[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, January 30 MARK 5:21-43 I show my power with two different miracles, showing that I am always present to help others. Prayerthoughts a. Jairus asked the Lord to have his daughter healed. There are some ailments that I have now. I should continue to ask the Lord for healing, but always with the understanding that the Lord will answer according to His will. b. There are often ailments and/or disabilities that I must accept because they simply can’t be cured, given our human condition. Do I accept these and still try to live well? c. The thought of “touch” is significant. Do I try to “touch,” that is get close to, the Lord every day? d. There are some people that I see often. Do I try to “touch” them and make them feel more positive about life? e. Obviously, both Jairus and the woman have a strong faith in Jesus. Again I should consider my faith and how strong it should be. f. The healed woman told Jesus the truth. Am I as truthful as I should be in my words? g. Jesus not only cured the girl but gave direction about how to treat her. Jesus was concerned about the whole person. Am I concerned about the whole person of the people with whom I come into contact? h. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will list the people I should pray for in a special way. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  FIXED ON JESUS  + The two healing stories of the Gospel are the practical result of the letter to the Hebrews’ phrase: “keep your eyes fixed on Jesus”             – the woman suffering from the hemorrhage literally kept her eyes on Jesus, touched him, and was healed             – Jairus kept his eyes on Jesus—that is—allowed himself to listen to him only and no one else                         – and in both stories, it is their faith that was rewarded with the healing  + Applying that to our lives is relatively easy to talk about, but very difficult to carry out             – our faith as people who have chosen to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior must lead us to keep our eyes fixed on him  + Which means two things in terms of this Gospel:             1 – we must allow ourselves to “touch” Jesus by “touching” those in need                         – it is the idea of reaching out to help others either by money or in person                                     – there are so many truly charitable things that we can help with                                                 – and part of our Christian tradition should be accepting the challenge of helping them             2 – we must bring ourselves to truly trust that the Lord will be with us as we attempt to follow his way                         – again, the element of trust becomes important                                     – allowing the answers to come from God                                                 – even as we do the very best that we can                                     – the pattern for the Christian is always: work for what is truly Christian and allow God to direct the results  + Our meditation can easily center on the thought:             – speaking in general, what do we keep our eyes fixed on?                         – that is, what is the guide that we choose to follow                                     – the Christian should choose Jesus. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “The Black Panther” — final session BRIDGES INSTEAD OF BARRIERS The Gospel JOHN 20:19-22 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit.”

Gospelthink: My Father and I gave the Holy Spirit to the Apostles and to you. Do I show that I have received the Spirit by my thoughts, words and actions?

King T’Challa who had taken over for his father T’Chaka continued to rule the four tribes of Wakanda, but the fifth, the Jabari did not submit to his rule. ‘T’Challa battled and defeated the Jabari leader M’Baku and established a delicate harmony in the country, allowing the Jabari leader to live. Meanwhile, “Killmonger,” N’Jobu’s son, made strong by vibranium, returned to Wakanda and challenged T’Challa to be “The Black Panther.” T’Challa lost the battle and was thrown over a mountain, but was found alive and cared for by the Jabari tribe.. The new “Black Panther”, “Killmonger,” decided to empower the black people of the world to rule with violence just as his father had planned. However, T’Challa returned to the throne, rightly claiming that he had not yielded to “Killmonger.” With the help of the Jabari tribe, Wakanda once again came under the rule of T’Challa after a battle between T’Challa and “Killmonger’s” armies. Afterwards, T’Challa announced to the world that the nation of Wakanda would give up its isolationist stance and thus hopefully, try to bring peace to the world.

What does the Holy Spirit bring to the world? When Jesus gave the Spirit to his Apostles, He primarily gave them the gift of bringing peace to a world that needed it in the worst way. That world had wallowed in sin after God had brought the world into existence. The sin went by many names, notably selfishness and desire for power and worldly comfort. The world needed the peace that the Spirit would bring. In terms of the movie “The Black Panther,” the Spirit could easily be defined to be the desire of the Wakanda leaders to help the world as best they could.  As T’Challa said to the United Nations: “Wakanda will no longer watch from the shadows. We cannot. We must not. We will work to be an example of how we, as brothers and sisters on this earth, should treat each other. Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe.” The Wakandans knew that they had the means to help the world, and they were willing to sacrifice their own wants in favor of help to the world. There is little doubt that the Wakandans had the highest motivation. And they had the means to do it. The vibranium-enriched country could easily lead the world into a new era of peace and fraternal harmony. Of course, this is a story. Many would call it nothing more than a mere fantasy. Can a world as complicated as ours give up enough of ourselves to honestly take the time to lead itself to peace? It is the hope of Christians–you and I–in our own little worlds to bring about a Holy Spirit-inspired peace that perhaps a larger world could learn from.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, Your Son gave peace to our world in the form of Your Spirit. May we accept the challenge to bring about true peace in our own worlds and if possible, the larger world around us. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: If we have help for humankind, we must share it with the world.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 62  minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie was most striking to you? Why? 2. How does the world understand “peace” and how does it differ from the Christian ideal of peace? 3. As you study the world right now, what is the “greatest sin” that you observe? 4. What is the most striking part of the T’Challa’s speech to the United Nations quoted above? 5. What must happen in our world to begin a world of peace? 6. Do you think that the world could “give up enough of ourselves” to bring about a lasting peace? 7.  What does the movie “The Black Panther” teach young people?