Trong bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu đã khuyến cáo các môn đệ của Ngài về việc "khép kín tâm hồn" không chấp nhận về những điều khám phá mới về Thiên Chúa và cách sống Đạo của chúng ta. Chúa Giêsu đã dùng một hình ảnh rất quen thuộc với các môn đề và những người theo Chúa thời bấy giờ; đó là: bầu da đựng rượu, Da mới mới và da cũ. Trong thời Chúa Giêsu, rượu thường được lưu trữ trong các bầu làm bằng da, Khi rượu mới đổ vào bầu da thì rượu mới vẫn còn lên men. Các chất khí khi lên men sẽ gây áp lực cho cho bầu da đựng rượu. Da mới đựng rượu mới thì mới có thể có đủ độ đàn hồi và chịu đựng được những áp lực do sự phản ứng hoá học khi rượu lên men trong bầu da. Nhưng nếu chúng ta đựng rượu mới trong bầu da rượu cũ, thì bầu da cũ sẽ dễ dàng căng ra và làm vỡ bầu da bởi vì bầu da cũ đã bị khô cứng nên rất không còn sự đàn hồi như bầu da mới nên khó chịu đựng được những áp suất của rượu mới khi chúng đang lên men
Chúa Giêsu có nói:” Nước Trời, thì cũng giống như gia chủ biết rút tự trong kho của ông ra điều mới và điều cũ" (Mt 13:52). Cuộc sống tâm linh của chúng ta sẽ bị bần cùng hoá, nếu như, chúng ta sẽ chỉ có được một Cựu Ước hay chỉ có một Tân Ước mà thôi, chứ không có được cả hai. Thiên Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta sự khôn ngoan vì vậy chúng ta phải biết dùng sự khôn ngoan này để sử dụng cho những việc tốt lành trong cả hai trường hợp cũ và mới. Chúa Giêsu không muốn chúng ta giữ khư khư cứng ngắc về những cái quá khứ và chống đối lại những công việc mới hay những đổi mới của Thánh Thần trong mỗi Người và trong cuộc sống của chúng ta. Chúa muốn tâm trí và trái tim của chúng ta được nên giống như bầu da rượu mới, biết mở ra và sẵn sàng tiếp nhận rượu mới của Chúa Thánh Thần., nếu chúng ta mong muốn phát triển kiến thức và sự hiểu biết về những kế hoạch của Thiên Chúa đã và đang ban cho cuộc sống của chúng ta.
"Lạy Chúa Gu, xin tuân đổ nơi chúng con ơn Chúa Thánh Thần, để chúng con có thể phát triển sự hiểu biết thêm về tình yêu và chân lý tuyệt vời của Chúa. Xin giúp chúng con biết tìm kiếm Chúa để chúng con có thể từ bỏ tất cả những những ý nghĩ vẩn vơ, Xin giúp chúng con có thể luôn luôn tìm thấy niềm vui hạnh phúc trong sự hiểu biết, yêu thương và phục vụ Chúa."
Meditation:
In today’s Gospel, Jesus goes on to warn his disciples about the problem of the "closed mind" that refuses to learn new things. Jesus used an image familiar to his audience; new and old wineskins. In Jesus' times, wine was stored in wineskins, not bottles. New wine poured into skins was still fermenting. The gases exerted gave pressure. New wine skins were elastic enough to take the pressure, but old wine skins easily burst because they became hard as they aged. What did Jesus mean by this comparison? Are we to reject the old in place of the new? Just as there is a right place and a right time for fasting and for feasting, so there is a right place for the old as well as the new.
Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old (Matthew 13:52). How impoverished we would be if we only had the Old Testament or the New Testament, rather than both. The Lord Jesus 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 the 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
Meditation:
Introductory Prayer: Lord God, I come from dust, and to dust, I shall return. You, on the other hand, existed before all time, and every creature takes its being from you. You formed me in my mother’s womb with infinite care, and you watch over me tenderly. I hope at my dearth you will embrace my soul to carry me home to heaven to be with you forever. Thank you for looking upon me and blessing me with your love. Take mine in return. I humbly offer you all that I am.
Petition: Rejuvenate myiritual life, Lord.
1. Judging by the Wrong Standards: Once again, we have Jesus at a meal, this time with Levi (Matthew) and his friends. The scribes and Pharisees have come along to scrutinize Jesus and his followers, as they were wary of his teachings which were not in accord with the legalism and formalism to which they were accustomed. Their statement here about fasting contains an implicit judgment: You and your followers are not following our traditions of fasting; therefore, you cannot be truly holy. They present it not as a question, but as a statement, an accusation. They are not open to looking at things in a new way. We, too, can be guilty of rash judgment, even with other people in the Church who do not do things the way we do. Our reference point has to be not what we are used to, but what the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, teaches and approves, be it ancient traditions or new manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church.
