[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, June 27 MATTHEW 7:6,12-14 I tell you to enter through the narrow gate, that is, choose the path that truly leads to God. Prayerthoughts a. The Lord reminds me that I must treat things that are holy with the proper respect. Do I show the proper respect around the things in my life? b. The Lord reminds us of the Golden Rule. Is there anyone in my circle of people whom I am not loving as I should? What can I do about it? c. The Lord uses some strong condemnatory language to remind me that I should enter through the narrow gate, that is, I should be dedicated in my approach to my spiritual life. Am I following the “narrow gate” idea as I work on my spiritual life? d. The Lord uses a scare tactic again in his words—those who find the narrow gate are “few.” Are there some things that I should change in my life as I try to be more spiritual? e. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will read Genesis, chapter 13, and write an  important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy THE NARROW GATE  + The conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 7 of Matthew’s Gospel summarizes some of the things that have been said in the Sermon         – here mentioning the golden rule, a rule that the people would have known, but not stressed very much         – and the narrow gate – an image coming from shepherding sheep, and therefore known to the Hebrew people, but not applied to the spiritual life this way  + The narrow gate is one of the truly difficult concepts that Jesus gives us—ranking along with love of enemies and no revenge         – it is a summarizing concept for the spiritual life                 – it is an ominous one, perhaps a scare tactic         – the narrow gate implies some restrictions, some getting rid of unnecessary things so that one can pass through it, some denials, and implies taking the time and effort to go through it                 – and the ominous part, the scare tactic:                         – the road to damnation is wide and many take it                         – the road to salvation is narrow, constricted, and only a few take it  + The narrow gate is a necessary image for our modern spiritual lives         – it means accepting the truly difficult, the truly confining words of Jesus and the Scriptures                 – like the directives of the Sermon on the Mount, and what we heard today, the Golden Rule                         – note the importance of others in the scheme of Christian reality                                 – that importance is exemplified in the way Abram treated Lot in the first reading from Genesis                                         – he gave him the choice of what land he wanted, and then took the other                                                 – showing giving to another         – and the narrow gate implies much more than what the Scriptures say or what is written down for us                 – it calls for a certain regulation of self so that we do not get so cluttered from material things that we forget about the basic spiritual things:                         – things like time for God, real effort at loving others, and limiting luxury  + The narrow gate is one of those directives that we don’t like to hear         – living the spiritual life is really a difficult learning experience                 – and just as any art, it must be worked at continually, day and night. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Top Gun Maverick” — final session LOVE EVEN WHEN IT IS MOST DIFFICULT The Gospel MARK 15:20-21 And when they had mocked Jesus, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him out to crucify him. They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. Gospelthink: Am I interested in helping the Lord by helping other people in my immediate situation?

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell was a cocky test pilot who was his own boss even though he belonged to a Navy that was built on obedience to superiors. In one of his “disobedient” moments, Maverick proved that an excellent top gun pilot could carry out a very difficult mission that required the bombing of an enemy building. Even though his superiors did not want to do it, reluctantly, they decided to offer the mission to Maverick and his top gun students. One of them was a son of a friend of Maverick’s, namely Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw. Having known the family well, Rooster’s mother had requested that Rooster be kept away from a career which would enable him to become a test pilot. Maverick had honored that request, and Rooster obviously did not like it. Counseled by his own mentor, however, Marverick gave Rooster the chance, making him his wingman in the mission. As happens so often in difficult missions, things do not go as planned, and both Maverick and Rooster must learn to love each other in such a way that they become close friends just as Maverick and Rooster’s father were.

Simon of Cyrene no doubt knew that condemned people had to carry their own cross to their execution. Therefore being forced to take the cross could have been a problem for him. But he had no choice. He had to force himself to realize that no matter how he felt, he had to adjust to the situation at hand. The evangelist Mark mentions Simon’s family who were probably people that the early Christians knew. Later on, no doubt Simon accepted what he did to be something that he was quite proud of. It perhaps was an instance of a man who was forced into understanding love of another human being. In the movie “Top Gun Maverick,” Maverick and Rooster, an old friend’s son, were both top test pilots, but because of circumstances were not friendly to each other to begin with. As those circumstances advanced into real situations, eventually Maverick and Rooster, like Simon Cyrene with Jesus, were forced into association with each other. And in the end, it became a true respect and love of each other. There are two lessons in particular to learn as we study both Simon of Cyrene with his circumstances and Maverick and Rooster’s relationship. One, with a Christian foundation as a guiding thought: no matter what the circumstances, the Christian is called to honestly “love” one another. Circumstances are always quite different as we struggle to live out Jesus’s directive to love. And many times, those circumstances involve hatred and sometimes, justifiable anger. Even in those exceptional circumstances, “love” is called for, and the Christian must work at bringing it about.Secondly, even when those involved in the relationship–Simon with Jesus, and in the movie, Maverick with Rooster–are not “Christian,” that is, their individual lives are not guided by Christian principles, a good relationship should be s guiding principle. This implies that every relationship, whether it is done because of Christian principles or not, can be improved if people are truly trying to get along. It is the way to true peace in our world involving every or no religion.”Love of others” is not only a Christian directive; it is the way to a better world.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, there are people in our lives who are “easy” to love, and others who are not so “easy” because of the circumstances of the situation. Help us truly understand your directive to us to love everyone as You want.  Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Jesus’s directive to love one another is a way to live in peace in the world.        DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 60 minutes) 1. What scene during this session is most striking and why? 2. What can a Christian learn from the Gospel incident of Simon of Cyrene and Jesus? 3. In the movie and the incident of Rooster’s mother asking Maverick not to let her son become a test pilot, should Maverick have honored such a request? Yes or no and why? 4. In the Christian understanding of things, we should pray for those who disagree with us or hurt us. In your opinion, do most Christians actually do that? 5. When we are “forced” into a situation where we must associate with someone we dislike, what should be our guiding principles? 6. Do most Christians actually carry out the directive to “love” even those who are most difficult to “love”? Yes or no and why? 7. In general, do people actually try to get along with others? For example, is it a guiding principle in political situations? Yes or no and why?  8. What does the movie “Top Gun Maverick” teach young people?