[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, July 5 MATTHEW 9:32-38 My heart was moved with pity for people even while my enemies spoke against me. Prayerthoughts a. In the Gospels, the devil or evil never controls the situation with Jesus. Evil cannot exist simultaneously with the Lord. Unfortunately, there have been moments of evil in my life. I should take the time right now to ask for forgiveness, especially for some evil of the past. b. The Pharisees were driven by a number of evil desires. One of them was jealousy. I should look at my own jealousy in the situations of my life. Should I study more closely some of my reasons for doing things the way I do? c. Jesus showed compassion toward all of those who were hurting. Are there some people  in my acquaintance toward whom I should show more compassion? d. If Jesus’s thought is to spread, more people need to be dedicated to it. Do I show enough initiative in being dedicated to spread the message of Christianity? e. Jesus gives us something to pray for—laborers for Christianity. What are the most important prayers of petition that I should make in my life? f. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will read Hosea, chapter 8, and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  CARING ABOUT OTHERS  + Before we can understand the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures, we have to study it carefully             – especially in the area of the understanding of God’s punishment of the people                         – there is no doubt that in the Hebrew Scriptures, God punishes                                     – the first reading today from Hosea is an example of it—             “[God] shall remember their guilt and punish their sins.”             – the study of the Hebrew Scriptures must be done with an understanding of what Jesus carried out in his life  + It is important to see that Jesus changed the image of God, and today’s Gospel is one of the best to consider in order to understand that fact             – one of the overwhelming conclusions of the Gospels is the caring way Jesus felt toward the people                         – here, as many times in the Gospels, he was moved with pity                                     – he cures people when they are brought to him             – the overwhelming conclusion: Jesus cared for people  + So, one of the conclusions of our study of the Scriptures             – is to understand that the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures are an introduction to Jesus and his ideals of the New Testament/Christian Scriptures                         – and the concern God has for us is not punishment but true caring             – and as we try to learn from Jesus in the New Testament                         – we conclude that we have to care for others the way Jesus cared for others   + Therefore the manner Jesus cared for people is significant because it is an example of the manner we should have             – according to Matthew in this passage, the way Jesus had pity on the crowd was to do two things:                         1 – he first of all, taught, and the people learned from him                                     – that is the way the Christian message began                                                 – we have to continue to learn from his teaching                                                             – that is, to read the New -estament, to know the mind of Jesus Christ                                                             – to prepare ourselves to know Jesus more so that we can care                         2 – and he cured                                     – he got his hands dirty, he worked among the people who needed him                                                 – we are called to work among the people that we are around, whether at work, in the community, in the family                                                             – curing, that is, caring for them means going out of our way for them, trying to help others as much as we can  + Jesus statement at the end of the passage is not only a plea to have workers who will promote the kingdom of God             The laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.             – it may be a universal plea for more people who care for others. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “News of the World” — beginning session ALWAYS GUIDING The Gospel MATTHEW 2:19-22When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel, But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee.

Gospelthink: The Lord directed Joseph to begin Jesus’s life in Galilee. Do I see that the Lord is directing my life in some way?

Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a former Confederate soldier made his living traveling from town to town reading newspapers to local residents. After an evening of work, Kidd set out for his next location and discovered an overturned wagon. He found the body of a lynched black slave freedman and a live young Indian girl named Cicada who only spoke the Kiowa language. Intending to take the child to the Bureau of Indian Affairs at a Union checkpoint, and finding that the person was not being available, he had to accept the responsibility of taking Cicada to her home. Kidd gradually came to understand that he should take care of Cicada himself and take her to her home.

In the infancy section of Matthew’s Gospel, God is very direct in showing Joseph what he must do in order to arrange the life of Mary and their son Jesus. God uses both dreams and Joseph’s own reasoning to direct the holy family’s early life. Although not as direct as God was with Joseph, it is a spiritual fact that God is very much in charge of our own lives as well. We have used St. Paul’s words to the Romans several times in these meditations, because they express God’s directing our lives and directing our lives toward what is good. Paul writes:”We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). In other words, our faith recognizes that God is directing our lives, and directing us toward a good. We may not see how God is working, but for the believer, God is very much a part of our lives. As Captain Kidd interacted with the Indian girl Cicada that he found on his path, he may not have realized that it was God’s plan, but good man that he was, he knew that he had to do something in order to help this person in the world in which they both lived. He was following God’s plan. One of the guiding principles for a Christian is that God is working in our lives. We may not see it or even think about it, but God is very much directing us as we strive to do what is good. What it should mean for us is that no matter what direction our lives have taken, our desire must always be to bring about some good in what we do. As Captain Kidd in the movie “News of the World,” we see the good that can be done, and we set about doing it.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, I believe that you are directing our lives in some way. As we see the things that we do, and the things that happen to us, give us the grace to always accept what happens with the thought that we can bring about good in this world. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: We may not realize it, but God is always directing our lives.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 55 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. Granted that we know little of Jesus’s early life, in your opinion, what was most difficult about it? 3. What would have been the most difficult thing about living in the Western part of our country around 1870? 4. Have you had any dreams that have helped shape your life? If so, mention one. 5. In your opinion, do most people acknowledge that God is directing their lives? 6. Do you believe in “luck” or in God’s directing what happens? 7. Who is most in need in our own little world at this time? What can we do about it? 8. What is a “good” that most everyone in the world can do?