[media presentation below] GospelThink Holy Thursday, April 6 JOHN 13:1-15 I give you the example to “wash one another’s feet” in the sense of helping those who need help. Prayerthoughts a. Jesus had the idea that his death would be occurring very close to this day. We all know that we will die. Are we preparing well for that moment? b. How does it feel to know that Jesus loved us and will always love us? What should it   lead me to do? c. The devil “induced”—literally, “The devil put into the heart that Judas should hand him over.” The devil or evil is responsible for the evil in our world. In what areas do I see      the most evil, and is there anything that I can do about them personally? d. Jesus was “fully aware” of what he was doing. He wanted to teach his apostles something. Am I fully aware—dedicated to obtain the knowledge—of what I am called to do in my work, in my family, in my community? e. The interaction with Peter. Peter knows that he needs help. I know that I need help in the spiritual area of my life. Do I take the time each day to reflect on being a better person? f. Jesus asks his apostles whether they “realize” what he has done. Do I spend time with the Scriptures, trying to “realize” the Lord’s action in life and in my life? g. “Wash one another’s feet” means that I should care for people. Are there some people   that I see often whom I should care for a little more? h. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will read Exodus, chapter 12 and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  THE LESSON OF THE EUCHARIST: SERVICE  + I’m often asked what I think about what is happening in the Church today          – and the answer I’m expected to give is my comment on the crisis of child abuse by the clergy or          – the whole thing of whether the Pope is too conservative or liberal or          – or whether the Church’s teaching about birth control or women’s ordination or capital punishment is right or wrong                   – but the real answer to such a question is not a matter of doctrine at all                            – it really doesn’t matter what is happening in the universal Church today—we will always have “situations” because we are human                                     – what matters is whether the people of the Church—because that is who makes up the Church—all people, not necessarily clergy—whether the people of our Church are really living the Gospel message + And what is the Gospel message first and foremost?          – there are a couple of answers to that question because Jesus’ doctrine has so many facets that overlap one another                   – and in finding the answer, it is impossible to get completely into the evangelists’ minds as they wrote the different Gospels                   – but sometimes it is significant to study what the evangelists did NOT say                            – for example we know that the evangelist John did not give us an account of the institution of the Eucharist as the one we heard from Paul the apostle in the second reading this evening or the other evangelists in their Gospels                                     – John gave us the whole section on the “bread of life” in his Gospel, and so it is clear that he knew that Jesus had instituted it at the Last Supper                                              – but he did not talk about its institution                                                       – the question arises: why didn’t he do that?  + John was writing his Gospel around 90 or 100 AD and perhaps his thinking was that the early Christians were spending too much time and energy on what Jesus did for us—the Eucharist                   – and not enough time on what the Eucharist should move us to do in return          – and so his memory of what happened during the Last Supper was different from the other evangelists                   – what he remembered was the application of the doctrine of the Eucharist, namely service          – and it is that Gospel that the Catholic Church uses on this sacred day, very different from every other Christian church that believes in the Eucharist who will usually talk of the institution of the Eucharist  + Obviously, as we act out the whole thought of service in the washing of the feet in just a few minutes,          – we ought to be thinking of “service to others”          – at one time the late theologian Richard McBrien commented on our opening question of what is happening in the Church by answering that what should be making headlines is what the Church is doing in terms of serving others:                   – he put it this way:                            – as Catholics we are called to these twelve moral imperatives, all aspects of service to one another:                   1 – The call to love one another: it is the sign by which others know that we are Jesus’ disciples                   2 – The call to love enemies: maybe the distinguishing mark of the Christian that makes us totally different from any other religion                   3 – The call to forgive one another: we pray it every time we pray the Our Father, and maybe the most difficult directive that Jesus gave                   4 – The call to seek reconciliation with one another: even worship of God is not more important than this seeking of reconciliation                   5 – The call to renounce revenge: if anyone strikes you on one cheek, we are called to turn the other; offer evil no resistance                   6 – The call to avoid judging and condemning others: take the log out of your own eye before you consider the speck in your neighbor’s                   7 – The call to avoid self-righteousness: acting and talking as if we are without fault                   8 – The call to befriend those whom society looks down upon: we must be interested in those who have less than we do, the people who have no one to care for them                   9 – The call to serve one another: this evening’s Gospel, and the importance of serving without expecting anything back                   10 – The call to serve the poor: we must give of what we have; the way to give back to God for what God has done for us; the basis of stewardship                   11 – The corresponding call to beware of riches and the attachment to possessions: it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God; give to others continually                   12 – The call to be just in our dealings with others: the foundation of working with others  + What should be happening in the Church is service to others, a symbol of that we act out right now. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Secretariat” — beginning session THE HELP WE NEED The Gospel LUKE 8:1-3 Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.

Gospelthink: Jesus had a lot of help from all the people who believed in him, men and women. Do I take the time to help the people that I can?

