DAILY- HOMILY

18 January 2016

Weekday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time

Green.           1 Sm 15: 16 – 23.          Mk 2: 18 – 22.

Gospel  Reading:     Mk 2: 14 – 22  

One day, when the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees were fasting, some people asked Jesus, "Why is it that both the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but yours do not?"  Jesus answered, "How 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 day will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them and on that day they will fast.

"No one sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat, because the new patch will shrink and tear away from the old cloth, making a worse tear.. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, for the wine would burst the skins and then both the wine and the skins would be lost. But new wine, new skins!"

Reflection

In Jesus' time, new wine was put in jars or wineskins (usually tanned goat skins).  When wine is fresh, it is in a state of fermentation, causing it to bubble and expand and released gases. These gases cause the new and pliable wineskin to stretch and enables it to absorb the expansion of the new wine. To put fresh wine into old wineskin is simply not going to work.  The old wineskin has been stretched and is not anymore pliable.  It will burst. And so both the wine and the wineskin are lost. 

We cannot put new ideas into old mindsets.  We cannot get new results with old behaviors. 2016 is here. New year. New wine. New wineskin. The start of a new year is an opportune time for us to reflect on the meaning of Jesus' words in today's Gospel – it is a time to take stock to evaluate where we are and to embrace new directions.  We can't put new ideas into old mind-sets.  So how do we get these new wineskins which will enable our "newness" to emerge?  

The core of Jesus' message is this:  let us repent for our sins, renew our lives and revitalize our faith.  We turn to the Holy Spirit for guidance and comfort as we strive to be new wineskins that Jesus is inviting us to be.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     Simion Tiu

     Andrew & Jan Co

OTHER INTENTIONS:

For the intentions of Lusanda Tyolo.

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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   |  The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the

   |  priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish

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