Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Gregory the Great
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| “St Gregory the Great with Saints” by Peter Paul Rubens 1606 |
Readings for Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Colossians 1:15-20
Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the Body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the Blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
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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 angels 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, over 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.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
For he is good,
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5
Psalm 100 is a communal song of thanksgiving in which the psalmist invites the people to come to God with praise and thanksgiving for the wondrous things he has done. In this selection the psalmist gives 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. The song recalls God the Creator whose love and fidelity knows no bounds.
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Gospel: Luke 5:33-39
The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink.”
Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days.”
And he also told them a parable.
“No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
Otherwise, he will tear the new
and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins,
and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.
Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, ‘The old is good.’”
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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. There is a new covenant but it is related to the old. The bridal metaphor clearly establishes a relationship between God and man, different from 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 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. Attempting to hold both views is not possible; it will destroy both. (It is likely that St. Luke actually rewrote the new vs. old cloth parable also found in St. Mark’s Gospel - Mark 2:19ff.)
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Reflection:
“The old is good.” St. Luke sees the difficulty many people 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 holocausts (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] The picture is “St Gregory the Great with Saints” by Peter Paul Rubens 1606.
[2] S.S Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] NAB Footnote on Colossians 1:15-20.
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