for September 4
Friday of the Twenty-second Week of Ordinary Time

In today’s first reading Paul identifies himself and the other evangelizers as servants of Christ as opposed to their so-called followers in the community who exalt them, claim them as their own, and cause dissension. Since they are stewards of the mysteries of God, meaning God’s salvific plan, they must be trustworthy. If some say Paul is not because of his criticism of certain of their beliefs and especially their divisive practices, he reminds them he is not to be judged by them or anyone, not even by himself. Saying he is not conscious of anything against him refers either to his life in general or to what they specifically accuse him of.

The only judge that matters is the Lord at the appointed time, his second coming in glory at the end of time. One scholar puts it cleverly (italics in original). In view of the last judgment, all human judgments must be pre-judice. On that day the Lord will bring to light what is in darkness, not necessarily negative or only negative things, and manifest the motives of hearts, even if the result was not always corresponding actions. He concludes, presumably hopefully, that all will receive praise from God.

The gospel finds some Pharisees and their scribes challenging Jesus for his disciples not fasting often and offering prayers as do the disciples of John the Baptist and their own disciples. Weekly fasting was a relatively recent innovation at the time. Then and now the primary occasion for fasting was in relation to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the most solemn Jewish feast. Jesus answers rather differently that no one fasts when with the bridegroom, denoting himself, but only after the bridegroom is gone, precisely described as taken away and thus intimating his coming death.

Jesus then offers two related parables. Since there will be many more parables in Luke’s gospel, it might be a good time to recall their intent. One author defines Jesus’ parables as “memorable word-pictures or stories that captured and communicated in sometimes cryptic form the essence of Jesus’ message concerning God and God’s kingdom.”

First, if you tear a piece of cloth from a new cloak to patch a hole in an old one, not only have you damaged the new cloak, but the patch will not match the new. In the other gospels the result is clearer because we are told the patch on the old cloak does not hold because back then cloth shrunk when washed. Matthew and Mark both say the patch pulls away and the tear gets worse. Secondly, you don’t put new wine in old wineskins since wine back then was dense and heavy, always diluted with water when drunk. So new wine is put in new wineskins lest the skins burst and the wine spilled.

What Jesus is talking about translates into how hard it is for people sometimes to be open to changes in their religious tradition, however well-intended. It was true at the time of Jesus, it was true of some Catholics at the time of the Second Vatican Council, and it is a perennial temptation.
—Edward O’Donnell SJ

Today’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.