Although He speaks in other places of continuity with and
fulfillment of what has come before, Jesus announces the “newness” that He
brings, making use of two images. The
practice of fasting has no place at a wedding, Jesus points out, clearly
announcing that He is the Bridegroom, the Messiah who inaugurates the “new
times.” As if to underscore His point,
Jesus likewise points out the foolishness of an old wine skin put to use with
new wine—it just won’t work! The new
wine likewise announces the “new times.” (Mark 2:18-22)
Having left behind the Christmas season only a week ago, we might
ask ourselves today whether we have also left behind the “newness of life”
experienced in those days. Jesus, born
into our world, continues to pursue us with a divine passion, even greater than
that of the most loving bridegroom. And,
thanks to the gift of baptism, the love of God has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5, 5).
Are we allowing ourselves to be pursued by Love, or have we reverted
once again to living life on our own terms?
Are we drinking the new wine of the Holy Spirit, experiencing the “sober
intoxication” of that divine gift, or are we “running on our own steam” once
again?
All this “newness” which Jesus proclaims today precludes any
“business as usual,” and invites us to step fully into a new time, living in a
new way as we march through a new year.
Browsing through the Book of Samuel today, it struck me that we
can learn a great lesson from King Saul. Saul disobeyed God by taking the
spoils from the Amalekites, an act which God had forbidden. Then, to justify
his actions, he tells the prophet Samuel that he intended to use the prime
sheep and oxen taken from the Amalekites as a burnt offering to God. Samuel
quickly points out to him that God does not want sacrifices, but rather
complete obedience to His word. (1 Samuel 15:16-23)
The same is true for us - we are to always obey His word. Put
another way, it’s never right to do a wrong thing, no matter how good one's
intentions. Or, we can say it is always right to do the right thing, regardless
of any outcomes we may face. This is the wish of our God: to obey His word
which is always perfectly right in any circumstance.
Speaking of “newness” and “lessons learned”, I learned something
new yesterday. I consider myself pretty
good at trivia—I always win those types of games and I’m pretty adept at
crossword puzzles and games, so I was surprised I had never heard the phrase “the
Silver Rule” before! When I asked Mom this
morning if she had ever heard of it (after all, I got my passion for word games
and trivia from her), she replied that she knew of the “Golden Rule”, but not
the “Silver Rule.” So we both learned
something new! Pretty good for a woman
in her 90’s and her son pushing 60!
Basically, the “Silver Rule” is “Don’t do unto others what you
would not have them do unto you.” Jesus
put a “positive spin” on it when He said, "Do unto others as you would
have them do to you." (Matthew 7:12).
Our Lord’s approach exhorts positive action to love one another, whereas
the “Silver Rule” promotes no action at all, unless it is wanted. So I love you whether you want me to or not (Lol),
because that’s what our Lord commanded me to do.
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