The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate our actions as we work with the old and new in our faith tradition to share the fullness of life.
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians describes the Ministry of the Apostles.
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 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus addresses the Question about Fasting.
* [5:34–35] See notes on Mt 9:15 and Mk 2:19.
* [5:34] Wedding guests: literally, “sons of the bridal chamber.”
* [5:36–39] See notes on Mt 9:16–17 and Mk 2:19.
* [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 | USCCB, n.d.)
Edward Morse comments that today’s gospel presents the parable of the wineskins. The last verse is both delightful and provocative: “[N]o one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’” Much about our spiritual life and journey perplexes us – and that is why we are guardians of “mysteries of God”.
As a person who is growing older, I hope this is the case – that I have not turned sour! But our Lord’s message also suggests that the new wine he gives to us may, just as at the wedding at Cana, be better than the old wine that was first served. Are we able to hold this new wine, given to us from the Spirit? Can we possess both the new and the old, keeping ourselves fresh to receive new insights as well as new missions as we grow older and more set in our ways? I hope we can.
Lord, grant us the humility to listen and see the wonders around us, which you are working all of the time. Let us open and dilate our hearts and minds to receive what is new, while at the same time treasuring the old which has already been given as a gracious gift to us. And let us grow in understanding and in truth. Thanks be to God. (Morse, 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 Luke 5:33-39 comments on how Fr. Marella was careful not to let his heart become hardened by anger or bitterness. He trusted that the Lord would work out his plan over time—and he did. Fr. Marella was rehabilitated in 1925 and took up the humble work of a parish priest in Bologna. There he treated the poor and needy with extraordinary compassion. Pope Francis described him as a “pastor after Christ's heart” and honored him for his courage and humility (Angelus, October 4, 2020).
What a beautiful witness to a flexible heart that kept expanding with the Lord! And what a moving example for us to follow!
It can be easy to look at the Christian life as a static set of doctrinal facts and historical data—like those old wineskins. But it’s so much more than that! Jesus gave us his Spirit to soften our hearts and open us up to serving his people in ever new and creative ways. May we all yield to the Spirit as freely as Fr. Marella did!
“Jesus, help me to be always flexible and open to the movements of your Spirit in my life!” (Meditation on Luke 5:33-39, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the different layers of motivation that accompany our task to dig deeper and know more about our relationship with Christ. Fasting is a discipline that is applied to several life situations to share our plenty and deal with the emptiness of loss. Friar Jude notes that Mark was uncertain about how to gather together some of the material in his Gospel.
Brian McLaren connects our love of nature with our grief and anger when it’s treated without respect and care. He thinks it helps often for us to trace our anger back to grief, as Father Richard often says, and then to trace our grief to love.
It’s because we love something that we feel grief when it’s threatened. In fact, one of my favorite definitions of grief is that grief is love persisting when what we love is passing away. What you love, you try to save, and that’s why so many of us see the natural world around us with such tenderness, with such grief, sometimes with such anger, because what we love is passing away. [1] (McLaren, n.d.)
We ponder the relationship of some of our habits and practices to our mission of followers of Christ to bring goodness, truth, and love to the events of our journey.
References
Luke, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/5?
McLaren, B. (n.d.). Fall in Love with a Place. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/fall-in-love-with-a-place/
Meditation on Luke 5:33-39. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/09/06/1067803/
Morse, E. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/090624.html
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/4?1
Psalms, PSALM 37 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/37?3
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=sep6
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