[media presentation below] GospelThink Monday, August 21 MATTHEW 19:16-22 I call you to be as close to perfect as you can be, and that calls for you to be able to give away some things. Prayerthoughts a. In my opinion, what is most important for me to gain eternal life? b. Jesus points out that “good” is an attribute of God. Do I look at the present direction of my life as “good”? c. Can I reply with the young man that I have kept all of those commandments since I was very young? d. What is apparent to me as I study my income and giving to others, especially the poor? Should I make some adjustments? e. As the young man, I have many possessions. Obviously, the Lord wants me to look at my “possessions.” Do I have too much? Should I make give some of my “stuff” away? f. The young man left his relationship with the Lord. I have not left since I am thinking of this Gospel passage, but are there some things that are keeping me back from a   relationship with the Lord? g. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will list five things from my possessions that I should give away. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  SELL, GIVE AND FOLLOW  + The Gospel is one of the primary statements of the type of people who will make up the Kingdom that Jesus is preaching about             – it will be made up of people in two stages of spiritual perfection                         – the first are the people who keep the commandments                                     – Jesus mentions a couple of Moses’ commandments and one of his own                         – the “further” stage are the people who learn to do three things on behalf of God: the operating words: sell, give and follow  + Supposedly, we are trying to keep that first stage, the stage of obeying the commandments as best we can             – perhaps we should concentrate on that further stage, what might be called a deeper stage of spirituality             1 – sell what you have                         – there are some things that one cannot do away with obviously                                     – but the gist of the passage is not to have excess, more than we need                                                 – that is, to have enough to live, but only enough to live                                     – saving and investing can be done if it stays within the guidelines of having enough and only enough             2 – give to the poor                         – not only does Jesus go directly against our best financial advice                                     – he even directs that we give away the earnings that we make, the earnings that we do not need                                                 – the Christian will give to those who need             3 – follow Jesus                         – only when other things do not get in the way can we follow Jesus, that is, accept what he says and does                                     – this idea of getting material things out of our way is a common theme throughout the New Testament  + The book of Judges in the first reading is a statement that the lure of the Baals, that is, other gods is very strong             – in the case of the Gospel, they are the gods of possessions, money and selfishness                         – they continually call out to us to adore them             – but Jesus words say it well: in order to be more spiritual people, we have to understand what selling our possessions, giving to the poor, and following Jesus really means. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Heaven is for Real” — beginning session RECOGNIZING GOD’S PRESENCE The Gospel LUKE 13:20-21 Again [Jesus] said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed [in] with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

Gospelthink: I use the image of leaven to tell you that the Kingdom that I taught should be part of everything. Do I put the message of Jesus into everything I do?

Based on a true story and on a book by the same name, “Heaven is For Real” is the story of four-year old Colton Burpo who during emergency surgery had an out of body experience of heaven. Colton’s father, Todd, the local Methodist minister, and mother Sonja discovered that Colton knew things that he could not have known before. He claimed he knew them by his interaction with Jesus and heaven. The first part of the movie describes the joys and travails of a growing family living in a small town with hardly any money. Then, they were further challenged with circumstances that caused even this religious family with wonder about what God had planned for them. When Colton began to talk of his experience, something that Todd and his wife could not understand, and what happened became known around the area, most did not believe what Colton believed. Even Todd’s livelihood of being a pastor was jeopardized.

Jesus used the image of yeast a couple of times in his discourses. He used it in a positive and a negative way. Here, he uses it in a positive way, giving his thought as to what the Kingdom should do for humankind. In terms of day to day living, and the Kingdom that he was preaching, the image carries the idea that the life of the Kingdom should permeate everything that happens in a believer’s life. Thinking of the image in terms of the early life of the Burpo family in rural Nebraska in the movie “Heaven is For Real,” the father Todd, a Christian minister was well aware that everything had to be defined with the thought of the Kingdom. Therefore everything–his own sickness, his lack of money, his wonder whether he was doing a good job and the like–all fit into the pattern. He could accept that, but when it came to his son’s illness and possibility of death, he was not sure that he understood, and he began to waiver in his faith. It is the age-old question of bad things happening to good people, or to be more honest, bad things happening at all. The Christian readily accepts the answer that God allows those things to happen because of the free will of humankind and the “normal” reaction of our earth to the environment, but it is a different matter to live out. Christians can talk with relative ease about the difficult things that happen in life, but when they happen to them and their families, then the doctrines often do not make any sense. God is in charge of our world. The yeast of God’s Kingdom is part of everything that happens, no matter how difficult it is to comprehend. The Christian must approach life from such a perspective, recognizing how the love of God is always present no matter what.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we believe with all of our hearts that you are involved in the things that happen in our individual lives. Give us the grace to understand Your will especially with those things that we do not totally understand. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme:The Christian believer accepts the fact that God is involved in our lives, even those moments when we do not like the consequences.    DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 46 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie was most striking to you? Why? 2. According to Scripture scholars, “three measures” is an enormous amount of flour, and therefore the parable is a slight exaggeration pointing to the greatness of the Lord’s Kingdom. In your opinion, why did Jesus use exaggeration? 3. Project: explain how yeast works, and apply it to the understanding of Jesus’ Kingdom. 4. What is your understanding of the Kingdom of Jesus? [See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 2816-2821.] 5. In general, do you believe the literature produced about “near death experiences”? Yes or no and why? 6. What are some images of “yeast” used in a negative way? 7. It is extremely difficult to accept what we consider to be bad for people to be God’s Will. How would you explain to another that God works with things that are bad? 8. What would you do if a friend of yours suddenly stopped “believing” because of some evil that came into his/her life? 9. Project: the presenter may want to refer to the young girl in Lithuania (Akiane Kramarik) and her story. See www.akiane.com. 10. Analysis: Todd is obviously a very Christian man, giving to others, even though he himself needs money. In general, do you believe that Christians behave this well in our world? Yes or no and why? 11. Analysis: in your opinion, do “miracles” happen in our world? Yes or no and why? 12. Analysis: how would you react if you had a four-year old son who told you of his “visit to Heaven”? Why? 13. Analysis: do you think what Colton heard about nothing to fear on earth is correct? Yes or no and why? 14. Dialogue analysis: the psychologist asks of Todd: “Are you wondering about your own faith?” Analyze her question and how you think Todd would have answered it.