March 28      [media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, March 28 JOHN 8:21-30 I make the distinction today of what is below and what is above. The things of heaven, what I speak about, is “above.” Prayerthoughts a. Jesus tells the Jews that they will live and die without believing in Jesus. Granted that I believe in Jesus, does it show in my words, actions and thoughts? b. Jesus makes the distinction of what is below and what is above. What percentage of time during a week do I spend on things that are “below”—the things of this earth? And what percentage of time a week do I spend on “God-ly” things? c. The expression “I AM” is a direct statement that Jesus is God (the name given by God to Moses). I am obviously convinced that Jesus is God. What material things have people treated as “god” in our world, and have I given in to them? (This is the task of the meditation.) d. Jesus says that he has much to say in condemnation. What things that I do, say or think should be condemned? e. When Jesus is “lifted up” is a reference to Jesus’s crucifixion. It is then that they would realize that he is God. “Realize” is a good word for meditation. As I study my faith, what should I realize most of all? f. Jesus tells the Jews that the Father is always with Him. God is always with me. What effect should that fact have on me? g. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will carry out letter c. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  WHAT IS BELOW AND WHAT IS ABOVE  + The theology of the liturgy today is the theology of Jesus’ redemption             – the Book of Numbers: God’s directive to mount a serpent on a pole and then everyone who looks on it will be saved, is a clear statement of the future cross on which Jesus was to die             – and Jesus’ statement: when you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM                         – and the theological reasoning: we will die unless we come to believe in the Lord Jesus  + Believing in the Lord Jesus, according to Jesus in John’s Gospel is a matter of belonging to what is above             – and it presents a good thought for meditation on our spiritual lives                         – the contrast between belonging to what is below and to what is above                                     – what is below breeds selfishness                                     – what is above breeds holiness  +What is below—             – what John keeps referring to as “the world”                         – is our concentration on what the world holds as important?                                     – namely, the rise of power, pleasure and money                         – how much emphasis do we place on these things in our daily living?  + What is above—             – namely, our whole involvement with God, that is, our spiritual development                         – our real desire to place the Gospel virtues into action in our lives  + The problem involved in this study is that we want what is above, but we’re not willing to sacrifice what is below             – that is the continual problem of first world Christianity                         – we want what Jesus promises us, but we’re not willing to do anything about it that deals with sacrifice   + The Israelite people had to look on the seraph serpent mounted on a pole in order to live             – that is the type of urgency that you and I should develop for the spiritual life                         – an urgency in which we are willing to sacrifice what is below for what is above. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Black Adam” — beginning session WHAT WE HAVE BECOME The Gospel MARK 5:2-20 A man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met Jesus. The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain. In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him…. Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him, crying out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me! (He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”) He asked him, “What is your name? He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.” … As they approached Jesus, they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And thy were seized with fear.  Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man….Then they began to beg him to leave their district. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him. But he would not permit him but told him instead, “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

Gospelthink: I cured a man possessed of many demons.

In 2600 BC, the tyrannical king Ahk-Ton of Kahndaq created the Crown of Sabbac to attain great power. The Council of Wizards gave a slave boy the powers of Shazam and transformed him into Kahndaq’s champion who ended the reign of Ahk-Ton. In the present day, a resistance fighter by the name of Adrianna, together with her brother Karin and their colleagues Samir and Ishmael tried to locate the crown. As Adrianna located the crown, she freed Teth-Adam from slumber. Thinking that he was the savior for Kahndaq which was now being oppressed by the criminal organization Intergang, Adrianna called on Teth-Adam who then slaughtered most of the Intergang troops. But government official Waller and Justice Society members Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone and Atom Smasher stopped Teth-Adam’s slaughter, and explained to Adrianna that Adam was not an entombed savior, but an imprisoned killer, who finally understood that he was “born out of rage.” Teth-Adam finally revealed to Hawkman that the idea of “a champion” in the old world were mis-attributed, and he voluntarily gave up his power by invoking the word “Shazam.”

From the Scripture account of the man possessed by a demon, we do not discover much about the man’s childhood or early adulthood. But it probably was not one that a normal human being would have enjoyed. The man certainly was in need of help, and apparently there was no one who could give him what he needed. Jesus no doubt had heard of him, and wanted to help him as best he could. In the DC comics movie “Black Adam,” the person known as Teth-Adam at the beginning of  the movie was not a super-hero. He was a person with super powers but, as he acknowledged, he was “born out of rage.” His beginning is portrayed well in the movie, someone who with his super powers was governed by revenge and hatred. Like the man possessed in the Gospel passage, he realized that he needed help. And like that man, he was able to get it from people who understood what he needed. After he admitted that his background was born of rage, he voluntarily accepted a sentence of exile, and only came out of it when other people were in need. The lesson is a simple one, but one extremely difficult to carry out. It involves two steps really. First of all, we must be willing to study our upbringing, our background, with the intention of changing what can be changed. And secondly, we must be willing to adjust to whatever is necessary for the common good, and not for our personal satisfaction. Every one of us have different backgrounds and therefore different personalities, literally the product of our upbringing. There will come a time when we must look at ourselves with an open mind as to what we have “become.” The possessed man in the Gospel story to a certain extent was able to see that he needed to change. Teth-Adam even with all his powers was likewise able to understand that he needed to change in a significant way. It is not easy to study what we have become, and even more difficult to change it. But if we are to be truly a help to ourselves and others, it must be done.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we have become people who have adapted to our upbringing in such a way that we have become specific people because of our choices and environment. Give us the grace to study ourselves, and change for the better what must be changed. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: We all are the “products of our parents and environment” in the sense that we have a unique personality. Sometimes, we have to correct for the better what we have become. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 58 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. What is most striking about the story of Jesus and the possessed man ruled by Legion? 3. Who are the most needy people in our world today? In what way can they be helped? 4. Why are we so interested in the comic figures of Black Adam, Superman, Batman, etc.? 5. Do most adult people take the time to seriously think of themselves and their behavior? Yes or no and why? 6. What do most adult people have to change in order to be better people?

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America