Reflection - Of Cloth & Corks

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012119.cfm
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 2:18-22

This Gospel selection seemed idiot-proof; it had only a few verses, and nothing appeared complicated. Moreover, even the parables were simple. Their simplicity implied that this would be an easy one for a reflection. Old cloth — new cloth. Old wineskins — new wine. That was how it started. So much for initial appearances.

Just consider the case of the shrinking cloth — Back in Jesus’ day nothing was sanforized; not even jeans were pre-shrunk. Putting a patch of new cloth on an old garment might work for a while, that is, right up to the point where the newly patched item went into the wash. Then the old garment remained the same while the new patch shrunk, tearing the old garment as it did so.

Or take the case of the wine that popped its cork — The must from freshly squeezed grapes is always allowed to ferment for a time before it is bottled, kegged or otherwise stored. In Jesus’ day that storage was primarily in pottery jars or animal skins. The problem with wine ready for storage is that it is still fermenting, and that results in the release of carbon dioxide. New skins could and would stretch to accommodate the fermentation gases; old skins would be naturally brittle and the gases would cause the skins to burst.

Now what could be simpler than that?

Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, or just didn’t remember, the question of the Pharisees was about fasting — a question which Jesus quickly dismissed with the statement: "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” From there he quickly moved into the two brief parables about mending garments and storing wine. Neither of these has anything to do with fasting. The supposedly simple reflection no longer appeared simple; and things would get worse.

Innocently I posed the question: What was that all about? The Pharisees had asked about fasting and Jesus had given them an earful about mending clothes and making wine. Maybe Mark missed recording that long, drawn out sigh, the one that came between Jesus’ statement about the bridegroom and his mini-lecture on the correct method of patching clothes. It seems that Jesus May have been a bit worn with the nonsense he was already hearing early in his ministry. As any Gospel reader will tell you, the Pharisees weren’t particularly adept at asking the right questions.

So, what was that all about?

Jesus was, apparently, still dealing with his initial call for repentance. Repent means much more than being conscience-stricken or contrite. The underlying Greek word is a form of metanoia, which means to undergo a fundamental change in one's mind or character. Simply put, to repent in this context is to dramatically change one's thinking. To see the world markedly different. In short, to shift paradigms. It’s a change every bit as notable as once seeing the solar system from a pre-Copernican point of view and then seeing it from the viewpoint of Galileo. The whole of the cosmos necessarily changes with the new perspective.

The paradigm of the Pharisees had a long history. It included such notions as:

• We are the children of Abraham and we are special.
  
• The Messiah will be one of us.
  
• Circumcision is a requirement to get into the club.
  
• Keeping the Law will make an Israelite a holy person.
  
• Israel will rule the nations when the Messiah comes.
  
• And, to some extent, the thought that Israel is indispensable.
  

But the joy of the Good News could not simply be patched on to Judaism. Something much more radical than a patch or alteration was going on. The way Jesus saw the world was, and is crucial to understanding and living in the new paradigm, the new wineskin.

The teachings of the new paradigm did not so much contradict the paradigm of the Pharisees as it required a reconsideration of what was ultimately important. One particular teaching emphasizes the dramatic shift in the whole body of teaching. It was introduced by Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. This song took place at the time of John’s circumcision.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear. (Luke 1:68, 70-71, 73-74)

There’s both a ‘free from’ and a ‘free for’ implied here. The ‘free from’ is the less obvious of the two even though it is the one we most frequently associate with Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, namely: Jesus set us free from the consequences of sin. Most significantly, death has lost its sting. The ‘free for,’ on the other hand, is unambiguously stated in Zechariah’s canticle: free to worship God without fear. ‘Free from’ is about me and my sinfulness, my alienation from God. ‘Free for’ is about God and the praise and honor and glory I can give him through my life.

You see why this reflection was becoming complicated?

Yes, and even more than complicated; it was becoming dangerous.

The Holy Spirit has a nasty habit of leading to the truth, even if it’s a truth we would just as soon not know. In this instance He had surreptitiously led me to read a conversion story at the same time he was planning to confront me with this supposedly simple Gospel text.

The conversion story was about a young man who seriously pursued the presence of God in his life and was persistent enough to go wherever the truth of revelation would direct. He diligently and insistently both studied and prayed that God would lead him to where he was supposed to be. He surrendered to the guidance of the Spirit even when it was disruptive. His former paradigm of salvation ultimately had to be discarded and a new one took its place. In his particular case the shift was from a Protestant paradigm to a Catholic one.

You might say that, since I am a Catholic, I don’t have to worry about that; and the statement may well be true. But that wasn’t the paradigm that was brought to my attention. The hazard I saw was far more subtle and menacing. The convergence of the Gospel incident with the conversion story forced me to ask: what paradigm of salvation is my guiding vision? Paul told his disciples to put on the mind of Christ. He insisted on living in the freedom of the sons of God. He proclaimed the futility of seeking salvation through the law. Is my faith firm enough to allow an unqualified trust n God? Is my trust in God broad enough to support complete surrender to God’s plan for me? Is my focus primarily on being ‘free from,’ or is my focus primarily on being ‘free for’ the unhindered worship of God?