What wonderful words in the Gospel of John about the Son of God coming to earth to be in relationship with God’s children. And what a privilege it would have been to witness Jesus’ ministry in real life; to be one of the people in the crowd while listening to his teaching, to be a friend of one of the people healed by his hand or even to be personally invited to journey with and learn from Jesus. To be chosen. How amazing are the thoughts of is possibility.
One person who clearly has considered these possibilities is an American TV and film Director Dallas Jenkins. From these possibilities, Jenkins and his team have brought to life their interpretation of what life might have been like for Jesus starting his ministry. Jenkins has even gone as far as creating backstories for each of the disciples that were individually chosen by Jesus. We are first invited into each of their lives, into their struggles and baggage. But once introduced to Jesus and the invitation to spend time with him, we are invited to witness such a transformation of each of his first followers.
This year I have been given the opportunity to continue my work in ministry through the Pastoral Placement Program. I have felt a calling to develop faith formation resources and in an collaborative effort, a formation package has been created to reflect on season one of The Chosen series.
We have recently trialled this resource at the University of Newcastle through the Catholic Society. I felt such joy in being given the opportunity to share my love for this series with others. Each Friday night, for eight weeks, we gathered together to share a meal and conversation. We were very blessed to have people volunteer to cook for us from time to time and were joined by various people throughout the season. For the very last episode we were able to host this formation at the parish centre at St Mary Immaculate at Charlestown and were blessed with such hospitality. We watched each episode together and coming with open hearts and open spirits we were able to personally encounter Jesus as a community. Followed by such wonderful discussion and formation around what we had just witnessed. Some time has passed since the last episode, and I am still reflective of those conversations and the sharing that was had.
With the success of the trial, we would like to extend an invitation for you to join us. We would love to create a space for conversation about what you enjoyed, felt challenged and inspired by, through engaging in season one of The Chosen series.
With the unpredictable nature of COVID we have changed our plans and have decided to host this formation experience online.
To register for The Chosen- Season One- Discussion Group
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-chosen-season-1-discussion-group-tickets-164268530597
Date: Starting Wednesday August 18
Time: 6.30pm- 7.30pm
We are excited to share with you one man’s interpretation of what it would have been like to be witness to Jesus’ life among God’s people. To be witness to those who were chosen.