1 Cor 4: 1-5 / Luke 5:33-39
There's a trial scene in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland. When all is ready, the king says, "Read the accusation
against the accused, the Knave of Hearts." With that, White Rabbit blows
three loud blasts on the trumpet. then Rabbit unrolls a huge parchment
scroll and reads the accusation. he finishes and rolls the scroll back
up. Then the king turns to the jury and asks, "What is your
verdict?" White Rabbit jumps up and says, "No, your
Highness, we're not ready for that yet. There's a great deal we must do before
we pass judgment." Like the king, we too are prone to pass judgment
before it is time. This is also Paul's point in today's reading.
****
We would be mentally
so much more healthy and would have so much more peace of mind, if only we made
this sentence of Paul our conviction and principle of life: "It does not
make the slightest difference to me whether you, or any human tribunal, find me
worthy or not. I will not even pass judgement on myself" (verse 3) and he
adds: "The Lord alone is my judge" (verse 4). It does not make a
difference to him what he feels. It makes no difference to him what he thinks
and does. He thinks himself an administrator. The quality of an administrator
is faithfulness. He has to be objective; he deals with facts; neither
subjective judgement nor hurt feelings should influence his administration. The
trust he administers is the mysteries of God. He will judge, reward and praise
the faithful steward.
****
How judgmental are we of people? "Do not judge others, and
God will not judge you." Luke 6:37
****
We like to have new things. It feels good to be the first owner of
something new, and as it is said "A new broom sweeps clean". But as
with all things new, we need to also get used to it. A new phone needs to be
customized. A pair of new shoes needs to "break in" before it can be
comfortable. New clothes need to be washed and worn before we can get used to
it. In other words, new things need to get "seasoned" before they
become part of us and then we won't want to part with them. As we might know
for ourselves, some of us have got new shirts in the cupboard, but we still
keep wearing the same few shirts until they are thread-bare and we still don't
want to change them. (It happens more with men than with women. With women it
is always not enough dresses to change!) Yes, when we get used to things, we
will use them season in and season out, until we are so "seasoned"
with them.
But in the gospel parable, the lesson is about prayer and fasting.They are of great importance for every Christian but
especially for an apostle of Christ. An apostle is a man of prayer and
mortification. The essential expressions of the spiritual life are prayer,
mortification and love. As with faith and hope, the greatest among them is
love. The purpose of prayer and fasting is the union with Christ. This is what
religion is about. The apostles live in the presence of Christ and share with
him all the hardship he demands. Prayer is meant for us to live our lives out
of the presence of God and fasting should make us able to give him all that
helps us to give him a better service.
Jesus said that nobody puts new wine into old wineskins. Because when
the new wine was initially put into the new skins, the fermentation process
would have "seasoned" the skins, and they can't be used again to put
in new wine. So, it is always new wine into new skins. So, when new challenges
come our way, we also need to have new ways to handle them so that there will
be a renewal in ourselves, a renewal of mind and heart. Yet we can be so used
and "seasoned" in our old ways that we tend to think that what worked
in the past should work now, and we don't think of new ways to meet new
challenges. It often happens with the way parents handle their children.
Children grow up and change fast, but the parents may still be using outdated
ways of handling their children, and hence the generation gap grows wider. As
we come for the First Friday Mass and Devotion to the Sacred Heart, Jesus wants
to renew our hearts so that we will be like new wineskins ready for the new
wine. It could be that we are praying for a particular intention and our prayer
doesn't seem to get anywhere. Then it is time to change and to ask Jesus to renew
our hearts so that we will be open to the promptings of a new direction so that
we can see that Jesus is answering our prayer.
Yes, let us pray for a renewal of our hearts so that Jesus can pour the new sweet wine into our lives.
Yes, let us pray for a renewal of our hearts so that Jesus can pour the new sweet wine into our lives.
****
Reflection: The lesson
is about prayer and fasting. They are of great importance for every Christian
but especially for an apostle of Christ. An apostle is a man of prayer and
mortification. The essential expressions of the spiritual life are prayer,
mortification and love. As with faith and hope, the greatest among them is
love. The purpose of prayer and fasting is the union with Christ. This is what
religion is about. The apostles live in the presence of Christ and share with
him all the hardship he demands. Prayer is meant for us to live our lives out
of the presence of God and fasting should make us able to give him all that
helps us to give him a better service. It would be foolish to buy the new cloth and
use it to repair an old one or to pour fermenting wine into old wine skins. It
is not a thousand prayers that unite us to Christ, but to accept him wherever
we find him. It is not fasting till the bones rattle that gives God the best
service but love that serves..
***
Let us Pray
Faithful God of tenderness and mercy, you want us to be your people on
the march with Jesus your Son toward a new future of justice and love. Do not
allow us to suffocate in being contented with old habits and sluggish ways. Help
us to accept the pain of leaving the familiar behind us and open us to the
challenge of the gospel to become more like your Son who guides our faltering
steps, Jesus Christ our Lord.
