Friday of the
Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
(I Corinthians 4:1-5; Luke 5:33-39)
As Americans wait for the fourth Thursday of November,
the French get excited around the third Tuesday of that month. No, the French haven’t adopted Thanksgiving, their
celebration is typically unique. On “Beaujolais
Day,” as it is called, the latest vintage of Beaujolais wine goes on
market. Not only does the wine have a
tasty fruity quality, it also indicates the caliber of that year’s vintage when
the wines mature. In grape-producing
regions like France and Palestine wine serves as a symbol of joy. For this reason Jesus compares his mission
with a new wine in today’s gospel.
Interestingly, Jesus shows no contempt for the old wine,
Judaism, when he proclaims his message of God’s kingdom as the new. He says that some people prefer old wine as,
indeed, it has a mellowness to be savored.
But there is no mixing of new wine and old. Accepting Jesus’ messages means stepping away
from Judaic law into the more challenging and more promising realm of gospel
love.
Church history is
soiled by anti-Semitic outbursts. Most
likely the cause for of the prejudice has been envy given how successful Jews
have been in commerce and the professions.
Certainly the anger against the Jewish faith is misplaced. Jews, as Luke’s gospel consistently shows,
are Jesus’ forbearers always worthy of respect and dialogue.
