Monday, January 20, 2014
2nd Week in Ordinary Time First Reading:
1 Sm 15:16–23 Gospel Reading: Mk 2:18-22
One day, when the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees were fasting, some people asked Jesus, “Why is it that both the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but yours do not?” Jesus answered, “How can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them and on that day they will fast. “No one sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat, because the new patch will shrink and tear away from the old cloth, making a worse tear. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, for the wine would burst the skins and then both the wine and the skins would be lost. But new wine, new skins!” D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
A question on the difference between narrow- mindedness and closed- mindedness was posted in the internet. This was chosen as the best answer: “Closed minded people are people whose opinion you cannot change no matter what. On the other hand, narrow minded people still have the ability to change their opinions, although it may be difficult to do so.” This distinction comes alive in the people Jesus had to relate with.
The Pharisees and their disciples were closed-minded while the rest were narrow-minded. Between the two groups, the Pharisees were so frustrating to Jesus. Any effort he had at converting them was like flogging a dead horse. The Pharisees grew up in the tradition of the Old Covenant taught in words. That’s why they were very literal in the interpretation of the Law. An open mind was necessary with the New Covenant because while the Old was taught in words, the New was taught by the Word himself – Jesus Christ. Only an open mind can lead to the renewal of the heart – a heart that receives the new covenant like new wineskins receiving new wine vintage.
Today we traverse wide information highways yet our minds have remained either narrow or closed to messages meant for the spirit. Modern means of communication have made it easy for us to know Jesus more. But knowing Jesus more means committing the heart to his ways. We have become inconsistent in that the more we have known Jesus the more we have committed our hearts to mundane pursuits. To know Christ more while committing the heart to old sinful ways is inviting disintegration. Like old wineskins where new wine is poured, we burst and explode into oblivion.
More than being open-minded, we need to be open-hearted so that our system may not resist the new spirituality of love.
Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:[email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org. q q q May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya? I-type ang BANDERA REACT
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