By Martin Madalai Muthu csc –
Readings: Col 1: 15-20; Lk 5: 33- 39
In my faith journey, I have come across a few elderly people who are dismissive of the new ideas of the younger ones. On the other hand, I have also witnessed a few youngsters who neglect the ideas of elders. With the help of the image of new wineskins and old wineskins, today’s liturgy is inviting us to understand both the new and old and accept them as per the needs of the faithful in today’s world.
Irrespective of whether the ideas are new or old, they must be centred around Jesus as he is the head of the body and the Church. We need to learn listen to the wisdom of the elderly in our families and communities and channelize it according to the signs of the time. Take for example, having an online prayer service for the faithful during the Covid-19 pandemic.
If our Mother Church was strict about the old ways of holding prayer service only inside the Church, we would have lost many souls. Instead, our Mother Church has allowed us to have a new way of evangelization to the faithful by adapting to the current situation.
Newness is something that God brings in our lives at the right time. As the Church is open to newness, we need to allow the newness to take root in our hearts and allow them to grow if they are good for evangelization. We also need to prepare ourselves to face rejection in the process of bringing newness into this world. Jesus brought new ideas amidst the presence of the Pharisees, and they found fault with him. We should not forget to accept the newness of Jesus’s teaching first. All our newness must be based on Jesus Christ in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.