – his name: the Reverend James Jones and what has become known as “The Guyana Tragedy”           – his problem: he practiced “belief” before he practiced “repentance”  + No one in here will lead people to mass suicide, but we could share the same kind of problem that made the Reverend James Jones the monster that he became           – we may be falling into “belief” without first practicing the “repentance”           – in fact, everyone of us comes to a number of Christian critical points in our lives where our Christian principles are at odds with the way that we want to act                      – we come across a person that we do not love                      – we have a chance in conversation to hurt someone                      – we have a chance to deliberately disrupt the smooth running at our place of work or life                                – all Christian critical points where if we have a habit of repenting, if we have accepted Jesus’ formula to repent first,                                          – we will change direction according to Christian principles  + We make our profession of faith in just a few moments and say “I believe”           – but it is necessary that we have said before it “I repent”, something that we did in this Mass and every Mass, admitting that we are sinners before we go any further in celebrating the Lord’s presence           – today’s Gospel echoes that, saying that it is just fine to believe                      – but we must repent first                                – then, when the Christian critical points come, we will not only know what Jesus wants, but do what Jesus wants. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Timber” — Pitbull featuring Ke$ha IT’S GOING DOWN The Gospel MATTHEW 10:12-13 [Jesus said:] “As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you.”

Gospelthink: I want you to be primarily a peaceful person. Am I peaceful in all my dealings?

“It’s going down, I’m yelling timber. You better move, you better dance. Let’s make a night you won’t remember. I’ll be the one you won’t forget. Swing your partner round and round, end of the night, it’s going down, one more shot, another round.”

One of the most important spiritual concepts in life is that we can be positive in our approach to life if we want. Granted that there are negative experiences that we all have, and some of them quite overwhelming, but in the end, we can still be very positive in the way we go about our living. We can make good things happen no matter what. Such seems to be the thought of Jesus as he sent his disciples out into the towns in which Jesus intended to visit. He told his disciples to wish those places peace, saying in effect that they should allow their presence and their announcement about his coming to be a moment of peace for all, making good things happen in their lives. The wishing of peace became the means whereby good things would happen. Pitbull and Ke$ha’s song “Timber” is not as profound as Jesus’ intent in the Gospel, but they are singing about a similar feeling. In their situation, the party that the people are attending will be the means of making good things happen, and the good thing about that moment was that it was happening: “It’s going down,” they sing. Good things are beginning to happen. Let’s enjoy the moment. It is a glorious fact that many people in our world can be very positive about life, no matter what the circumstances. They can look at the kind of lives they have, and realize that even if things are not as wonderful as they might want them or as they might plan, their lives are still something very positive. For a Christian, the peace of Jesus can be the stimulus to make everything positive. The feeling is expressed in a reading called “Today.” TODAY Outside my window, a new day I see, And only I can determine What kind of day it will be. It can be busy and sunny, laughing and gay, Or boring and cold, unhappy and gray. My own state of mind is the determining key, For I am only the person I let myself be. I can be thoughtful and do all I can to help, Or be selfish and think just of myself, I can enjoy what I do and make it seem fun, Or gripe and complain and make it hard on someone. I can be patient with those who may not understand, Or belittle and hurt them as much as I can. But I have faith in myself, And believe what I say, And I personally intend To make the best of each day. Jan Lavalley

PRAYER Good and gracious God, you call us through your Son to be at peace with ourselves, and to accept the things that happen to us in a positive way. Give us the grace to be positive in our approach to life. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: We can make good things happen by a positive attitude. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Give your own definition of “peace.” 2. How do you think Jesus would define “peace”? 3. What are the characteristics of a “peaceful situation”? 4 . Text analysis: “It’s going down.” What is your interpretation of the statement? 5. The song is about dancing at a party. What is the value of “dancing”? 6. In your opinion, from your understanding, do you think that “dancing” has changed much over the years? Yes or no and why? 7. What makes a party “good”? What makes it “bad”? 8. Text analysis: “Let’s make a night you won’t remember.” What is the meaning of the statement? 9. Text analysis: “I’ll be the one you won’t forget.” How would you like to be remembered by your friends? 10. How can some people be so positive in their approach to life, and some people so negative? 11. What can you do to help someone who is very negative about life? 12. What are some of the negative experiences in life that can hurt a person, and what can be done to make them more positive? 13. What part of the reading “Today” is most striking and why?  14. What does the song “Timber” teach young people?