20200904 PUTTING ON A NEW MINDSET IN CHRIST
04 September, 2020, Friday, 22nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
1 Corinthians 4:1-5 © |
The Lord alone is our judge
People must think of us as Christ’s servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God. What is expected of stewards is that each one should be found worthy of his trust. Not that it makes the slightest difference to me whether you, or indeed any human tribunal, find me worthy or not. I will not even pass judgement on myself. True, my conscience does not reproach me at all, but that does not prove that I am acquitted: the Lord alone is my judge. There must be no passing of premature judgement. Leave that until the Lord comes; he will light up all that is hidden in the dark and reveal the secret intentions of men’s hearts. Then will be the time for each one to have whatever praise he deserves, from God.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 36(37):3-6,27-28,39-40 © |
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s desire.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Commit your life to the Lord,
trust in him and he will act,
so that your justice breaks forth like the light,
your cause like the noon-day sun.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Then turn away from evil and do good
and you shall have a home for ever;
for the Lord loves justice
and will never forsake his friends.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,
their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their refuge is in him.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ps18:9 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words gladden the heart, O Lord,
they give light to the eyes.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn8:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 5:33-39 © |
When the bridegroom is taken from them, then they will fast
The Pharisees and the scribes said to Jesus, ‘John’s disciples are always fasting and saying prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees too, but yours go on eating and drinking.’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely you cannot make the bridegroom’s attendants fast while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come, the time for the bridegroom to be taken away from them; that will be the time when they will fast.’
He also told them this parable, ‘No one tears a piece from a new cloak to put it on an old cloak; if he does, not only will he have torn the new one, but the piece taken from the new will not match the old.
‘And nobody puts new wine into old skins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and then run out, and the skins will be lost. No; new wine must be put into fresh skins. And nobody who has been drinking old wine wants new. “The old is good” he says.’
PUTTING ON A NEW MINDSET IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-5; LUKE 5:33-39]
Today’s scripture readings remind us of what St Paul wrote to the Romans when he said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom 12:2) This is the meaning of the parable of the New Cloak and New Wine-skin. Christianity is a call not just to see life differently and to live differently but a call to live the life of Christ radically. There is no compromise, no half-heartedness and no complacency.
Many times in the gospel, this radical call to follow Jesus is implied in discipleship. In the calling of the apostles, the response given was always immediate. “James son of Zebedee and his brother John, (were) in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.” (Mt 4:21f) Another disciple said to the “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” (Mt 8:21f) The response demanded of His disciples is total, immediate and unconditional. So too was the call of Matthew. Jesus said to him, ‘”Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.’ (Mt 9:9) The Lord said, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14:26f)
But it also means to adopt an entire new mindset as well, imbibing in the Beatitudes, the blueprint for the kingdom as set out by our Lord. This includes all that the Lord taught at the Sermon on the Mount. (Mt 5-7) The vision of our Lord for humanity is totally new and different with respect to anger, forgiveness, poverty, justice, mercy and persecution. Jesus also gives us His take on humble service, honour, glory and power. In no uncertain terms, the Lord said, “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?” (Mt 16:25f) He invites us to trust His Father even if our life is in danger because of our fidelity to the truth. We are called to surrender our life to Him, to pick up our cross and follow after Him. (Lk 9:23) As the Lord remarked, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20)
Indeed, anyone who encounters Jesus will have his life transformed radically. We have the case of Zacchaeus who said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” (Lk 19:8) St Peter after encountering the Lord at the miraculous catch of fish “fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken.” (Lk 5:8f) St Paul shared his encounter with the Risen Lord, “Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him.” (Phil 3:7f)
In the light of what we said, we can better appreciate what the Lord teaches in today’s gospel. The truth of the gospel does not admit compromises. He makes it clear. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to put it on an old cloak; if he does, not only will he have torn the new one, but the piece taken from the new will not match the old.” It is a misfit. What some of us seek to do is to try and fit the gospel of Christ into our lifestyle. Indeed, we insist on same-sex union. Those who are childless want children by all means, even outside of the natural process of procreation. We want the Church to permit divorce because it is cruel for an irreconcilable marriage to continue, or to allow someone who is divorced to re-marry. We want the right to abort our babies because we are not ready, or end our life if the suffering becomes too unbearable. So we try to change the gospel to suit our needs and our preferences. Instead of changing our mindset and putting on the mind of Christ, we try to make the gospel suit our convenience. What we end up with is not Christianity but syncretism.
We want to be Christians but we are not ready to live the radical gospel that is demanded of us. Like King Herod, we love to hear the teaching of Christ because they are so beautiful and true. But we are not ready to make a commitment to these values, like the rich young man in the gospel. “Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” (Mk 10:21f) This is how many of us feel, and are struggling with the Church’s teachings on marriage, sex and procreation. Many Catholics have left the Church because the Church does not condone or endorse their life options.
The truth is as the Lord remarked, “Nobody who has been drinking old wine wants new. ‘The old is good’ he says.” Indeed, we are not willing to change our lifestyle, give up our old habits, our pagan culture, our superstitious practices, our attachments to wealth, money, promiscuous lifestyle, drinking, drugs and pleasure. We find it difficult to let go because we have become so addicted to them. We cannot live without them and so like the rich man, we go away sad. We are afraid that if we give them up, our life will be miserable. We are afraid to take the risk of sharing, giving, living a life of simplicity, a life of service.
However, the choice is either for Him or against Him. The Lord said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Mt 12:30) The Lord is telling us that we need to change our lifestyle radically if we want to embrace Him and the gospel. He said, “And nobody puts new wine into old skins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and then run out, and the skins will be lost. No; new wine must be put into fresh skins.” In order to receive the Lord, we must be made new. The receptacle must be transformed. We cannot use the old mindset and expect to accommodate the new wine. Indeed, in attempting to compromise and reconcile the gospel with the world, we end up with nothing. The gospel is diluted and no longer pure. St Augustine in his commentary on the first letter of John wrote, “Suppose that God wants to fill you with honey: if you are filled with vinegar where would you put the honey? The jar must be emptied, or rather cleaned out thoroughly and rinsed well to make it ready to receive the new substance.”
Today, we are asked to make a decision for the Lord. The judgement, as St Paul says, is not what people think of us or even what we think of ourselves. We do not judge by the standards of the world. He wrote, “Not that it makes the slightest difference to me whether you, or indeed any human tribunal, find me worthy or not. I will not even pass judgement on myself. True, my conscience does not reproach me at all, but that does not prove that I am acquitted: the Lord alone is my judge.” Indeed, it does not matter what people think of us or even what we think of ourselves. Our judgement is always faulty and inadequate. Rather, we must judge the world and ourselves according to the measure of Christ. The gospel must remain the yardstick of authentic life.
How can we do it? Not by our own strength but by His power. The responsorial psalm says, “The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.” A new mind and a new heart are the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the consequence of encountering the Lord. We cannot make it happen on our own, using our will. However, “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2 Cor 5:17) St Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” (Eph 2:8-10; cf Col 3:5, 9,10)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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