Monday of the Second Week in
Ordinary Time – Mark 2:18-22
The Gospel for today focuses on fasting. Mark tells us that the disciples of John and
the Pharisees typically fasted. Several
individuals approached Jesus and said to him, “Why do the disciples of John and
of the Pharisees fast but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus did not directly answer their question
but rather posed a question to them:
“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” Jesus went on to say, “The day will come when
the bridegroom will be taken away and then it will be time for the disciples to
fast.”
Jesus then used metaphors to make his point. He told the people, “No one sews new material
onto an old piece of cloth. The new
material will pull away from the old cloth.”
Jesus then gives his listeners another example. He says, “No one puts new wine into old
wineskins.” New wine requires a
container that has elasticity. If you
pour new wine into an old wineskin, the skin will burst and the wine will be
lost. Thus, new wine needs to be poured
into fresh wineskins.
Jesus was clear that his message and teaching was very
different from the teaching of the Pharisees.
Imagine the reactions of the people who were listening to him! Some of them must have been shocked by his
teaching. Yet, were other people excited
by the “new” message he was preaching?
Jesus may appear in such a way that we do not recognize
him. He may appear as a person you do
not know, an individual in need, or someone who comes to your aid. Jesus’ message and presence is new every
single day. Be alert! Be awake!
Jesus is coming! I pray that
today and every day you and I will recognize him when He appears to us.
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