[media presentation below] GospelThink Thursday, November 23 LUKE 19:41-44 I wept because of what I saw of what would happen to Jerusalem. Prayerthoughts a. Jesus weeps over what he foresaw would happen to Jerusalem. There are tragedies around our world. I should pray for the people involved, and maybe donate to help those places. b. The peace that Jesus gives will not be part of Jerusalem’s future. How I am contributing to peace in the area around me? c. The evangelist has the advantage of knowing what actually happened in Jerusalem since he was writing after it happened. In the world right now, what are the most important happenings, and how does a true disciple of Jesus look at them? d. The prediction that Jesus gives is not a pretty one. I should view the tragedies in the world with the thought that God will always give the grace to those who are suffering.  e. Are there people in my own area who are suffering in some way. What can I personally do to help them? f. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will read 1 Macabbees, chapter 2 and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  MAKING FOR PEACE + Jesus knew all about pain           – he was suffering from the mental pain of people not wholly accepting the Kingdom that he was preaching           – he would suffer greatly in the very near future as we study the time-frame of Luke’s Gospel today                      – suffering both mentally with the Agony in the Garden and physically with his passion and death           – and therefore he could understand the pain of another                      – and as he came upon Jerusalem, he knew that the people of the city were going to suffer greatly                                – because there was to be great destruction which came in 70 AD  + As he laments the destruction that is yet to come           – Jesus uses a statement that would be good to meditate on:           If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.           – what makes for peace in our days?                      – for the inhabitants of Jerusalem as Jesus thought of their future, that which would make for peace would be a recognition of what they should have been doing with their spiritual lives—“you did not recognize” Jesus says  + But what makes for peace in our days—right now, in the twenty-first century           – studying the readings today, perhaps, two things we can dwell on           1 – from the first reading, the Book of Revelation                      – that which would make for peace for us would be acknowledgment of the Lamb that was slain                                – the Lamb that would be able to open the scroll of life                      – we should be making that Lamb, the symbol of Jesus Christ to be the guide of our lives                                – allowing him to dictate his doctrine to us                                          – and just as important, for us to listen to that doctrine and make it our own                                                    – like the doctrine of love of others that is so important for the Christian           2 – from the Gospel                      – that which would make for peace for us would be some thought of our future                                – what should we be doing with our lives, how should we be conducting ourselves in light of the Gospels of Jesus                                          – we know what we want our spiritual future to be                                                    – it is up to us to bring it about a little better than we are perhaps  + There are many things that make for peace for us           – they center around truly accepting the Lord into our lives. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Interstellar” — final session WHAT CAUSED THIS? The Gospel LUKE 12:54-56 Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say immediately that it is going to rain, and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Gospelthink: You are able to read signs for nature. Why are you not able to see that you must repent?

A thought that continually surfaces throughout the movie “Interstellar” is the thought that there was something that has caused all of this. It was part of the very first moments when “ghosts”  seem to exist in the Cooper home. It was present with questions of “Who chose me” and the like as Cooper was led back to NASA. It was on the astronauts’ minds as they experienced up close and personal what “worm-holes” were and what they did. It was especially clear as Coop’s computer “friend” TARS tells him about his being sent back to him by fifth dimensional beings to lead Coop to his now older daughter Murph in order to allow Murph to solve the gravity equation. It all seemed to part of a plan that eventually led to the completion of Part A to have a temporary location for Earth leading now to Part B. Part B was the re-location of Earth that he and his fellow astronaut Amelia Brand would actually begin. The answer which is given without saying it in the film is that some Higher Being was directing all of it.

How vast our universe is and what it consists of now that we have ways of measuring these things are completely incredible. We cannot even envision what they mean and what we have discovered yet. It makes even a movie like “Interstellar” actually make sense in light of the things that we now know. In Jesus’ time, there was very little knowledge of the universe as such, but Jesus alluded to it in a general way during one of his sermons. He wanted to lead the people to see that there is so much more to the spiritual life than merely following a law or just “hoping” that things could be better. Look at the universe, he says, study the patterns that you are familiar with–you can easily see that knowing some things about that universe can help you as you live. Applying the teaching to the spiritual life, as you study what is happening in your personal lives, you can easily determine what you should be doing in order to live better. For Jesus, of course, the presence of a Higher Being–his Father in heaven–was an automatic. Of course, it is the Higher Being who is directing the wind and the rain and the whole world. For the Christian, it is likewise a fact. We may not be able to completely understand it yet, but we know it is true. God made our world and everything in it, and its magnificence is nothing more than the statement of how wonderful our Creator is. Many people are not ready to accept the fact but even they must marvel at the intricacy of the universe as they study it. What should all of this do for the Christian? Belief in the Higher Being, God, is a “given” for us. Maybe our application of the fact should lead us to a greater care of the environment in which we reside. Or as Jesus taught–maybe knowledge of the universe is a means to make us recognize how we know that we can be better by studying ourselves a little closer.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, you are our Higher Being, as Your Son acknowledged you–His Father. May we continue to marvel at this universe that you have created, and learn more about ourselves as we study that universe. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Studying our universe can easily lead to a belief in a Higher Being.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 78 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie was most striking to you? Why? 2 The signs that Jesus gave were obviously rudimentary for understanding the universe. The fact that God is responsible is not mentioned here. In general, do Christian people consider God’s presence as they study the universe today? Yes or no and why? 3. Analysis: As you study the world as a whole right now, do you think that many Christians are correct in saying that it is not a good world, and we should change? Yes or no and why? 4. The presenter may want to give some facts about what we know about the universe right now. 5. St. Thomas Aquinas gave 5 “proofs for the existence of God”:           – proof by motion: it is necessary to arrive at a First Mover which is set in motion by no other; this we understand to be God.         – proof by causality: every cause and effect can be traced so that there is a beginning; the Something that started it must be a Being who owes power to bring about such an effect to no one; this is God, the first efficient cause.         – proof by contingency: there must exist some being which differs from contingent beings by possessing existence in its own right: it simply has existence; we call that being God.          – proof by degrees of perfection: since all things have a limited degree of perfection, it clearly cannot be the source of all that particular perfection; therefore it is a received perfection; we call the possessor of that inexhaustible and infinite perfection, God.          – proof by design: any object, no matter how useful, does not have the power to think or to plan, and therefore could not have designed itself; outside intelligence must have planned it; if that intelligence is limited, it was given intelligence by another and so forth, one must ultimately admit the existence of a Being whose intelligence was not acquired from another; we call that intelligence God. Which of these proofs are most convincing for you? Why? 6. How can we respect the environment better than we are? 7. Scene analysis: the nitrogen levels on the earth are getting worse. If you knew that the end was relatively near as in the movie, how would you behave? 8. Scene analysis: the Endurance crew go to Mann’s planet and Mann tries to kill Cooper in order to save himself. Do you believe that humankind in general is this selfish? Yes or no and why? 9. Scene analysis: Cooper tricks Brand into allowing her to be the one who will make it to Edmond’s planet while he goes into the black hole. This is an act of martyrdom since he probably would die and Brand would live, at least for a while. Who are some modern day martyrs that you are familiar with? 10. Scene analysis: Murph completes the gravity equation with Cooper’s help. There are no doubt many discoveries that we have not made yet because we do not know enough. Do you feel that God wants us to acquire more and more knowledge as we are at the present time? Yes or no and why? 11. Scene analysis: Earth’s population has been moved to the space stations (thus Plan A actually did happen), and in time will be sent to Edmund’s planet with Cooper and Brand setting it up. If you were in charge of setting up a new life for people, what would be the first three rules that you would enact? 12. What does the movie “Interstellar” teach young people?