The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to be open to the prompting of the Spirit to experience the fullness of life in our journey through compassion, mercy, service, and love in our relationships.
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians describes the Ministry of the Apostles.
While Paul was in Ephesus on his third journey (1 Cor 16:8; Acts 19:1–20), he received disquieting news about Corinth. The community there was displaying open factionalism, as certain members were identifying themselves exclusively with individual Christian leaders and interpreting Christian teaching as a superior wisdom for the initiated few (1 Cor 1:10–4:21). (1 Corinthians, THE FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS, n.d.)
Psalm 37 is an exhortation to patience and trust.
* [Psalm 37] The Psalm responds to the problem of evil, which the Old Testament often expresses as a question: why do the wicked prosper and the good suffer? The Psalm answers that the situation is only temporary. God will reverse things, rewarding the good and punishing the wicked here on earth. The perspective is concrete and earthbound: people’s very actions place them among the ranks of the good or wicked. Each group or “way” has its own inherent dynamism—eventual frustration for the wicked, eventual reward for the just. The Psalm is an acrostic, i.e., each section begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section has its own imagery and logic. (Psalms, PSALM 37, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus addresses the question about fasting.
* [5:39] The old is good: this saying is meant to be ironic and offers an explanation for the rejection by some of the new wine that Jesus offers: satisfaction with old forms will prevent one from sampling the new. (Luke, CHAPTER 5, n.d.)
Gladyce Janky shares a reflection narrative to help ponder Jesus’ words. Is Jesus the bridegroom, and if so, who is the bride? Is he referring to a different sort of celebration? Everyone knows mending an old wineskin with new skin or putting new wine in an old skin is foolish. What is the deeper meaning of anyone drinking old wine not desiring the new?
Over time Jonah felt he understood better. He decided Jesus must be an influential teacher or honored guest, and spending time with him should be joyous, not a time for fasting and sorrow. Jonah concluded; The new wine must be an analogy for the new teachings Jesus is spreading among the ordinary people, and understanding the message requires putting on a “new skin,” or a new way of relating to God. Clinging to old skin (The Law) because it is familiar and comfortable, like the taste of mature wine, will keep me from enjoying what the new teachings or new wine have to say about God. Is this what Jesus is saying? What else is he saying about God? (Janky, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Christ will send you wise men and scribes,” by Clement of Alexandria, 150-215 A.D.
"A scribe is one who, through continual reading of the Old and New Testaments, has laid up for himself a storehouse of knowledge. Thus Christ blesses those who have gathered in themselves the education both of the law and of the gospel, so as to 'bring forth from their treasure things both new and old.' And Christ compares such people with a scribe, just as in another place he says, 'I will send you wise men and scribes' (Matthew 23:34)"(excerpt from FRAGMENT 172) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 comments that our relationship with God is like the relationship between a parent and a child. A good father doesn’t constantly criticize a child to get her to change her behavior. He sees her potential. He encourages her and tells her what she is doing right. He praises her when she makes progress, even as he corrects her when she goes astray.
Does the thought of coming under God’s judgment make you uneasy? Remember this passage. Remember that God is your heavenly Father. Then let him shine his light on both the good and the not so good in you. Ask him to show you the love and compassion that fill him as he looks on you.
“Come, Lord, and search my heart!” (Meditation on 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler discusses some of the attitudes toward judgement and the primacy of the spiritual over the material that confronted Paul in Corinth. Avoiding mixing old and new was a practice in Jewish culture in Jesus' time. Friar Jude reminds us of fasting as ritual mourning that often accompanies loss of a loved one.
Cynthia Bourgeault recalls Father Richard Rohr’s preaching about Jesus’ invitation to undeserved mercy, a worldview at odds with our entire economic system. There’s only one way to get us out of this meritocracy and entitlement. Once in our lives we have to experience undeserved love at a deep, gut level. Where we didn’t merit it, we weren’t worthy of it; in fact we were unworthy of it, and we got it anyway. That’s called mercy. Only the experience of divine mercy breaks down this entire way of counting. And that’s what we do—we’re all counters. We are! We think to ourselves, “You gave this much, so you deserve this much.”
Every such expectation is a resentment waiting to happen. When we expect, we’re soon going to resent it when we don’t get what we think we deserve. So, what the Gospel says is “Stop expecting!” Entitlement is lethal for the soul. Everything is a gift—one hundred percent pure gift. The reason any of us woke up this morning had very little to do with us and everything to do with God. All twenty-four hours today are total gift. And so, the only real prayer is to say “Thank you!” and to keep saying it. When our prayer is constantly “Thank you,” and we know we deserve nothing, and that everything is a gift, we stop counting. Only when we stop counting and figuring out what we deserve, will we move from the world of merit into the wonderful world of grace. And in the world of grace, everything is free. (Bourgeault, n.d.)
Our social environment may express attitudes and encourage action that is contrary to the “New Wine” the Bridegroom offers to enrich our lives.
References
Bourgeault, C. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/everything-is-a-gift-2022-09-02/
Janky, G. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/090222.html
Luke, CHAPTER 5. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/5
Meditation on 1 Corinthians 4:1-5. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/09/02/481094/
1 Corinthians, THE FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/0
Psalms, PSALM 37. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/37?3
Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Unity of the New and the Old. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=sep2
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