NEW WINE, FRESH SKINS

PRAYER MOMENT                      

Friday 5 September 2014. This is the day John Bradburne was killed at Mutemwa 35 years ago.

NEW WINE, FRESH SKINS

Pause. Be still in God’s presence.

Reading: “Nobody puts new wine in 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.” (Luke 5:33-39)

Reflection. While growing up Jesus had observed the practical things of life in Nazareth and drew his images and parables from them. Here it is in the “bottling” of wine before the age of bottles. He gives us an image of the newness of his message. The Pharisees and scribes want to control his message and connect it with their  legal approach. But Jesus says, ’No’. Here is something new. We feel the pull to conform our life to the ways of people around us. ‘Everybody does it!’ Well, maybe they do! But the call we receive is to bring a new light to our daily situations; not to accept ‘what everyone does’ but to bring that light, that salt, of the gospel. It is not easy to go against the current. But we are called to listen to our inner selves where the Spirit of God dwells and calls us..

Prayer. Lord Jesus, help us to know the newness of the gospel; how it can transform situations. Teach us to examine our spontaneous reactions to events to see if they are in conformity with your Spirit. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