Daily Reflection – 1/20/2020
Sacred Scripture
The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to him and objected, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”( Mark 2:18-22)
Reflection
The dominant message of this Gospel is clear … the new wine of the gospel replaces the works righteousness of the Pharisees. The coming of the Kingdom of God requires a totally new garment, not a patch, a new wineskin for the new wine of God’s grace. If we want new life, lasting joy, we must let God change those mindsets that keep us from him and open ourselves to His presence in our lives.
We should ask ourselves whether our image of Jesus and our relationship to him have been frozen since our childhoods? Have the pious pictures on the holy cards of our youth locked us into a fixed model? Can we continue to grow closer to the risen Christ through music, through art, through scripture, by recognizing his spirit in each other, by following his commandment to love one another? Each of us should take to take a closer look at our relationship with Christ and to ask ourselves if it can be more intimate — if it can produce more joy for us in our lives. Is the risen bridegroom truly in our midst?
When we become set in our ways so that we cannot find new ways to worship, make disciples and reach out to the lost then we are like the old worn out garment or the wineskin that is about to burst. We become useless for the kingdom and waste the new wine of God’s grace in Christ, When God’s people are so stuck in the past that they fail to learn anything new it is time for the new wineskin of revival and renewal that can only come from the Holy Spirit.
The Lord gives us wisdom so we can make the best use of both the old and the new. He doesn’t want us to hold rigidly to the past and to be resistant to the new work of his Holy Spirit in our lives. He wants our minds and hearts to be like new wine skins — open and ready to receive the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Are you eager to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God’s word and plan for your life?
Prayer of The Day
Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit, that I may grow in the knowledge of your great love and truth. Help me to seek you earnestly in prayer and fasting that I may turn away from sin and wilfulness and conform my life more fully to your will. May I always find joy i knowing, loving, and serving you.”
Daily Note
Look at your life this morning; are you full of the joy of the Lord that comes from the Holy Spirit? Or are you full of complaints, pride, murmurings and rebelliousness? Are you eager for a new work of the Holy Spirit in your life? Are you teachable, eager to learn, grow in grace and participate in the new works the Spirit is doing today? Or are you satisfied with your faith the way it has been for the past year, or 5, or 30?
