Scripture:
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Luke 5:33-39
Reflection:
The section of Luke’s Gospel we read today is preceded by Jesus’ telling his hometown crowd that the prophet Isaiah’s words are fulfilled in their hearing of them. This scene is followed by several cures, the calls of Simon the fisherman (who is astonished by his haul of fish at Jesus’ command) and Levi the tax collector.
The Pharisees and scribes are aflutter observing all these things and challenge Jesus about not being more ascetic as John’s followers were. It must have been difficult for them to understand how Jesus fit into their narrow world of ancient rules and regulations, a world of “us and them,” a world of secure routines, a world of order.
Scripture scholar Luke Timothy Johnson speaks of this passage of Luke’s Gospel, saying, “…one cannot fit this Gospel to the outcasts with its accessibility for all humans, within the perceptions and precepts of a separatist piety.” He says these short vignettes are among the most radical in the New Testament because they explode all divisions among people.
Jesus is calling everyone to take long sips of new wine, wear new clothes to the wedding feast, be open to new ideas, new ways of living life, by accepting everyone into community, even tax collectors and sinners.
In recent years some have focused on “non-negotiables” during election season. These are a listing of certain political stands that candidates must share to be worthy of the vote of a follower of Christ.
Although well-intentioned, as I am sure many scribes and Pharisees were well-intentioned, the non-negotiable crowd comes across as self-righteous, elitist, and absolute.
Jesus, in today’s Gospel, tells us to broaden our perspectives and to discover the essence of goodness. As St Augustine taught, at the core of our being, even for the perpetrator of unimaginable evil, is a desire to seek goodness and to do good because we are good.
This, however, can be drowned in the tsunami of propaganda of our age. I am constantly tempted to strive for money, power, status, and security on my terms. I can fall into traps of competition, fear of missing out on some experience or opportunity. I can become jealous and want others to live as I see fit. At these times, I fail to fully trust God, welcome the stranger, and look the beggar in the eye with love.
The old cloaks can’t be repaired; the old wineskins won’t hold the new wine, and the old wine will not refresh.
We are called to a radical life of throwing our arms wide to welcome all, forgive all, nurture all, and love all. In the Spanish words of Pope Francis, “Todos! Todos! Todos!” “Everyone, Everyone, Everyone!”
We are called to take a sledgehammer to our prejudices, our mental caste systems, our walled neighborhoods, our segregated churches, adult playgrounds, and schools. If we end divisions, will we lose something that makes us feel secure? Comfortable?
Let today’s Psalm assure you:
Trust in the Lord and do good,
That you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will grant you your heart’s request.
In the words of the poet, “What do we have to fear after all? To be thrown into the tenderness of God?”
Jim Wayne is a board member of the Passionist Solidarity Network (PSN), and author of The Unfinished Man. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.