Today, 26th of December, we celebrate
Saint Stephen
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Brothers and sisters:
Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ
and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Now it is of course required of stewards
that they be found trustworthy.
It does not concern me in the least
that I be judged by you or any human tribunal;
I do not even pass judgment on myself;
I am not conscious of anything against me,
but I do not thereby stand acquitted;
the one who judges me is the Lord.
Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time,
until the Lord comes,
for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness
and will manifest the motives of our hearts,
and then everyone will receive praise from God.
Ps 37:3-4, 5-6, 27-28, 39-40
R./ The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Trust in the Lord and do good,
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will grant you your heart's requests.
R./ The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Commit to the Lord your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.
R./ The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Turn from evil and do good,
that you may abide forever;
For the Lord loves what is right,
and forsakes not his faithful ones.
Criminals are destroyed
and the posterity of the wicked is cut off.
R./ The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The salvation of the just is from the Lord;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
R./ The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Lk 5:33-39
Some people asked him, "The disciples of John fast often and say long prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why is it that your disciples eat and drink?" Then Jesus said to them, "You can't make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them. But later the bridegroom will be taken from them and they will fast in those days."
Jesus also told them this parable, "No one tears a piece from a new coat to put it on an old one; otherwise the new will be torn and the piece taken from the new will not match the old. No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed as well. But new wine must be put into fresh skins. Yet no one who has tasted old wine is eager to get new wine, but says: The old is good."
What does the practice of fasting have to do with wineskins, new or old? Jesus’ discourse here seems like a very strange leap of logic. However, it has a very deep meaning. The practice of fasting, or any other religious practice, can become a mechanical and routine act, without thought or discernment. It’s done this way because it’s always been done this way, and it will continue to be done this way forever.
A new wineskin (or a leather wine bag) that receives new wine for a while becomes more elastic and expands with the gases from the alcohol and as the wine matures. But there comes a time when the wine has matured, and then the leather hardens and becomes rigid. And the same thing happens with the person who starts a new practice or adopts a religious rule. At first, they expand, in their spirit and understanding, but there comes a time when they may not remember why they started doing that and what the meaning is. And then they become rigid and hard and continue practicing mechanically and without meaning.
Today Jesus states that the circumstances in which the disciples found themselves did not advise the practice of fasting because they were celebrating, at a wedding, in the company of the bridegroom and the source of joy. It’s not that Jesus is tearing down tradition, but rather the lack of «expansion» that comes from discernment about circumstances and motivations. Jesus had said that he made all things new. And for those things to be new, we have to make sure that our leather, our wineskins, haven’t hardened. It’s about receiving the word of Christ, always old and always new, as unique for each circumstance, as something that will expand us instead of hardening us. The new wine, which is the message of Christ for our lives, must enter every morning into our wineskins, each day prepared, reasoned, motivated, and open and expansive instead of mechanized and routine. It may be the same old thing, but it will be new each time.
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.
First Reading Introduction
We will be trustworthy stewards of God’s mysteries if we live according to the Gospel and serve God and people, rather than seek security in outward observances and lip service.
Gospel Introduction
We are created anew in Christ, the Lord and the new beginning of all. With Christ, we have to renounce all compromises with the old in us and live in the new spirit of Christ. How well have we accepted the renewal that Vatican II asks of us?
- For the Church, that the People of God and its leaders may heed the promptings of the creative Spirit to speak to the people of today the ever-new language of the gospel, we pray:
- For artists, poets and inventors, that they may reveal to us the splendor of creation and the newness of life in Christ, we pray:
- For this community, that we may not be afraid of authentic change and draw from Christ the courage to start the reform of the Church and the world with the renewal of ourselves, we pray:
Lord our God,
in these signs of bread and wine
your Son Jesus Christ comes among us
to make with us a new beginning.
Create us anew in him.
Reconcile us with you and each other
and make us builders with him
of a new world
in which he is our Lord for ever.
God of hope,
you have given us Jesus your Son
as our companion on the road
for understanding the old, familiar things
with new and young hearts.
Let him prod us on
when we try to compromise
by merely patching up the old here and there.
Let your Spirit blow on us
your vigorous breath of life
to renew us and our world
with your mercy and justice.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
We must ask ourselves from time to time how faithful we are to the gospel. It is easy to become fossilized. The gospel wants us to stay young and ever new. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
