***
Imagine how much worse COVID would be if doctors were restricted to drugs, methods, and techniques that were 300 years old.
Or how simple our lives would be – and not in a good way – if we were restricted to the scientific advancements of the Middle Ages.
We’d have no heat, electricity, or running water in our homes.
Sometimes it’s important to update – or advance – our way of thinking. We do this eagerly in science and medicine, but not necessarily in faith.
Perhaps the slowest institution to change is the Church.
***
In the Gospel, Jesus challenges the Jewish way of thinking.
The religious scholars of his day are stuck on rules and regulations that are hundreds of years old.
For example, they believe that access to God belongs to the Jews alone – and, in particular, to those who follow the rules.
But Jesus tries expanding their view of God, saying that God has come to visit – and to save – people of every race, tongue, and nation. Not simply Israel.
But the scribes and Pharisees are hardened in their thinking, incapable of change. They’re like old wine skins that cannot be stretched.
***
Like the scribes and Pharisees, is my view of God rigid, unchanging, set in stone? Or, has my understanding of God somehow changed over time?
***
Think of the newness brought by Pope Francis. He’s spent his entire papacy focusing on the mercy of God.
For example, he’s likened the Church to a field hospital that exists to bind people’s wounds; to heal, not to hate; to include, not exclude.
He’s also said, “the Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect.” Rather, it’s meant to be like a healing balm for our soul.
This is the type of new wine – or new thinking – that Jesus encourages.
Although it can be uncomfortable to break the mold and think bigger, sometimes the Church – like science and medicine – needs to be open to new ways of thinking.
The mercy of God is one example. I wonder, is there another?
