[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, July 9, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time MATTHEW 11:25-30 I tell you to be totally trusting in me and ask me for help and rest. Prayerthoughts a. “These things” refer to the “important things in life.” What are the three most important things in my life right now? In what way is God helping me with them? b. The Lord wants us to be “childlike.” It means that we must become vulnerable and marginalized so as to want to receive the Lord’s message. In what ways can I pay more attention to the Gospel in my life? c. Being childlike implies that there are no “ulterior motives” as I work with others, that my intentions are “pure.” Do I do and say things so that I will receive more honor or the like? d. Do I come to the Lord in silent prayer as much as I could? e. What is most burdensome to me at the present time? What am I doing about it? What should I be doing about it? f. Have I truly placed the Lord’s yoke on my shoulders, that is, have I tried to follow all of the Lord’s directives in my life? g. My prayerthoughts…. Today I will read Romans, chapter 8, and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy AVOIDING THE YOKE I was hearing confessions in a parish a couple years ago. It was a Saturday afternoon, other things were happening in the city and on TV. I thought it would be slow and it was. So I was reading, preparing for a homily or whatever. The confessional was a small room where you could go either face to face or behind a screen. Suddenly someone knocked on the door—you do not knock on the door of a confessional—but they did. I thought that this person either had not been to confession for a long time or was not Catholic. When I said, “yes”, four young people came in, ran in almost, scared out of their wits. They were 8th or 9th graders I guessed, two boys and two girls. They were all dressed the same way: black leather, black T-shirts, black baggy jeans, ear rings, chains, tattoos. Actually they scared me more than they were scared. One of them asked: can you talk to God? I said “Yes, I think so, but so can you.” He said, “Oh no, God won’t talk to us, but we have to talk to God.” I asked them what the problem was. They all began to say a lot of words, but I finally got out of them that their “gang”—actually they were “wannabe” gang members—had taken part in some Satanic worship. They had sacrificed an animal to Satan, and now they were afraid of what might happen to them. I did not do much except assure them that as long as they turned to God right then, it really did not matter what they had done in the past. They were not really satisfied, but after I promised to pray for them, they left—and I never saw them again. What impressed me was where they came when they were so anxious—to a Church, to God in a way, although they did not think that God would listen to them. Where do we go when we are burdened and looking for rest? Is God even a possibility amidst all the other things that we might do: relax and read in a favorite chair, go to a party, watch TV, go to a movie, sleep, play golf, exercise. None of those are bad, but they can only solve part of our problems. Jesus says that we can find rest in him: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. But Jesus also says that it is a little difficult and I think that right there is the problem: Take my yoke upon you. It will not be uncontrollably difficult, but it will be a little difficult— My burden is light. I think that that is the problem for the Christian—we do not accept the yoke of Jesus because it means some work—putting the yoke on ourselves implies a little work. But Jesus says that that is the condition for rest: putting on his yoke and learning from him. What does that consist of, what is the yoke? It means accepting his guidance by knowing what he asks, and wanting what he wants—peace, love, no revenge, unity, forgiveness, what we commonly call Christian virtues. We have to really want them, and try to make them our own. The problem may very well be that we are not scared enough to put on that yoke. Maybe one of the jobs of Christianity is to scare us. Perhaps the job of the minister is to bring back the old idea of the possibility of us going to hell—namely, what can happen to our souls. I have been told by some strong Christians that my job as Christian preacher is to threaten with words such as: “If you do not place God a little more in our lives, you will go to hell!” I am not so sure that that is my role as minister, but there is reason to fear hell with what is happening in our world. There are many indications that we are not following God’s law. Many people think that the natural disasters and the violence are a sign of God’s displeasure with us. I personally do not think that, but I think of all the disasters that we are responsible for—the abortions, the wars, the pornography, the blatant disregard for sexual morality, the hatred of peoples—that is what scares me, and I think that it should be enough to frighten all of us. And, indeed, it should make us want to turn to the yoke of Jesus, and put it on so that we can have God’s presence and grace. We honestly need the Lord’s help. He is our rest, and will help us, but we have to place his yoke on ourselves first. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “The Black Panther” — beginning session A SINCERE AND HONEST LEADER The Gospel MATTHEW 23:29-36 Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out! You serpents, you brood of vipers, how can you flee from the judgment of Gehenna? Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, so that there may come upon you all the righteous bloodshed upon earth, from the righteous blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Amen, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” |
Gospelthink: I was very critical of the religious leaders of my day because they were hypocrites. In my life, do I find that I am contradictory in the way I behave? |
The disguised technology-advanced third world country Wakanda was satisfied with their isolationist policy. They had discovered vibranium in their country, the use of which advanced their country far beyond any place else in the world. Knowing the power of vibranium, N’Jobu wanted to use it to empower the black people of the world. He employed black marketer Ulysses Klaue to steal some vibranium. When N’Jobu’s brother King T’Chaka learned of his treachery, he was forced to kill his brother in order to prevent it from happening. However, N’Jobu’s son Erik or “Killmonger” continued where his father left off. While T’Challa took over as King and therefore “The Black Panther,” “Killmonger” not only wanted the black people to conquer the world, by the use of vibranium, but he wanted to rule as king and the new “The Black Panther.” |
Why did Jesus have such a difficult time with the scribes and Pharisees of his time? Simply put, they were claiming to be something they were not. They were pretending to be consecrated men who were involved in guiding the Hebrew people to holiness, and they were nothing more than vipers–snakes–who at best were false teachers, and at worst, were murderers. They had a insatiable desire for power and were people who for the most part were seeking revenge on Jesus because of Jesus’ popularity. Jesus wanted sincerity and honesty among religious leaders. The King of Wakanda, the “Black Panther” had to be a person of sincerity and honesty as he ruled the people of Wakanda. King T’Challa had chosen a life-style for his country that was principally a peaceful one. His isolationist policy was a way of protecting his people and keeping away from the politics of the world. Some people disagreed with it. One of them, Erik or “Killmonger” was anxious to take revenge on the people who had hurt the black people of the world. He wanted revenge, and with the use of vibranium, would be able to do it while making himself king. The job of being a leader implies that he/she will work toward sincerity and honesty. There are many who disagree with the leader, many of whom simply desire any popularity that the leader has. Sometimes they will do everything in their power to make the leader look bad or evil. We may not be leaders in the sense of directing a country, but we are all leaders in our own way. We exist in a world that needs honest and sincere leaders, people who want to show such honesty and sincerity to those around them. There will be opposition in the sense that people will seek any power they can accrue. As long as we remain true to our good goals, we can be the leaders that we are called to be. |
PRAYER Good and gracious God, You desire us to be leaders in the way we live our lives. Your Son Jesus was such a leader when He was here on earth, but met opposition from his enemies. Give us the grace to remain sincere and honest even though there may be evil people who want to destroy our harmony. Be with us, we pray. |
+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: When the desire for power and revenge are coupled together, evil will be present. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 62 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie was most striking to you? Why? 2.In general, do you agree that countries should share their technology with others? Yes or no and why? 3. Dialogue analysis: T’Chaka: “You’re a good man with a good heart. And it’s hard for a good man to be king.” Why is this a true statement for people in authority? 4. Generally speaking, are most religious leaders of our time sincere and honest? 4. What can be done about the prejudice in our world? 5. Give an example of a national leader who has been made into an evil person when he/she is not evil at all. 6. What are the characteristics of a good leader? |
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