Friday, July 01, 2005
SATURDAY 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
JULY 2, 2005
SATURDAY 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR I
GENESIS 27:1-5, 15-29
When Isaac was so old that his eyesight had failed him, he called his
older son Esau and said to him, "Son!" "Yes father!" he replied. Isaac
then said, "As you can see, I am so old that I may now die at any time.
Take your gear, therefore-your quiver and bow- and go out into the
country to hunt some game for me. With your catch prepare an appetizing
dish for me, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may
give you my special blessing before I die." Rebekah had been listening
while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau. So, when Esau went out into
the country to hunt some game for his father, Rebekah [then] took the
best clothes of her older son Esau that she had in the house, and gave
them to her younger son Jacob to wear; and with the skins of the kids
she covered up his hands and the hairless parts of his neck. Then she
handed her son Jacob the appetizing dish and the bread she had
prepared. Bringing them to his father, Jacob said, "Father!" "Yes?"
replied Isaac. "Which of my sons are you?" Jacob answered his father:
"I am Esau, your first-born. I did as you told me. Please sit up and
eat some of my game, so that you may give me your special blessing."
But Isaac asked, "How did you succeed so quickly, son?" He answered,
"The LORD, your God, let things turn out well with me." Isaac then said
to Jacob, "Come closer, son, that I may feel you, to learn whether you
really are my son Esau or not." So Jacob moved up closer to his father.
When Isaac felt him, he said, "Although the voice is Jacob's, the hands
are Esau's." (He failed to identify him because his hands were hairy,
like those of his brother Esau; so in the end he gave him his
blessing.) Again he asked Jacob, "Are you really my son Esau?"
"Certainly," Jacob replied. Then Isaac said, "Serve me your game, son,
that I may eat of it and then give you my blessing." Jacob served it to
him, and Isaac ate; he brought him wine, and he drank. Finally his
father Isaac said to Jacob, "Come closer, son, and kiss me." As Jacob
went up and kissed him, Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes.
With that, he blessed him saying, "Ah, the fragrance of my son is like
the fragrance of a field that the LORD has blessed! "May God give to
you of the dew of the heavens And of the fertility of the earth
abundance of grain and wine. "Let peoples serve you, and nations pay
you homage; Be master of your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow
down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who
bless you."
MATTHEW 9:14-17
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, "Why do we and the
Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered
them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with
them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast. No one patches an old cloak with a piece of
unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the
tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are
ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are
preserved."
REFLECTION
Often we hear about the newness of the gospel. Today's gospel reading
may be of some help. Jesus himself is the newness that has come to us.
He pleaded for new attitudes which were already prefigured in the Old
Testament but which remained all the time imprisoned in rituals and
precepts. Jesus not only effected the breakthrough but also called for
permanent renewal. This is the mark of Christianity. This means that
Christianity may never remain static but must always remain dynamic.
>From the time of Jesus Christ on, a new beginning has
to be made always and everywhere. Jesus opposes things that remain
fixed once and for all. The Spirit reveals again and again where we
have got stuck in the old, where we have not progressed towards
authenticity. The Spirit is not bound by the letter, the formula, the
framework of an institution. He blazes a trail in every new moment of
life and liberation.
One has to use new wineskins for new wine. One can never make a new
beginning if one has got stuck in what is old. When Jesus speaks of
these things, he means concretely that the claims of the Jewish
religion had been rendered obsolete, that a new era has dawned. The
precepts and laws of the past had often degenerated into mere
formalities, and in so far as this had happened, the ever-new wine with
its contents and sense and meaning had oozed away in search of new
wineskins. Something new had to take its place and here is where
the Spirit is the factor of continuity. The Spirit was working before
too, but he could not be shut up, he could not be fitted into mere
formalities. The Spirit is forever new, young and fermenting.
The early Christians were deeply convinced that with the coming of
Jesus something new had been started. But the old ways were stubborn.
It applies to us too that often we are imprisoned in the letter and in
the systems from which the Spirit has disappeared. But the call of
Christianity remains Jesus' call: forever new. Throw away the old
wineskins, says Jesus. Trust the newness of the Spirit and know that
the gospel is as new as the loving heart of every new person.
We must pour the new wine of Christ's love into the new wineskins of
rejuvenated hearts. No matter how old we may be, each one of us must
make the effort to be God's young and renewed people by our renewed
efforts towards faithfulness to God, towards integrity, justice and
serving love.
PRAYER
"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 in knowing, loving,
and serving you."
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- for the personal intentions of Ma. Theresa Guevarra.
- for the personal intentions of Mary Anne.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Prayer Intention: Gerard Dee and Gregory Dee
- Prayer Intention: Gilbert Dee Jr. and Genevieve Dee
- Prayer Intention: Gilbert U. Dee and Alice T. Dee
- Prayer Intention: Giselle Dee and Randall Dee
- In Memoriam: Co King Peng
- In Memoriam: Ramon Yu
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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