[media presentation below] GospelThink Saturday, May 27 JOHN 21:20-25 The disciple “whom I loved” as he describes himself tells you that there are so many things that I have said that are not recorded. Prayerthoughts a. “The one whom Jesus loved” is an apostle usually identified as John the apostle although it may not be. Peter is thinking of that apostle in this passage. It may have been jealousy on his part. Is there any jealousy of others in my life right now? b. Peter’s thought of the other apostle may have been one of admiration. Who is the person I most admire right now and why? c. Jesus responds that Peter should follow him and not be concerned about anyone else.   Do we spend too much time thinking about what others should or should not be doing, judging them in the process? d. Are we critical of God in our thinking, and instead of thanking God for God’s gifts, we criticize with the thought that God should not be working in such a way? e. The Lord’s directive: “You follow me.” Where in my life should I follow the Lord more? f. The evangelist says that the whole world would not be able to contain the books written about him. If I were to write a book about Jesus, what are some of the titles I might use? (This is the task of the meditation.) g. My prayerthoughts…   Today I will answer letter f. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  THE CLOSE OF THE GOSPEL + As we close out the Easter season, the Liturgy discusses three close followers of the Lord—         – Paul, closing off his life of discipleship in prison, but a not a confining prison—                 – he was free to preach and gather the Christians to speak to them                 – he later was to die according to tradition under the persecution of the emperor Nero         – Peter and the apostle whom Jesus loved just before the Lord ascended into heaven                 – Peter jealously looking at the other apostle, perhaps hoping that that other apostle will have the same fate as him                         – and Jesus’s rather brusque statement to him that it is not his concern                                 – his concern was to follow the Lord: “You follow me”  + And the liturgy gives us the close of John’s Gospel epilogue with a statement about what Jesus did and why         – “There are many other things that Jesus did…”                 –  the unwritten words are that Jesus’ character will never be matched                         – studying Jesus from such an exalted point of view would lead a person to say that in John’s opinion, no one would ever be able to define his character                                 – studying him from what he said and did in the world, one would have to say that no one loved people and cared for people the way he did  + All of that can lead to a couple of conclusions as we anticipate the Holy Spirit’s presence with us tomorrow at Pentecost         1 – Paul was active at preaching the Christian message up to the very end of his life, never giving up even though he was in prison                 – important for us to see that we are called as was Paul to “preach” the word by our lives, our thoughts, words and actions                         – always making the Lord’s presence known in some way         2 – I think we should listen closely to Jesus’s somewhat of a rebuke to the impetuous Peter, namely “You follow me”                 – our human natures have a tendency to judge others as we are going through something difficult                         – we want others to feel the same, feel sorry for us or whatever                                 – the Lord’s statement to us—you follow the Lord’s teachings at every moment of your life and let God worry about others even as we pray for all         3 – the close of John’s Gospel is a great statement of the importance of Jesus in a Christian’s life                 – the lesson for us is that we do not allow other things to be more important in our lives                         – and we all know how difficult that is, given our world of plenty  + The closing words of the last Gospel that was written give us the courage to proclaim that we are indeed a follower of Jesus. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Dunkirk” — final session COURAGE, SPECTACULAR AND ORDINARY The Gospel JOHN 7:43-52 A division occurred in the crowd because of Jesus. Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?” The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this one.” So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, “Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

Gospelthink: It took real courage for Nicodemus to speak up in my favor. Do I speak the words and thoughts of Jesus in my actions?

As the wait continued for the men stranded on the beach of Dunkirk in the movie “Dunkirk,” the rescue of the soldiers was nothing short of a miracle. Often named the “Miracle of Dunkirk,” soldiers in the air and civilians on the sea showed great heroism in setting up the rescue of nearly 90% of the men who were stranded. The movie points out the courage in particular of the pilot known only as Farrier and the owner of a yacht, Mr. Dawson and his son Peter together with their helper. The courage of those who came to help the soldiers as well as the soldiers themselves was truly unique in the annals of the Second World War.

Anyone facing a hostile crowd literally risks his/her life as they try to carry out their conviction. Nicodemus felt it from the very beginning as he tried to rationally consider what Jesus was saying, and as he tried to treat him as the Pharisees should treat anyone who was portraying popular religious beliefs, namely with respect. His fellow Pharisees, of course, were not ready to hear Jesus’ teachings, and so they refused to listen. Nicodemus was placed on the outside just as Jesus was, but his courage to say and do what mattered was one of the brighter moments in Jesus’ trial. There is probably no better place to study the courage of human beings than in places of intense violence. War is one of those places and one can measure courage constantly as the different actions unfold. The rescue of the thousands of soldiers stranded on the beach of Dunkirk as portrayed in the movie “Dunkirk” is one of those places. The movie documents literally hundreds of courageous acts in the air and on the sea as the thousands of men were led to safety. Christian people are called to courage often in their lifetimes. It may not be in a spectacular way as say the courageous acts at Dunkirk, and certainly many of the moments of courage will never be recognized by any news crew. But they are courageous acts–words of speaking up on behalf of another, actions that help another feel good in moments of crisis, lives dedicated to helping others that no one knows of. The Christian is called to courage every time he/she follows their desire to bring about good in a world too often hurt by evil.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, Your Son gave us an example of courage as He redeemed us. May we learn His lesson well and be willing to show the necessary courage to live truly Christian lives. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is “courage,” that is the ability to strengthen our resolve to risk everything in order to help a situation.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 49  minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie was most striking to you? Why? 2. In your opinion, why would most of the Pharisees not accept what Jesus was teaching? 3. Give your own definition of “courage.” 4, In general, do most Christian religions show true respect for other religions and religious denominations? Yes or no and why? 5. The people who were working on behalf of the people stranded at Dunkirk probably did not think about their courage. As they helped the men who were stranded, what do you think was their main motivation? 6. What are some courageous acts that young people do in their school and college settings? 7. What does the movie “Dunkirk” teach a young person?