[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, September 5 LUKE 4:31-37 I have the power to control evil.  Prayerthoughts a. Jesus kept the Sabbath day holy. My Sabbath is of course Sunday. Do I give a proper amount of time to prayer and to my family on Sundays? b. Jesus was a teacher. In many ways I am a teacher to those around me. As I study what I do, say yesterday, what are the principal themes of my “teaching”? c. Evil knows when holiness is present. My holiness should control my words, actions and especially my thinking. Am I evil in these things? d. Jesus controls every evil. What evil do I want Jesus to help me with today? e. A good phrase to meditate on: “What is there about his word?” We see holiness in action before our eyes. In our world, where do we see holiness the most? (This is the task of the meditation.) f. If your “fame” would spread in the place around you, how would people describe you. g. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will answer letter e. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT  + In the first reading, as yesterday’s reading, Paul is again concerned about the end of the world, “the day of the Lord” as he calls it             – he tells the Thessalonians that they do not have to fear and uses one of those spiritual phrases that is good to meditate on                         – he calls the people who have accepted Jesus Christ “children of the light”                                     – because Jesus has forever banished darkness, there is no need to be concerned                                                 – so, he says, you must behave as children of the light  + The Gospel gives us one of those characteristics of people who call themselves children of the light             – as Jesus, the Christian must be interested and concerned about the liberation of those who are oppressed by evil             – “the spirit of an unclean demon” means various things in Scripture                         – but one of them deals with the control that evil has in a person’s life, the darkness that Paul referred to                                     – evil is controlling the situation in the man’s life                                                 – and Jesus addresses that evil directly                                                             – freeing the man from the evil  + Children of the light will want to free their world from evil             – and one of the ways to do it is to shake up the status quo that allows evil                         – children of the light will simply not allow evil to control a situation, if he/she can possibly prevent it                                     – I find it interesting that the people say of Jesus: “what is there about his word”                                                 – it is important that we think about our words                         – not speaking ill of others is one of those areas of Scripture that we should listen to closely                                     – it happens on different levels, but what we should be concerned about—it happens on our own personal level                                                 – we often are in a group that is hurting another’s reputation                                                 – or one-on-one with a person who is not a professional and talking evil of another  + The spiritual person is a person who can be labeled “a child of the light”             – and today we hear that one of the characteristics of children of the light is that such a one attacks evil, especially the evil of speaking ill of others whenever it is present in one’s life. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “No Time to Die” — final session THE ULTIMATE GIFT The Gospel JOHN 15:12-17 Jesus said, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love that this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” You are my friends if you do what I command you.  I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. I was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.

Gospelthink: My first practical commandment is that you show love to everyone. Have I managed to keep the commandment?

In the movie “No Time to Die,” James Bond reestablished his relationship with Madeleine after discovering that she had not betrayed him. Lyutsifer Safin who was the real evil managed to infect Madeleine with the virus that killed Blofield, the leader of Spectre. In reality, Safin had directed all of the evil, even overpowering Spectre. Eventually, M and Q in MI6 headquarters enabled Bond to infiltrate the island in which Safin had set up his operation. Safin had set up the island to facilitate the manufacture of the virus in order to conquer the world, a virus that Obruchev of MI6 had invented, but Safin had taken over. Of course, as in all of the Bond movies, James Bond wins in the end, but this time after he has killed Safin, freed Madeleine and arranged for the destruction of the island where Safin had manufactured the virus, he was trapped. Having discovered that Madeleine was the mother of his child, he willingly died with the love of Madeleine and his son in his mind.

What would we do if we were in a situation that required us to die on behalf of another? Jesus, our redeemer, made such a decision. Paul the Apostle describes Jesus’ death this way: “Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-7)” Jesus died for humankind, even though in many ways we did not love God the way we should, and could be called “sinners.” James Bond’s gift to Madeleine was given in the context of one who loves; it was not only the gift of love, but it was the ultimate proof of the gift of love. As Jesus reminded his followers, there is no greater love. Again, the original question, what would we do if we had to die for another? We obviously do not know the answer because we are not in such a situation, and we do not know how we would act. We know we have great examples of people who have loved to such an extent, and we have seen it enacted on the movie screen. Usually the dying for another is in a romantic context as in the movie “No Time to Die,” but as Jesus describes it, this type of love ought to be part of every believer in Jesus Christ on behalf of anyone else. It is a difficult doctrine. In fact, in today’s world, some might even call it and impossible doctrine. Knowing that such proofs of love exists is only part of the answer. Perhaps our principal concentration must be on managing to love everyone as completely as we can. Then, if the ultimate is required of us, we would be ready to show it.                        PRAYER Good and gracious God, your Son died for us, the ultimate statement that he loved us. We were not worthy of such devotion to us. Help us learn the lesson of love in such a way that if we were asked to give our lives for someone else, we would be able to do it. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: In the end, the way to die is to give up our life for love.        DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 77 minutes) 1. What scene during this session is most striking and why? 2. Concerning the Lord’s directive to love everyone, do Christians even try to follow it? 3. Looking at this movie from the point of view of the end of this series of James Bond movies, what is the principal lesson that James Bond gives the world? 4. Do you think that most good Christians would die on behalf of another? 5. Besides, Jesus who is the best example of someone willing to die for another? 6. If everyone truly loved one another, what is the first thing that would change in our world? 7. What does the movie “No Time to Die” teach young people?