Saturday of 13th Week in Ordinary Time
OLD AND NEW
We hear in the first reading an appendix to Amos written probably at a later date, but in the style and perspectives of Amos; it promises a new future to those who are faithful.
Can we be people of compromise? To settle disagreement and make peace, to solve disputed matters and to become at least tolerant of one another, yes. But not with the gospel. Not when it comes to the renewal of life, whether personal or communal, that is constantly asked of us. Jesus tells his disciples and us, who are living in messianic times, that we are new, liberated people: we cannot compromise with salvation, with our faith, with the gospel. Young wine belongs in new wineskins. New times require new attitudes.
First Reading: Amos 9:11-15
“But also on that Judgment Day I will restore David’s house that has fallen to pieces. I’ll repair the holes in the roof, replace the broken windows, fix it up like new. David’s people will be strong again and seize what’s left of enemy Edom, plus everyone else under my sovereign judgment.” God’s Decree. He will do this.
“Yes indeed, it won’t be long now.” God’s Decree.
“Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim, one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won’t be able to keep up. Everything will be happening at once—and everywhere you look, blessings! Blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills. I’ll make everything right again for my people Israel:
“They’ll rebuild their ruined cities.
They’ll plant vineyards and drink good wine.
They’ll work their gardens and eat fresh vegetables.
And I’ll plant them, plant them on their own land.
They’ll never again be uprooted from the land I’ve given them.”
God, your God, says so.
Gospel: Matthew 9:14-17
A little later John’s followers approached, asking, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees rigorously discipline body and spirit by fasting, but your followers don’t?”
Jesus told them, “When you’re celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to pull in your belt, but not now. No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come!”
He went on, “No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put your wine in cracked bottles.”
Prayer
Lord our God,
we are your people on the march,
moving forward to you with your Son
who came to make everything new.
Dispose us, Lord, to accept the pain
of leaving the familiar behind us.
Uproot us from our established ways
and guide our faltering steps
toward your new future in Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever. Amen.
Reflection:
2 July 2022
Mt 9:14-17
Remove your old shirt and put on the new one!
Are you one of those who like novelties, or one who prefers the usual things? Today Matthew speaks to us about the new and the old. In another passage of his Gospel, he speaks of how good it is to take out of the carry bag, things from the past because they sustain the present and, at the same time, new things because they encourage the future.
Today, on the other hand, Matthew seems to be betting more on the new. In reality, he is speaking to us about the one who is “New”: Jesus Christ. He is the new man, the one who renews all that is outdated that had been sticking to humanity throughout the centuries… and that continues to threaten every generation and every heart: to live from selfishness, to despise our neighbour, to close ourselves to God. Jesus is new, being what God always dreamed of: open to the Father, welcoming of others, and an awakened heart.
Therefore, when Jesus enters our lives, it is no longer a time for compromise. If we want to continue with the old ways, they will burst, as new wine does with old wineskins. Jesus bursts the wineskins of Judaism. And Jesus continues to burst the old habits of “old women and old men” … as long as we let him in.
Life is the greatest blessing received from God. This is what Jesus is convinced of when he is questioned about the practice of fasting, which he and his disciples seem to take very lightly. Jesus teaches that as long as you give your life, spread joy, and lavish comfort, there is no place for fasting.
If fasting does not transform your life into nourishment and is reduced to a precept, it will not be a source of blessing for you or those who could benefit from your heart of solidarity and sharing. And here comes the main exhortation: “new wine, new wineskins,” because only by ceasing to believe that you must earn blessings or that there are people who do not deserve them, you will not be able to open yourself to the gratuitousness of God’s love, and even less to the newness of the Kingdom.
Life in Christ is radical newness. Believing in him and following him does not mean changing a few minor details, putting a few new patches on an old suit, hiding its tears, or keeping the new wine of faith in the same skins in which we kept the old wine of sin. Jesus comes to tell us that the new is incompatible with the old. To follow him is to change the whole garment, even more, to change the mentality, not only the outer garment (remember what it cost Peter and the other disciples to change the religious and social mentality they had, before knowing Christ!) Following Christ affects our whole life, not just a few prayers or pious practices.
Video available on Youtube: Remove your old shirt and put on the new one!