“I will hear what God proclaims; the Lord — for he proclaims peace.” – Psalm 85:9

    She struggled to suppress anger and hurt because she knew it stemmed mainly from pride. She’s the appointed coordinator and more experienced than her assistant and the instructor, yet they ignored all her suggestions. Worse, her assistant had stepped in to direct the presentation and practically decimated her role.

      Being steeped in God’s teachings prevented her from pulling rank. She pulled out these guidelines instead: 1) never act out of anger and pride, 2) listen first to what God has to say.

       The next day, while waiting for The Feast prayer meeting to start, she remembered another group had invited her to be part of their presentation. She’d been feeling an increasing pull towards this ministry. Her leader asked her months before to be part of a special project for them. She’d also just begun a personal endeavor envisioned to benefit its members and others like them. She decided to continue coordinating the first group but join the other for the presentation instead.

       These words flashed on screen during the talk affirmed her decision: Rejection is God’s redirection. The rebuff must have been God’s way to lead her to where she can better prepare for her new commission. Lella M. Santiago (lellams88@gmail.com)

Reflection: How do you deal with rejection? Do you go on the offensive or do you find another, more productive path to take?

Lord, let me see Your guiding hand even in the negative things that come my way.

Amos prophesies that a day will come when the poor will be vindicated as shown in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. When that day comes, we do not want to be on the same side of the chasm as the rich man. We should befriend the poor and serve them. St. John Chrysostom exhorts us to make friends with the poor who will form our welcoming committee into eternal life.

Amos 9:11-15

11 Thus says the Lord: On that day I will raise up the fallen hut of David; I will wall up its breaches, raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old, 12 that they may conquer what is left of Edom and all the nations that shall bear my name, say I, the Lord, who will do this. 13 Yes, days are coming, says the Lord, when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the vintager, him who sows the seed; the juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains, and all the hills shall run with it. 14 I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel; they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities, plant vineyards and drink the wine, set out gardens and eat the fruits. 15 I will plant them upon their own ground; never again shall they be plucked from the land I have given them, say I, the Lord, your God.

Psalm 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14

R: The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

8 [9] I will hear what God proclaims; the Lord — for he proclaims peace to his people. 9 [10] Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land. (R) 10 [11] Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. 11 [12] Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. (R) 12 [13] The Lord himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. 13 [14] Justice shall walk before him, and salvation, along the way of his steps. (R)

We need to be “new wineskin” for the message of the Gospel. We have been commissioned to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Let us not be constrained by the past but be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, ready to take a risk as we obey Him. This is what the Gospel needs — innovation in the way it is proclaimed.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.

Matthew 9:14-17

14 The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 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. 16 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. 17 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.”

think: We should befriend the poor and serve them.

Thank You Lord for: __________________

NEW WINE IN NEW WINESKINS

In our seminary in Germany, grapes were growing along one long wall. But nobody harvested them. A classmate of mine suggested getting them and making wine in some huge glass bottles that we discovered in the cellar. We hid the bottles in a corner of the vast cellar and dreamed of the day when we could drink “our” wine. But when we checked the bottles after a few weeks, they had burst, and the wine we were looking forward to was spilled on the floor. The fermentation had destroyed the bottles, as Jesus mentions that people don’t put new wine in brittle old wineskins because the fermenting new wine will burst the old skins.

      With this image, Jesus makes us aware that His teaching is something dynamic that you cannot contain in old formulas. Jesus was a radical — not in the sense of a violent rightist. The word “radical” comes from the Latin word radix, which means “root.” So, a radical is one who goes to the root of the issue.

       Jesus faced the Pharisees who were rooted in the strict observance of the ancient Law of Moses. They did not move on. There was nothing new for them. But for Jesus, everything was new. His teaching was dynamic and He wanted nothing more than followers who are dynamic, too, and who would move out of their “old wineskins,” reforming themselves and being witnesses to the world, to the society they live in, to their environment. On October 25, 2014, Pope Francis warned against closing ourselves up in a mass of rules and regulations and becoming a caricature of the Jewish doctors of the law. A Church that does not move is sick, the Pope said. A Christian who closes himself up is not healthy.

       The Church is not a museum and we Christians are not museum pieces that rest in showcases. “New wine in new wineskins” — a message that should wake us up and become more dynamic in a world that needs Christ’s radical message. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Are you open to new developments in the Church? Are you a dynamic witness to Christ’s Good News?

Lord, wake me up from my sleep and help me to become a more active witness in the society I live in. Amen.