GospelThink Wednesday, June 8 MATTHEW 5:17-19 I call you to obey all of the commandments, not only those given by the ten commandments. Prayerthoughts a. The law of Jesus fulfills the Ten Commandments given to Moses. Therefore, I should know the Commandments and what they mean in light of Jesus’ words. (This is the task of the meditation.) b. We should recognize the law of Jesus to be of paramount importance. List the three statements of Jesus that I should pay most attention to. c. Most scholars would say that the law of Jesus was primarily the law of love. How do I rate my life right now in terms of love of God and others? d. The Lord refers to scandal as he talks of how people obey his law. Is there any time in my life in which I scandalize others? e. The two parts of being “great” in Jesus’ eyes are a person who “obeys” the law and “teaches” the law. Do I see myself as doing these two directives? f. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will list the Ten Commandments and my own understanding of what they mean for me in my life in light of Jesus’s teaching. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  FOLLOWING THE LAW OF JESUS  + The great miracle story of the first book of Kings is the story of God’s response to Elijah          – even under what Elijah set up as impossible circumstances                   – it leads to the response that “The Lord is God” and automatically leads to an answer of the opening question of the reading: Who do you follow?                            – you follow the God who answers you  + Specifically, the God who answers the Christian is the God of Jesus          – who has a certain reverence for the law                   – this is the most controversial passage of the Sermon on the Mount or the Christian                            – no Christian Church would keep all 613 Old Testament laws                            – this passage is also directly contradictory to Paul’s writings who was strong in the way that he spoke and wrote against the Jewish law                                     – Matthew was more aware of the Jewish Christian than Paul and therefore he has Jesus be more respectful of the law than the other early Christian writers  + The spiritual meaning of the readings for us lies in the question:          – who do we follow?                   – an important question for the Christian of today’s world                            – because that world is full of answers like power, pleasure and money—what I call all the time a “complicated world”                   – if indeed we do follow Jesus as everyone of us professes,                            – then the law of Jesus will be of particular concern and receive the highest priority for us                                     – the law of Jesus in the six cases that will be brought up in the Sermon on the Mount in the next couple of days in the Gospel                                     – the law of Jesus as given later on to love God and love neighbor                                     – the law of Jesus as a general rule of life  + That idea of choosing some kind of guide is an important one in life          – the guide we choose becomes perhaps the single most important action that a person makes                   – luckily, we can alter that choice as we grow and make it stronger                            – we have chosen to follow the law of Jesus                                     – we pray for that, we work for that. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “The Amazing Spider-Man“– final session I DID IT The Gospel LUKE 15:20-24 [Jesus continued the parable:] “So [the younger son] got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began.

Gospelthink: In my story of the Prodigal Son, the first son admitted he was wrong and turned his life around. Do I truly acknowledge my sins?

Many manuals of morality or books that describe the basis for good behavior point to “accepting responsibility for one’s actions” to be the key for living well. Once Peter Parker discovered his capabilities and possibilities in the movie “The Amazing Spider-Man,” he had to face some moral crises. How much could he do to help the world? How should he do it? He had questions about what he was called to do. Most of all, he became aware that his knowledge had helped create a monster–literally. Accordingly, he chose to accept personal responsibility for what he had done. He told his friend Gwen that he made all of what was happening possible because of the formula from his father that he gave to Dr. Connors. Therefore, he explained, he was responsible, and he had “to fix it.” Another part of his responsibility involved protecting Gwen forever from any pain that a possible association with him might cause.

Jesus’ story of the “prodigal son” or “forgiving father” in Luke’s Gospel has many lessons. It is a story of a young person coming to his senses, a father who truly loves both of his sons, and an older son who is jealous and who has to decide how he is going to act. Perhaps most of all it is a lesson of moral responsibility. The younger son faced what he had done, went back to his father, the person that he had harmed, and told him directly that it was his fault: he did it and accepted full responsibility for his actions: “I have sinned against heaven and against you,” he said. Peter Parker may not have known about the evil that would come when he gave his father’s secret to Dr. Connors in the movie “The Amazing Spider-Man,” but he knew that the responsibility was his. Once he understood what he had done, he knew that he had to do something. He also was beginning to understand his responsibility to others, and especially to the people who were close to him. And so he did something. He chose to act. Some spiritual critics in our world claim that we have lost the definition of sin, and therefore less and less people are turning to God as a necessity. Whether it is true or not, there is little doubt that the way to return to an understanding of sin is somehow to accept the possibility that there is sin in our own lives. We must look at the example of the younger son in Jesus’ story, and understand that Jesus means the story for us, that we may be responsible for some sin in the world. It is our fault. We must study the example of a character in a fantasy movie who accepts personal responsibility for something that he did not even know at the time was wrong. Our world is in dire need of more people who work for good no matter what the circumstances. It is a fact that we have some good examples, some of them even in fantasy movies. Now it is up to us.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we are sinners. We do not like to admit it all the time, but admit it we must. Give us the grace to accept any responsibility for any wrongs that we may have committed. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Accepting responsibility for one’s actions is essential for good morals.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (this session: approximately 63 minutes) 1.What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. This Gospel is the second part of Jesus’ parable. Read the complete parable (Luke 15:11-32) and then answer the question: what is the overall message of the parable? Why? 3. The story is probably better named “The Forgiving Father” rather than “The Prodigal Son.” It is arguably the most important of Jesus’ parables because it illustrates how God the Father acts on our behalf. See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, number 1439. Do most Christians think that God is a merciful God? Yes or no and why?  4. In today’s world, what is the greatest fault that sons do to their fathers? That fathers do to their sons? 5. Do we always have the obligation to do something about our actions when we did not know that the action would cause evil? Yes or no and why? 6. Analysis: Captain Stacy’s reasoning in making Peter promise to stay away from Gwen is that Gwen will be safe if she is not connected with someone who is constantly in danger like Spider-Man. Is it good reasoning? Yes or no and why? 7. Dialogue analysis: Uncle Ben’s statement that Peter kept on his cell phone is a significant statement for Peter: ” I’m sorry for what happened earlier. I know things have been rough for you. I think I know what you’re feeling. You’ve been going through a lot of difficult things, with not having your father and all. Well, take it from an old man. Those things send us down a road. And I know that whatever road you’ll end up on, you’ve got great things waiting for you, son. You owe the world your gifts. You just have to figure out how to use them. Whatever you decide, just know there are those who care about you. So come on home, Peter. You’re my hero, and I love you.” What is most significant about the dialogue and why? 8  What does the movie “The Amazing Spider-Man” teach young people?