2. For Everything There Is a Season: Jesus’ answer is simple: there is a time and place for both fasting and feasting. Some people have a particular vocation to a life of unusual abnegation, but for most of us, the liturgical year provides us with a natural cycle of rejoicing and penance. At times we rejoice with the “bridegroom” – like Christmas and Easter when we celebrate the coming of Christ and his resurrection. At other times we practice more penance – as in Lent when we focus more on making reparation for the separation from the Lord caused by sin in our lives, or Advent when we purify our hearts to receive the Lord at Christmas. Ordinary Time has its own feasts and occasions of particular significance one way or the other. The question we have to ask ourselves is this: Are we living these liturgical realities, or are we neglecting them? Do the feasts and fasts of the Church affect my life, or are the liturgical seasons at best curiosities that I hardly notice?
3. The New You: Then, Jesus offers all those present a challenge in the form of the parable. Both images – the cloth and the wineskins – emphasize the idea that to embrace his message, we need to think “outside the box.” We quickly get settled into a routine, becoming complacent and lukewarm in our faith. It’s even worse if we have habits of sin. To follow Christ and his “Good News” honestly, we need to leave behind what St. Paul called the “old self” to be new creatures in Christ (Colossians 3:9-10). For the Pharisees, that would have meant leaving behind their strict formalism and judgmental attitude. For Levi and his friends, it meant abandoning their worldliness and sinful lifestyle. Making a break with our old self is difficult – the “old wine” is what we’re used to – but we have to take the step of recognizing in what our old self-consists and deciding to leave that behind to embrace Christ’s message, which is always challenging, ever new.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me to focus more on following you than on judging others. Show me who I am, and whom you want me to be. Grant me the grace to live the life of the Church – feasts and fasts – with enthusiasm so that you can transform me into a new creature.
Resolution: I will make it a point to live today, Friday, as a memorial of the death of Our Lord by offering a small sacrifice as a penance for my sins, and I will live this coming Sunday with real joy as the celebration of his resurrection.
Meditation:
In a time of great division in our world, this beautiful hymn to Christ should give us some comfort and inspiration. God has been pleased to dwell in one of our own, and through him to reconcile everything in creation to Himself. The source of that reconciliation and unity is love — the love that comes from God and that we are called to imitate. There must be no barriers and walls between people. Hatred and ideology should not separate us or give rise to violence.
There is only one God and the world and its people belong to him. As we gaze out on our bleeding and frightened world, we should know that God desires unity and compassion. We continue and participate in God’s work whenever we respond with love and compassion to the needs and suffering of others, and whenever we rise above barriers and divisions and reach out towards others.
Some are upset with Jesus because his disciples are not observing the traditional religious rules of fasting. They are enjoying themselves — imagine that! Jesus points out that there is a new spirituality being born. Just as new wine cannot be poured into old wineskins without loss of the wine, new ideas also require a new container. Jesus challenges them to think in new and fresh ways and not be prisoners to traditions and older understanding.
Lord, may I continue Your work of reconciliation and unity.
Reflection:
We send messages and influence others by how we act and what we use. As Christians we are all called to be advertisement billboards for Christ. Now what does it mean to be a letter of advertisement for Christ?
Unlike the employees of a company, we do not settle merely for external patches. God's letter writing begins in the heart and spirit. The new covenant is one in which the heart of stone becomes flesh. This does not mean that we have no external signs and symbols. These are important. However, to be a real letter of advertisement for Christ means that our internal desires conform with our behavior as new creature in Christ. Our acts of charity and prayer are done so that our heavenly Father may be praised. We are the new wineskins into which the new wine has been poured. We are not a letter of gloom. We are a letter of joy and celebration. Jesus has won the ultimate victory over sin and death. People must in joy of the outpouring of the Spirit. It is so easy for us to forget who we are. God knows us by name and calls us in personal love. We in turn should be God's letters to our fellowmen telling the how much he loves them and cares for them. Each day, by every little thing that we say and do, we go about proclaiming God's goodness and telling of his wonders.
This is so if really believe that we are letters of Jesus Christ. We speak a message of love and care. And no matter how many times we are read, the message never tires or bores us. We are the new wine, and we are meant to live in joy.
Introductory Prayer: Lord God, I come from dust, and to dust, I shall return. You, on the other hand, existed before all time, and every creature takes its being from you. You formed me in my mother’s womb with infinite care, and you watch over me tenderly. I hope at my dearth you will embrace my soul to carry me home to heaven to be with you forever. Thank you for looking upon me and blessing me with your love. Take mine in return. I humbly offer you all that I am.
Petition: Rejuvenate myiritual life, Lord.
