[media presentation below] GospelThink Wednesday, August 30 MATTHEW 23:27-32 The scribes and Pharisees in general did not try to purify the interior thinking. Prayerthoughts a. The Lord condemns the filth inside us, which is primarily what our thinking is leading us to. As I study myself, say, yesterday, what are the top 3 things that I am thinking about? b. I present myself to be a certain way. Basically, am I being honest with others who see me? c. If I were living at the time of the Israelites, would I have taken part in the killing of the prophets? d. If I were living at the time of Jesus, would I have believed him, given that the religious leaders were saying that he was not what he said he was? e. There are many now who do not accept Jesus as a religious teacher; is there anything I can do to bring about a greater acceptance of Jesus in my own little world? f. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will read 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2:10-20 and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  RELIGION MUST BE REAL  + As St. Paul writes back to the Christians of Thessolinica whom he had evangelized           – he wants them to remember how he preached the “Gospel of God”           – and he is especially thankful that the Thessalonians listened to this Gospel not as the word of men, but as the word of God                      – and now that word of God is alive in people—meaning in them—who believe                                “now at work in you who believe”  + What happens when the word of God or Gospel of God is at work in believers?           – obviously many characteristics                      – but one of them is being brought home in Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 23, from which the daily Gospel has been taken the last couple of days                                – that characteristic—as he lets his feelings known concerning the Scribes and Pharisees—is that religion is real and not fake                                          – or in today’s Gospel—that a person’s inner being, namely his/her intentions are pure just as much as a person cleans the outside of his/her body                                                    – and along the same line that we don’t brag about our lack of sinfulness when it may not be true  + Two things there: if religion is real and not fake,           1 – people who have the Gospel of God at work in their hearts are going to consider their intentions                      – that is, their thinking and work on making it as much in line with God’s way of thinking as possible                                – it is difficult enough to work on words and deeds, but when religion is real, you’re going to work on your thinking as well                                          – especially in the way we judge others           2 – and secondly, if religion is real and not fake                      – people who are believers are not going to make false claims of spirituality when we don’t know them to be true                                – the Scribes and Pharisees bragged that they would not have acted the way their forefathers acted                                          – as a matter of fact, Jesus points out—yes, they are, like right now!                                – people who have the word of God at work in them understand that they are sinners                                          – and that they probably would have done what everyone else was doing because we are sinners and we need repentance  + A major part of our spirituality, that is, what our life is when the Gospel of God is at work in us           – is that religion is not fake           – it will be real, and evident in our words and deeds and especially our thinking. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Solo: A Star Wars Story” — final session THE WRONG SIDE OF GOOD The Gospel LUKE 2:8-14 Now there were shepherds in that region living in the field and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Gospelthink: I came into your world as a ordinary person in poverty.  Have I  truly shown that Jesus is part of my life?

Three years after Han Solo was separated from his girlfriend Qi’ra, Han was fighting with the Imperial forces, but after some insubordination, was thrown into a prison with the Wookie Chewbacca. They worked together and eventually joined an outlaw gang who was trying to steal some coaxiom on behalf of Dryden Vos, leader of a crime syndicate. Han discovered that Qi’ra was one of Vos’ coworkers. The gang along with Han, Chewbacca and Qi’ra (with Vos’ blessing) traveled to the planet Kessel on a ship from a smuggler Lando Calrissian who joined them. Their intention was to find more coaxiom. After a battle on Kessel, the group head back to Dryden Vos, and Qi’ra betrayed Vos. Qi’ra reported to her real director Darth Maul who gives Qi’ra Vos’ former position. Meanwhile, Han won the space ship Falcon from Calrissian while giving the coaxiom they had obtained to freedom fighters, saying that they had to go in search of a gang leader by the name of Jabba the Hutt.

Around Jerusalem, in Jesus’ days, there were many plains, abandoned and uncultured tracts of land that were good for nothing except pasturing sheep. Shepherds in particular were interesting people. Since Jesus compared himself to one, we have become accustomed to considering them to be gentle, understanding, and kind people. Actually as we have begun to discover more about Jesus’ times, most shepherds were just the opposite. They were dirty, smelly, and ignorant individuals who did not respect the rules of religion; in fact, most of them did not appreciate religion at all. Some of them were thieves; most of them were tough characters who were not afraid to use their shepherd staffs as weapons. But when asked to be the first adorers of the Baby Jesus, even though remaining tough characters, they did what was considered to be good. The lesson that we can learn is that even those who are on the wrong side of good, as most of the shepherds were, can work for good if we choose. With the advent of the Star Wars stories, Han Solo has always had the image of a good person with some rogue qualities about him. As a person, he seemed to always have been on the wrong side of what was right. But in the end, he chose what was good as a guide to his life. So, we know that even when he and Chewbacca went off to find the outlaw Jabba the Hutt of Star Wars fame, he eventually chose to join forces with the good people who were fighting for freedom in the galaxy. Can a person change for the better? It is a good question that we should ask ourselves. Most of us recognize that we are not as good as we can be. And so, it is important that we recognize at the same time that we can become better. Even people who have done horrible evil can look at themselves and recognize that they must improve, at least a little. But the operating word is “can.” Evil people can recognize that they are doing things that are harmful to our world. But they must pay attention to their actions first. What can they do in a better way? Do they even want to do things in a better way? The outlaw Han Solo became an important good player in the fantasy world that he dwelled in. The conclusion for us is that even if we cannot become totally good because of our human nature, we can accomplish good and even great things if we want.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, the shepherds who adored Your Son at His birth are a good lesson for us. They were people who learned to do something good as they adored the Lord of the Universe. May we be able to imitate them as we live our lives. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Even those who are on the wrong side of good can work for good if they choose.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 63 minutes) 1. What scene from this session of movie is most striking and why? 2. What does the movie “Solo” teach young people? 3. Considering the Gospel, the Lord’s Incarnation is a truly important event that should have “changed the world.” In your opinion, has it changed the world? Yes or no and why? 4. In general, why are there people in our world who set out to do evil things? 5. Think of some “tough characters” in life who do some good things. Who are some of them? 6. In general, what must a person do in order to change for the better? 7. Why do evil people not recognize that they are doing evil things? 8. What some good things that most everyone could do?