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Gospel: Mark 2:18-22
The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast.
People came to Jesus and objected,
“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them,
“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 days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast on that day.
No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away,
the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Today Americans celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who sought to stretch the hearts and minds of Americans politically, much like new wine poured into fresh wineskins.
His vision was most clearly outlined in his famous speech, I Have A Dream.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, and live out the true meaning of its creed…that all men are created equal,” he said.
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In today’ Gospel, Jesus uses the same imagery to stretch us spiritually.
When baptized, Christians become a new creation, capable of being stretched beyond our own natural limitations.
By God’s grace, we can not only love our neighbor, but also forgive our enemies…pray for those who persecute us… resist temptation… grow in virtue… and when the race is finished, inherit eternal life, becoming a new creation, much like new wine poured into fresh wineskins.
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Where is God stretching me spiritually? Or where might I need to be stretched?
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I can imagine Jesus reinterpreting some of Dr. King’s words to address the entire world:
“I have a dream,” he might say, “that one day this world will rise up, and live out the true meaning of its existence…to see all people as created equal, and to love them accordingly.”
May the Lord stretch us until we love one another the way that God has loved us.
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Image credits: (1) Britannica (2) UConn Community Outreach (3) Growingtolive, WordPress