1. Judging by the Wrong Standards: Once again, we have Jesus at a meal, this time with Levi (Matthew) and his friends. The scribes and Pharisees have come along to scrutinize Jesus and his followers, as they were wary of his teachings which were not in accord with the legalism and formalism to which they were accustomed. Their statement here about fasting contains an implicit judgment: You and your followers are not following our traditions of fasting; therefore, you cannot be truly holy. They present it not as a question, but as a statement, an accusation. They are not open to looking at things in a new way. We, too, can be guilty of rash judgment, even with other people in the Church who do not do things the way we do. Our reference point has to be not what we are used to, but what the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, teaches and approves, be it ancient traditions or new manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church.
2. For Everything There Is a Season: Jesus’ answer is simple: there is a time and place for both fasting and feasting. Some people have a particular vocation to a life of unusual abnegation, but for most of us, the liturgical year provides us with a natural cycle of rejoicing and penance. At times we rejoice with the “bridegroom” – like Christmas and Easter when we celebrate the coming of Christ and his resurrection. At other times we practice more penance – as in Lent when we focus more on making reparation for the separation from the Lord caused by sin in our lives, or Advent when we purify our hearts to receive the Lord at Christmas. Ordinary Time has its own feasts and occasions of particular significance one way or the other. The question we have to ask ourselves is this: Are we living these liturgical realities, or are we neglecting them? Do the feasts and fasts of the Church affect my life, or are the liturgical seasons at best curiosities that I hardly notice?
3. The New You: Then, Jesus offers all those present a challenge in the form of the parable. Both images – the cloth and the wineskins – emphasize the idea that to embrace his message, we need to think “outside the box.” We quickly get settled into a routine, becoming complacent and lukewarm in our faith. It’s even worse if we have habits of sin. To follow Christ and his “Good News” honestly, we need to leave behind what St. Paul called the “old self” to be new creatures in Christ (Colossians 3:9-10). For the Pharisees, that would have meant leaving behind their strict formalism and judgmental attitude. For Levi and his friends, it meant abandoning their worldliness and sinful lifestyle. Making a break with our old self is difficult – the “old wine” is what we’re used to – but we have to take the step of recognizing in what our old self-consists and deciding to leave that behind to embrace Christ’s message, which is always challenging, ever new.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me to focus more on following you than on judging others. Show me who I am, and whom you want me to be. Grant me the grace to live the life of the Church – feasts and fasts – with enthusiasm so that you can transform me into a new creature.
Resolution: I will make it a point to live today, Friday, as a memorial of the death of Our Lord by offering a small sacrifice as a penance for my sins, and I will live this coming Sunday with real joy as the celebration of his resurrection.
Meditation:
In a time of great division in our world, this beautiful hymn to Christ should give us some comfort and inspiration. God has been pleased to dwell in one of our own, and through him to reconcile everything in creation to Himself. The source of that reconciliation and unity is love — the love that comes from God and that we are called to imitate. There must be no barriers and walls between people. Hatred and ideology should not separate us or give rise to violence.
There is only one God and the world and its people belong to him. As we gaze out on our bleeding and frightened world, we should know that God desires unity and compassion. We continue and participate in God’s work whenever we respond with love and compassion to the needs and suffering of others, and whenever we rise above barriers and divisions and reach out towards others.
Some are upset with Jesus because his disciples are not observing the traditional religious rules of fasting. They are enjoying themselves — imagine that! Jesus points out that there is a new spirituality being born. Just as new wine cannot be poured into old wineskins without loss of the wine, new ideas also require a new container. Jesus challenges them to think in new and fresh ways and not be prisoners to traditions and older understanding.
Lord, may I continue Your work of reconciliation and unity.
Reflection:
We send messages and influence others by how we act and what we use. As Christians we are all called to be advertisement billboards for Christ. Now what does it mean to be a letter of advertisement for Christ?
Unlike the employees of a company, we do not settle merely for external patches. God's letter writing begins in the heart and spirit. The new covenant is one in which the heart of stone becomes flesh. This does not mean that we have no external signs and symbols. These are important. However, to be a real letter of advertisement for Christ means that our internal desires conform with our behavior as new creature in Christ. Our acts of charity and prayer are done so that our heavenly Father may be praised. We are the new wineskins into which the new wine has been poured. We are not a letter of gloom. We are a letter of joy and celebration. Jesus has won the ultimate victory over sin and death. People must in joy of the outpouring of the Spirit. It is so easy for us to forget who we are. God knows us by name and calls us in personal love. We in turn should be God's letters to our fellowmen telling the how much he loves them and cares for them. Each day, by every little thing that we say and do, we go about proclaiming God's goodness and telling of his wonders.
This is so if really believe that we are letters of Jesus Christ. We speak a message of love and care. And no matter how many times we are read, the message never tires or bores us. We are the new wine, and we are meant to live in joy.
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