[media presentation below] GospelThink Saturday December 9, Advent I MATTHEW 9:35-10:1,5a,6-8 Your mission in the world. Prayerthoughts a. Jesus worked hard at helping people who were in need and preaching his Kingdom. Do I help people whenever I see that I can? b. Do I pray that the Lord will help care for people by asking him to inspire people to work in the Kingdom? c. Matthew names the apostles who became the first missionaries. In a sense we are all missionaries, preaching Jesus’ Gospel by our lives. How am I living out that Gospel right now? d. Jesus restricts his Apostles to work only with Israel, the thrust of his ministry on earth. Most of my “missionary activity” will be with people whom I know. How am I treating those in my acquaintance whom I know best? e. Jesus’ first directive is to preach the Kingdom, that is, that God is present in our world. Do I show my belief in God as I go about my daily work? f. Obviously, I cannot heal the sick in my acquaintance. But do I show signs of personal concern—a card, a visit, etc.—to the people that I know who are ill? g. The Lord tells me that I am to give without concern for cost, that is, to give without expecting anything in return. In my giving to others, what is my motivation? h. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will compose a prayer especially for those working as missionaries. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy THE WAY FOR THE CHRISTIAN  + The Book of Isaiah is the primary book that is used for the first readings during the season of Advent             – the book is primarily one of hope                         – a number of “will’s” and “shall’s” for the better                                     – the Lord will bring about good things in the future             – in today’s reading: the promise that you will see the Teacher (capital T) with your own eyes             – actually, the book is primarily speaking of the good that could happen in the eighth and seventh centuries before Christ if the Israelite people would follow the directives of God                         – but the Church has taken the words and applied them as prophesy about the time of Jesus and his Kingdom                                     – signifying that Jesus’ time will be a very good one for the followers who call themselves Christian  + Today in the reading, there is an interesting phrase that can easily be applied to our spiritual lives             – speaking of the Teacher and his laws, Isaiah says: “This is the way; walk in it.”                         – that is, using the interpretation of the Church today,                                     – the Teacher Jesus will give us the way; what we must do is truly walk in it  + Today’s Gospel is the perfect follow up to the directive because it gives us the way as described by Jesus to his followers             – he is sending his followers out two by two to prepare for his coming to those villages that he will visit some time in the future,                         – and he tells them what his “way” is:             – Jesus himself has already been influenced by the plight of the people that Matthew tells us about             At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.             – so he gives his disciples directions with significant words:                         – go to the lost, proclaim the Kingdom, cure, raise, cleanse, drive out, give  + In a sense, that is what we as modern followers of Jesus’ “way” are called to do                         – not in the same capacity, obviously, since we are not leaders in the Church                                     – but we are the followers of Jesus, and this is what we are to do to enhance our spiritual lives in the way that we act with others             – we are called to proclaim the Kingdom—announce to the society around us that Jesus’ way is the best way to follow             – cure—not in the sense of healing, but in the sense of comfort to those who need comforting words             – raise—not in the sense of raising the dead, but in the sense of raising the hopes of people who have had tragedies in their lives             – cleanse—cleanse sin from our own lives, and as far as possible from the lives of others             – drive out—drive out the idols that surround this society, and conquer our desires for pleasure, power and money             – and finally, and maybe most importantly, give                         – Jesus saying:             Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.             – arguably the most important action a Christian can learn is to give to others our time, our energy, our help  + “This is the way; walk in it” the book of Isaiah says             – we have chosen the way of Jesus                         – we must walk in it as best we can. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “The Rise of Skywalker” — final session THE FORCE: LIGHT AND DARKNESS The Gospel LUKE 12:34-36a The crowd answered Jesus, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. Then how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” Jesus said to them, “The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light.”

Gospelthink: I am still with you as the light for the world. Am I walking in that light in my life?

The scavenger Rey of the planet Jakku discovered early on that she was Force-sensitive as she lived her life. As the movie “The Rise of Skywalker” begins she was being trained in the Force by Princess Leia and her captains. She had previously been trained by Luke Skywalker himself whom she had begged to come back and help the Resistance. He did not, but Rey let the Force guide her toward the good. She knew that eventually she would have to confront Kylo Ren who likewise was Force-sensitive for evil. Actually, we discover in the movie that Rey was the granddaughter of Palpatine who did everything in his power to bring Rey to the dark side. Eventually a converted Ren gave his life force to Rey after Rey had granted Ren his life. Rey and her companions then led the Resistance to lead the people of the galaxy against the Final Order armada and win the final battle. Rey accepted the title and challenge to be truly the foster daughter of Princess Leia and Han Solo, calling herself “Rey Skywalker.”

If there is any consistent thought for the “Star Wars” epic, it would be the Force. It is defined as an energy field that connects all living things in the galaxy. The power of the Force could be used by individuals who were especially sensitive to it. The most famous Force-sensitive people in the epic were Luke Skywalker and his father Darth Vader. As the epic closes, the two most famous are Kylo Ren who uses the Force for evil, but eventually converts to the good side, and Rey who uses it for the good, At the close of the movie, she accepts the title of “Rey Skywalker” signifying an acceptance of the good way of life forever. The epic begins with the Force in “Star Wars–The Phantom Menace” and closes with the Force in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and is easily translated to be the power of good and the power of evil. Jesus used the terms “light” and “darkness.” Jesus knew about darkness. At the same time, he knew that he was the light, a light that would last forever, the good that had to fight that darkness. He urges his disciples to “walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you.” Jesus realized only too well that even though he was the light, the darkness was very strong, often seeming to overpower any good. The light is always present to humankind through Jesus’ presence in our world, but so is darkness through the power of evil, and often the people of the world choose the darkness. The “Star Wars” epic is a classic tale of light and darkness, aimed at teaching “hope” even in the midst of intense persecution. The story teaches us to expect the evil because of the selfishness, but it tells us to fight it and never give up fighting no matter how bleak things look. There is evil all around us, not in the form of Imperial forces about to destroy the world as we know it, but much more personal. The evils we meet every day demand a true and real understanding of the light of Jesus Christ along with the real acceptance of the guidelines he taught. The “Star Wars” epic gives us a chance to reflect not only on the evil, but especially on the grace to overcome it. We pray that the Force–good in the world–will always be with us.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we live in a world that in many ways has chosen darkness over what you offer us. Too often we choose the darkness because we want only what we want and therefore forget about anything else. Help us identify the darkness in our lives, and give us the grace to want to do something about it. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: The Force has led Rey throughout her destiny to become the Jedi “Rey Skywalker.”   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 66 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. What does the movie “The Rise of Skywalker” teach young people? 3. In what ways is Jesus a “light”? 4. The statement can be made that all of us are Force-sensitive. What do you think it means? 5. What are the best examples of “light” and “darkness” in the world in which we live? 6. What are the most important reasons why someone would choose “darkness” in our world? 7.  In terms of today’s understanding, what is your definition of “hope.” 8. In your opinion, what is most evil in our world at the present time? 9. As you study the whole series of the “Star Wars” epic, what is its principal teaching for our world?