[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, July 3, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time LUKE 10:1-12,17-20 I send out my disciples to the world. Prayerthoughts a. A spiritual thought with these “seventy-two” is that you and I are part of them sent to announce the Kingdom wherever we are. Am I fulfilling my mission well? What should be my principal message to my personal world? (This is the task of the meditation.) b. “Like lambs among wolves.” In many ways, we are part of a hostile world. In my own little world, where do I see the most hostility, and besides praying for it, is there anything I can do? c. Jesus wanted his Apostles to travel “light” because he did not want material things to hold back the message that they were to preach. As I live in the world, are there material things that are holding me back from God’s presence? What can I do about it? d. Obviously, I cannot heal the sick in my acquaintance. But do I show signs of personal concern—a card, a visit, etc.—to the people that I know who are ill? e. Jesus realizes that the the seventy-two will face rejection, and rather than talk against those who rejected them or threaten them, he tells them simply to shake the dust from their feet, or in other words, just leave and go to the next situation. Often I do not want to do that—I would rather seek out some type of revenge. What is the area in my life where I am most prone to revenge? f. The disciples had success in their mission. How do I celebrate any success that I have? Do I take too much pride or do I try to give the credit to others or to God? g. Our rejoicing should come from our knowledge that we will experience eternal life with God. In general, am I thankful for what God has given me here and hereafter? h. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will list the personal messages that I should be giving to others in my thoughts, words and actions. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy THE 72 AND THE LIFESAVING STATION           The “72 others” that Luke speaks of here in the Gospel is a group of people that we do not know much about. They were a group that Jesus sent out to the places that he intended to visit, and they were to prepare people for the kingdom of God.            I think that that is a good description of what we are all called to do as Christians today: prepare for Jesus by announcing that the kingdom of God is here. We might be called the “modern 72.” “Preparing for the kingdom of God” means in today’s world that we must be people who lead ourselves and others to an understanding of the presence of God in our lives.            It was the ultimate reason of why people set up the Church as we know it today. That is what our Church should be all about, namely, creating the presence of God in this world today.            But what has happened? We should study this allegory carefully:            On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves, went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. This wonderful little station saved many lives, so that it became famous.           Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little lifesaving station grew.           Presently, some members became unhappy that the building was so crude, so simple. Gradually, beds replaced cots and good furniture appeared in the enlarged building.           The station itself came to be decorated beautifully, and was used as a club. The members became less interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so lifeboat crews were hired to do that work, especially when the people whose lives were saved were people who were different from the people of the station.           Soon, there was a split in the club membership. Those members who wanted lifesaving to be its primary purpose were voted down by the others. They were told that if they wanted to save lives, they could begin their own station down the coast—which they did.           As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another lifesaving station was founded.           History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit the seacoast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.           The chances are that the Church has become nothing more than an exclusive club that has a history. Of course, that is not what we are called to be. We are given the task of “the 72” to go out and bring the presence of God into the lives of ourselves and others. Is it not true that too many people have allowed our Church to be something like a club, interested only in themselves and not worrying about anyone else? Evil may have entered into “the 72” and changed the life-saving station into a club, and now a lot of people are “drowning” because shipwrecks are still quite common.            The Catholic Church is a lifesaving station—we make it that way by preaching and living the presence of God in our midst in this city right now. We may be doing it a little, but we can always do it better. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Ex’s and Oh’s” — Elle King THE COST OF OVER-CONFIDENCE The Gospel MATTHEW 26:69-75 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about!” As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazorean.” Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man!” A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away.” At that he began to curse and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately a cock crowed. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly.

Gospelthink: Peter was a human being who was too concerned about himself and therefore denied that he knew me. Am I too concerned about myself?

“Well, I had me a boy, turned him into a man. I showed him all the things that he didn’t understand. And then I let him go. Now, there’s one in California who’s been cursing my name ‘cause I found me a better lover in the UK, until I made my getaway. One, two, three, they gonna run back to me ’cause I’m the best baby that they never gotta keep. They always wanna come, but they never wanna leave. Ex’s and the oh’s, they haunt me like ghosts; they want me to love ’em all. They won’t let go.”

Peter’s denial of Jesus is well-known in Christian circles. He had boldly proclaimed to Jesus that he would never deny him, but in a moment of weakness, he did deny him, as Jesus had predicted that he would. There were no doubt many reasons why Peter made the promise originally, but perhaps the principal one was his over-confidence in himself, believing that he would never do such a thing. The problem with over-confidence is that we lose sight of who we are, and we tend to exaggerate our abilities. It is nothing more than selfishness. Bragging about love abilities may seem a far distance from Peter’s denial of Jesus, but in reality, it is the same fundamental problem. The lady in Elle King’s song “Ex’s and Oh’s” thinks that she has the abilities to control lovers: she had lost sight of who she really was and was doing nothing more than allowing selfishness to control her thinking. Although the song does not show it, at one future time in her life, she will end up like Peter in despair. There is an important lesson here for the Christian as well as the person interested in romantic love. Being self-confident is often the single ingredient that distinguishes a successful person from someone less successful. But being over-confident always allows for selfishness to enter into our thinking. We tend to think that we can do anything, so to speak, and actually begin to speak and act with such thinking. It lends itself to self-deception and loss of friendship because people cannot tolerate selfishness. The remedy to over-confidence is objectivity. We must be aware of our human natures, and the selfishness that we all quite naturally possess. We want to always look good in other’s minds, and we tend to think the very best of ourselves. But we must always remember our humanness, and be careful when we make statements that may be nothing more than self-serving.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we want to be confident in our thinking, but because of our human natures, we tend to be over-confident at times. Give us the grace to know our abilities and the humility to admit our shortcomings. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Confidence is important for good living; over-confidence is nothing more than selfishness. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. In your opinion, in the Gospel, what would have happened to Peter if he had told the truth? 2. When Judas realized he had betrayed Jesus, he killed himself. In your opinion, why did Peter not do harm to himself? 3. The song alludes to “things that people do not understand,” presumably about romantic love. In your opinion, what is most misunderstood about romantic love in our culture? 4. In reality do ex-lovers want to run back to their once-upon-a-time romantic friend? Yes or no and why? 5 .If the song is true, the men in the song are begging another to love them. What is the principal problem with “begging another” to be a romantic friend? 6. The meditation mentions that over-confidence was the principal problem that Peter had. What were some other problems that led to his denial? 7. What does it mean to “lose sight of who we really are”? 8. Do you agree with the meditation that the lady in the song will end up in despair? Yes or no and why? 9. Why is self-confidence so important to learn? 10. What does it mean to be “objective” in our approach to life? 11. What does the song “Ex’s and Oh’s” teach young people?