Todays Gospel September 5 Introduction We should never write off an older generation simply because the times are changing. Bob Dylan got it right when he exhorts us to accept the fact that things are no longer the way they were and we have to adjust or we will get left behind. Things are changing all the time around us. It makes life a dizzy roller coaster ride. For me, this is exciting and makes for an interesting future and many challenging situations. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life. Luke 5:33-39 33 The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” 36 And he also told them a parable. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. 37 Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. 38 Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’ ” Reflection and sharing from Fr. Rudy Horst of kerygmafamily NEW WINE IN NEW WINESKINS In Jesus’ time, water, wine, oil and milk were stored in leather containers. The reason no one would put new and still fermenting wine into old wineskins is that the fermentation process produces gas, which would stretch the old skins to their bursting point. Then both the wine and the wineskins would be lost. So they always put new wine into new wineskins that would stretch without bursting. To further understand what Jesus is trying to teach, we must remember that the context of the parables is the religious practices of the Pharisees in contrast to those of Jesus’ disciples. The Pharisees fasted while Jesus’ disciples did not. So the parables relate to that contrast. On the one hand, Jesus was speaking about the “old garment’ or “old wineskin” of Judaism, and on the other hand, about the “new garment” or “new wine” of His teachings. Jesus anticipated the incompatibility of Judaism and Christianity, and the eventual split between them. But what has this to do with us today? The main point is that we must not become too comfortable with our traditions because God has marvelous ways of doing unusual things. When God moves, He usually manifests Himself in ways that are outside of our comfort zones. The election of Pope Francis last year surprised many. He shocked people by doing away, even on the first day of his Pontificate, with things that Vatican people were used to. His return to simplicity was “new wine” that needed “new wineskins.” Using “new wineskins” does not mean throwing away tradition. What is good and precious must be preserved but what is outdated has to go. The history of the Church is rich with examples of God’s moving power (“new wine”) and resistance by people who do not want to change. Therefore, we must be open to God’s “new wine” whenever it is poured out, even if it is difficult for us to change.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 05:09:43 +0000
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