Unexplored Territory – Reflection on Matthew 9:14-17
Attempting to be immersed in the Christian life has many inconsistencies. Sometimes we must embrace what we already know and behave within whatever constraints, customs, and traditions may exist. Other times we are in unexplored territory where everything is new, and we must prepare for the unexpected. With very few exceptions pouring ourselves from the old wineskin into the new for the Lord pushes limits we do not even know exist. In humble anticipation, our task is not to fit the square block into the round hole but to discern our required re-shaping. With Jesus’s influence and help, we can allow our transformed selves to enter prefilled with grace.
Jesus Discourses with His Disciples by James Tissot (full-resolution painting)
More details are available on the Brooklyn Museum website.
Additional Ordinary Time Reflections
Matthew 9:14-17 – Scripture*
The Question about Fasting
14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
Additional Thoughts
Thank you for meditating on this Gospel and reading this Lectio Divina on Matthew 9:14-17 Reflection – Unexplored Territory.
Would you like to contribute related thoughts to these Lectio reflections on the Gospel readings? Since Lectio is not the only contemplative prayer style, others might appreciate these types of expressions in this ministry. Do you see God’s grandeur everywhere and unconditionally enjoy sharing the love of Christ that you have inside? Are you willing to be anonymous in what you would share? If so, email me.
Prayer for young families:
Lord, let the young families of our communities get to know your joy, peace, comfort, and love despite worldly distractions.
Attributions
*This site has permission to use the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) Bible Matthew 9 passage.
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