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| “Wine Skin” Artist and Date are UNKNOWN |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Colossians 1:15-20
Commentary on Col 1:15-20
St. Paul, in this selection, now begins to address some confusion in teachings that have been addressed to the Colossians, specifically about angles and their place in the hierarchy. The evangelist reaffirms Christ’s primacy and his relationship as God’s only Son with authority over all things (note – “visible and invisible”). We see in this statement a clear vision of the Lord’s authority over us and our souls and his rule both in heaven and on earth.
“As the poetic arrangement indicates, these lines are probably an early Christian hymn, known to the Colossians and taken up into the letter from liturgical use (cf Philippians 2:6-11; 1 Timothy 3:16). They present Christ as the mediator of creation (Colossians 1:15-18a) and of redemption (Colossians 1:18b-20). There is a parallelism between firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15) and firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18).”[4]
CCC: Col 1:15-20 2641; Col 1:15 241, 299, 381, 1701; Col 1:16-17 291; Col 1:16 331; Col 1:18-20 624; Col 1:18 504, 658, 753, 343, 792; Col 1:20-22 2305
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5
R. (2b) Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Commentary on Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5
Psalm 100 is a communal song of thanksgiving. In this selection we give thanks for God’s favor and his unending support in all good things. It affirms God’s saving grace given to His sons and daughters through all generations.
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Gospel: Luke 5:33-39
Commentary on Lk 5:33-39
In this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees we see the liberal use of metaphors to describe a new relationship and a new covenant and how they relate to the old. The bridal metaphor clearly establishes a different relationship between God and man than that expressed in the Hebrew tradition. God and man are in a love relationship as opposed to God being superior to man and man subservient to God.
The Lord uses the Metaphors (it is likely that St. Luke actually re-wrote the new vs. old cloth parable also found in St. Mark’s Gospel - Mark 2:19ff) of the new and old cloth and the new and old wine skins to illustrate that this Gospel message cannot be grafted on to Mosaic Law but it becomes something entirely new and attempting to hold both views will destroy both.
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Reflection:
“The old is good.” St. Luke sees the difficulty many are having, especially the Pharisees, in accepting the idea that Christ came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. They have had the “old wine” of these traditions and beliefs for their entire lives and the traditions they inherited were passed down from generation upon generation, during which time they gained such rigidity of form and substance that they seemed indestructible; put in place by God himself.
The great irony is that it was for this very purpose that God came into the world. The people to whom God had revealed himself in the signs and wonders from the age of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the great Exodus facilitated by Moses, all these things had taken upon themselves a life of their own. The acts themselves had become the object of worship rather than God by whom they were all accomplished.
Through the ages God had sought to change this; to reveal himself and his will by sending the prophets. Jeremiah, Isaiah, Hosea and all those great instruments of God cried out to the people telling them among other things that God did not want sacrifices and holocaust (see especially Psalm 51:18-19). His intention was not to smell the burning flesh of the sacrificial altar – his desire was the conversion of heart. He called to them to love each other and in doing so love him all the more. But the “Old Wine” was good and many of those Prophets were disregarded and even killed.
The saying of Jesus about the old and new wineskins has a lesson for us as well. We must never become so rooted in our personal traditions that we fail to see what the Holy Spirit does in our midst. God calls us to constant conversion. That means change, and change is always difficult. The old wine, the wine to which we have become accustomed always tastes good. The new wine of conversion needs some getting used to.
Today our prayer is this, that even as we savor the old wine that is good, we are constantly ready to accept the new wine of conversion, inviting us deeper into the will of God and his call to us.
Pax
[1] S.S Commemoratio
[2] The picture is “Wine Skin” Artist and Date are UNKNOWN
[4] See NAB Footnote on Colossians 1:15-20
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