The movie “Secretariat” is the story of a horse, but it is the story of much more than a great animal. It is the story of the greatness of human beings who were able to discover the makings of a great racehorse. Penny Chenery Tweedy was a strong woman: she had given her life to building up a strong family, and when she suddenly became the owner of her father’s horse farm, she saw the need to make the farm stronger than it was. She believed in herself (the subject of the final session of the meditation on the movie), but she knew that if she wanted to accomplish her goal, she needed more than that. She needed help. She chose a trainer, Lucien Laurin, a groom, Eddie Sweat, and a jockey, Ronnie Turcotte. And, of course, there was Secretariat himself, who was to become with the help of his human owners, the greatest racehorse in the history of the world.

The movie “Secretariat” begins with Penny Chenery Tweedy reciting a portion of chapter 39 of the book of Job from the Hebrew Scriptures that extols God’s creation of a horse. “Do you give the horse his strength,” God asks Job, “or clothe his neck with a flowing mane…He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing…he eats up the ground, he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.” Arguably God created no greater racehorse than Secretariat, winner of the Triple Crown, something that few horses accomplish. But it is clear from the Hebrew Scriptures that God gave control of the world to human beings. There may have been something special about Secretariat, but there was something even more special about the people connected with Secretariat’s life. That “specialness” resided in their belief in each other as they worked with this gifted racehorse. Penny Chenery Tweedy knew that in order to accomplish what she wanted to accomplish with her horses, she needed the help of others. She quite literally could not do it alone. Likewise one trainer or one groom or one jockey by themselves cannot create the goal of a winning racehorse. It took a belief in people, and a belief that people were absolutely necessary to bring out the best in a racehorse. The lesson is obvious for a believer in God. Since God created everything there is, we must have a love for animals and nature, but especially we must have a respect for the importance of other human beings in our lives. Simply put, we need people. We need people to help us grow, to help us continue to grow, to help us in our lives, to help us when we grow old, to help us when we die. The human Jesus realized that fact in his life. Luke records in his Gospel that he sought out the help of not only the famous Twelve Apostles, but many others who were not so famous. One of the major truths of our Christian belief is that other people must be important. Jesus constantly reminds us of the love that we should have for others, even people that do not agree with us. Closely connected to such a belief is the fact that we are not self-sufficient. We need the help of other people, and the people who understand such a truth will understand themselves a little better.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, your Son taught us the importance of other human beings in the way we were to live on this earth. Help us understand how much we need others, even as we see the importance of loving them. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: In order to accomplish our goals, we need the help of others.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 58 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. The good news that Jesus preached was the good news of our salvation. Given the fact that we believe that Jesus offers salvation to all, what is another example of “good news” that we most need to hear about in today’s world? 3. This Gospel is the only place that women are mentioned specifically as part of Jesus’ band of followers. Women may not have been important in Jesus’ time, but Jesus treats them with the respect that men received. Do you think that there is a prejudice against women in our world? Yes or no and why? 4. If you were told to prepare people to receive Jesus, what would you stress most? Why?   5. Project: present the story of Job. 6. In your opinion, what animal is the smartest animal in our world? Why? 7. Project: present the story of Genesis 1 and 2, showing God’s words concerning how human beings were placed in control. Some people comment that God’s action was a “mistake.” In what ways would people see it as a mistake? 8. In general, do most people accept the help of others willingly? Yes or no and why? 9. In general, do you think that most people have a sincere interest in helping our environment? Yes or no and why? 10. In your opinion, do most people desire to be self-sufficient? Yes or no and why? 11. One of the most difficult things to deal with in life is the death of a parent. How can you help a friend who has suffered the loss of a parent? 12. Likewise, one of the most difficult things to deal with in life is parents who are old and have dementia. In general, what should children do when their parents are no longer able to function by themselves? 13. Scene analysis: Penny decides to keep the farm, and stay there off and on, obviously setting up a “problem” with her being gone at home. Should she have sold the horse farm, as everyone wanted her to? Yes or no and why? 14. Scene analysis: Penny fires her trainer. When should an employee be asked to leave? 15. Scene analysis: Penny’s young son is with Penny when Secretariat is born. Why is it good for children to see animals be born? 16. Scene analysis: one of the children listens.as Penny and Jack argue about Penny’s involvement in the horse farm. Why are children hurt when the parents disagree? 17. Scene analysis: Penny laughs, and she says that she hasn’t laughed for a long time. There is a lot of tension in people’s lives. What is the best way to work with tension? 18. Scene analysis: Penny calls her daughter as she is acting. Obviously, Penny still wants to be a good mother even though she is away a lot. Do young people understand when their parents have to “do their own thing”? Yes or no and why? 19. Scene analysis: the reporter asks the question: “Is that horse posing?” Do you think that animals have the ability to sense what is happening? Yes or no and why? 20. Dialogue analysis: Penny makes the decision not to sell Secretariat saying “You never know how far you go unless you run.” Explain the meaning of the statement. 21. Scene analysis: Penny, Seth and Ham only get “no’s” to their request for breeding rites for Secretariat. There are always setbacks in any undertaking, but Penny shows her determination. Given the circumstances, would you have sold Secretariat? Yes or no and why?