8th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY
TIME
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Mark 2:18-22
"No
one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak;
... And nobody puts new
wine into old wineskins."
Everything has its season,
everything has its time. There is a season for planting and a season for
reaping. There is a time to laugh and a time to cry. But when is the right
time? This seems to be the question which the gospel message reaches out to
answer. And yet, the occasion poses itself an opportunity for Christ to put two
contrasting situations - fasting and wedding - which may help his listeners
understand the Messianic time. Let us take them as guide for our meditation.
1. "Why is it that
John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do
not?” Taken from the imperatives of the Law, fasting has become a part of
the religious practice of the Jews. Aside from health reasons, fasting carries
with it a religious meaning which the Jews consider as more important. Fasting
is an external manifestation of self-denial. He who fasts denies himself of the
most basic need of food. But if ever he does, he is supposed to impose it upon himself
as a punishment for whatever moral shortcomings he might have done. In other
words, it means penance. In this sense, fasting also becomes an expression of
sorrow. Thus, a deep-seated sorrow must be the necessary internal component of
fasting. And so that fasting may not only be a fashion
show, this genuine sorrow must be present in the penitent's contrite heart
But sadly, fasting in most
instances has become a pure external religious function. The Jews fast because
the law says so. This is precisely why some people wonder why the disciples of
John and those of the Pharisees fast while Jesus' disciples do not. Jesus knows
very the religious meaning of fasting, but ends up so frustrated to find out
how the Jews have gone far away off from its original significance. Thus, he comes
to bring a new order. This order shall be founded on his very person. It is
this order that bases
itself not anymore on the law written on tablets of stone, but on such law
inscribed in the hearts of men. After all this has been foretold by the
prophets. And this shall take place at the most appropriate time: the Messianic
time.
2. "Surety, the
bridegroom's attendants would never, think of fasting while the bridegroom is
still with them.” Certainly, John's disciples and those of the Pharisees
fast because that is precisely their hour of fasting. That's what the law says.
So, let it be. But the new order has come with the advent of Jesus as the
Messiah. Thus, the old order now ceases, and the time of fasting set by the old
law holds no more gripped on the new. Today is the time of the Messiah, and as
long as the Messiah is here there is no reason to fast. On the contrary, there
is even that good reason to feast.
Jesus describes himself as
the bridegroom. His presence is likened to a wedding. This is indeed an interesting revelation. Most probably, Jesus
picks up this signification in order to be easily understood. The groom-bride
figuration is not foreign to the Jews. This is the Old Testament consistent
illustration of Yahweh's relation with
3
Because "the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from
them, and then, on that day, they will fast." While the new order
recognizes the original sacred meaning of fasting, it perfects it by having an
entirely new foundation for such a religious understanding and practice.
Self-denial acquires a new meaning since it is put in unison with Christ's kenosis.
If Christ's self-denial reaches to the extremest form of mortification on the
cross, everyone who is called to fast also shares at least vicariously with
such plenitude. And more importantly, that internal deep-seated sorrow which
ought to accompany the external act of fasting becomes a mournful sentiment not
only because of the sins one has committed for sinning's sake, but because
those sins are the most unworthy returns man has given to a loving God
The
Christian season of sorrow and mourning, therefore, is that season when we
meditate on the mystery of Christ's passion and death. That is why our liturgy
sets it as a very important season of the year. We call it the season of lent.
4.
With this, we can now understand the wisdom of Christ’s words. “No one
sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak; if he does the patch pulls
away from it, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. And nobody puts
new wine into old wineskins; if he does the wine will burst the skins, and the
wine is lost and the skins too." The old is meant for the old,
the new for the new. Now is the new order. Now is the time of Christ. Thus, the
season to plant and the season to reap, the time to laugh and the time to cry,
follow the rhythm of Christ's time.
This
goes on to say, therefore, that Christian faith is a faith of relevance.
Meaning, it knows how to read the signs of the times and answer the demands of
the various situations in life. It is not that kind of faith which simply
stands indifferent to the needs of others. Not that faith which is so deaf before the cries of the oppressed and so mute as not
to testify before the truth. Rather, it is that faith which works and does
justice. It is the faith that grieves over misfortunes, the faith that values
every sacrifice and the faith that gladdens at every victory. In other words,
it is that kind of faith which knows how to take sides with the right people at
the right time. It is that faith which saddens with the reign of evil and
rejoices with the triumph of good. This is the harmony which the new order
wants to establish: a harmony between the truth we do believe and the kind of
life we do live. After all, this is the test of true faith, a test that makes
faith really authentic.
New
cloth for the new cloak! New wine for the new wineskin!