[media presentation below] GospelThink Wednesday, June 29, Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles MATTHEW 16:13-19 I should be the pattern of your life, as Peter confessed. Prayerthoughts a. The phrase “Son of Man” may simply be a way of Jesus speaking of himself as a human person. I too am a human person. If I want to compare myself to Jesus, what must I change? b. Whom do I consider to be prophets in my world? c. I obviously agree with Peter that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. In what ways have my belief made my life different? (This is the task of the meditation.) d. Have I made someone or something other than the Lord more important in my life? e. Peter and the community are the solid rock foundation of the Kingdom of God. As a member of my Church, do I show to others how important the Kingdom of God is? f. Even though Jesus gave Peter the keys and the power to bind, he still had very much to learn to be a true follower of Jesus. What are the most important characteristics of a   follower of Jesus? g. Today is the feast day of two most important early followers of Jesus. As I study Peter and his life, what does he teach me about living well? What does Paul teach me? h. My prayerthoughts….   Today, I will write out the answers to letter c. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  WE MUST KNOW WHO JESUS IS  + The spiritual message of the feast of arguably the two greatest saints in the church is probably their individual response to the question of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel:         Who do people say that the Son of Man is?         – Peter’s response is not only the spoken words that as a result gave him the leading role in the church, and established him early on as head of the church (Gospel)                 – but his response is also the one that he made in the Acts reading (1st):                         – he knew for certain that the Lord was acting on his behalf, and we know from the Scriptures that he was much more interested in the Lord’s work than he was in the escape from death  + Paul’s response was a readiness to die for Jesus         – after fighting the good fight, he was convinced as was Peter that the Lord was by his side                 – and so he could reflect with the Bishop he created, Timothy, about the word “rescue”—“and I was rescued from the lion’s mouth”—as a word that described his future presence with God, and not protection from the evil of the world (2nd)                         – that is an important insight                                 – both Peter and Paul looked at the idea of protection as the chance to have eternal life with God and Jesus, not so much as escape from death  + Those considerations naturally lead into our own consideration of the question: who do we say that Jesus is for us—we’ve talked about that before         – as for Peter and Paul, Jesus should be the Lord for us                 – and the conviction that the Lord is at our sides, no matter what the situation                 – and so, we ask the question that happens with the spiritual life all the time: is it clear by my actions that I have truly accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior                         – to the point of total acceptance, the perfect follower of Jesus                                 – giving time, talent and treasure as a sign of my acceptance         – and like Peter and Paul, if we are convinced that Jesus is Lord and Savior for us                 – to be protected means not so much material success or “rescue” from the problems of the world                         – as it means the desire for God’s presence in our lives                         – so that our prayer is always and only what God wants us to do  + Peter and Paul are great saints because they knew the answer to who Jesus was         – it should likewise be a goal for us. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Jumanji: The Next Level” — beginning session THE ACTION OF FRIENDSHIP The Gospel JOHN 11:14-16 Jesus said to them clearly, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.” So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.”

Gospelthink: At this point of their lives, the disciples were wiling to suffer death for me. Am I willing to die rather than deny the Lord?

A year after the events of finding the Jumanji game, the young people had all gone their different ways. To celebrate the holidays one year after, they arranged a reunion at Nora’s diner. Spencer was not at the reunion because he had found the Jumanji game again, and going through a rough time in his life, remembered that he liked the feeling he had as Dr. Bravestone in the original game. So, he went back into the game. His three friends decided to search for Spencer and discovered the game running in his basement. They all decided to re-enter the game in order to rescue him. As they entered the game, they were shocked to find that some of them were different persona. Further Spencer’s grandfather Eddie and his once-upon-a-time partner Milo were drawn into the game as well. Their game guide showed up and gave the players their new mission: find Jurgen the Brutal, take the special jewel and show it to the sun while calling on Jumanji’s name to win the game.

There are a number of times in the Gospels when the Lord’s disciples were willing to give of themselves completely to the Lord no matter what it meant. Here in John’s Gospel is one of them. The situation in this part of the Gospel of John is one of general hostility toward Jesus. In fact, the people had wanted to stone him to death because they could not agree with Jesus words about His Father. So, literally, Thomas realized that he and all the disciples may have been in serious jeapardy if they went with Jesus. But they decided to go anyway. The action showed the friendship that they felt for Jesus. In the movie “Jumanji: The Next Level,” Spencer’s friends did not know whether they would give their lives for him or not. But, at the end of their first experience with the game they had destroyed it as best they could because they never wanted to go back into it, probably because they did not want to lose their lives. But they realized that Spencer was a friend of theirs, and so they were willing to take the chance. They went into the game again. Jesus says as part of his explanation of friendship that “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). Jesus was certainly willing to do just that, and it seems as though his disciples learned that. They did not always carry it out but it certainly was something that they heard and ultimately practiced. Without too much imagination, the same can be said for friendship in general. We know that for friendship to be real, there must be certain characteristics that should be practiced. Although difficult, one of them might even be to give up one’s life for friends. Friendship at the very least requires that we be concerned about those that we think of as friends.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, Your Son taught us how to be a friend by dying for us. May I learn that true caring about my friends will always be part of what my friendship of others means. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Being a friend to someone means that we will do things on their behalf.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 57 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. In the world today, in what instances do you see the example of one dying for another? 3. Spencer liked the feeling he had with the avatar of Dr. Bravestone. In your opinion, what is the greatest feeling in the world? 4. In what ways do you see “hostility toward Jesus” in our world today? 5. Why do people choose to do dangerous things? 6. What is the most difficult doctrine that Jesus taught? 7. What must we do if we are to be true friends to another?