This blog follows the daily bible readings of the Catholic Church

Reading 1

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Brothers and sisters:

Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ

and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Now it is of course required of stewards

that they be found trustworthy.

It does not concern me in the least

that I be judged by you or any human tribunal;

I do not even pass judgment on myself;

I am not conscious of anything against me,

but I do not thereby stand acquitted;

the one who judges me is the Lord.

Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time,

until the Lord comes,

for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness

and will manifest the motives of our hearts,

and then everyone will receive praise from God.

Paul is struggling to cope with the negative judgements upon him and his ministry by certain members of the church in Corinth. In spite of the bold words, the reader can detect Paul’s pain. We do find ourselves judged by others, sometimes wrongly, and it does hurt us. For Paul there is a more important issue: his status as an apostle and therefore the status of his gospel. He is anxious in case, as seems possible, his converts have got hold of a distorted gospel.

He wisely refers all judgment to God, and by implication reminds his readers that they too must be judged by God. When the dark things are brought to light and the motives are revealed, will we all receive praise from God? Speaking for myself, I doubt it.

Gospel Luke 5:33-39

The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,

“The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,

and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;

but yours eat and drink.”

Women ministers -one of the best of new wineskins in my lifetime

Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast

while the bridegroom is with them?

But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,

then they will fast in those days.”

And he also told them a parable.

“No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.

Otherwise, he will tear the new

and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.

Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.

Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins,

and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.

Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.

And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,

for he says, ‘The old is good.'”

The version of this saying of Jesus in Mark’s gospel ( Mark: 2:22) has nothing in praise of the old cloak or the old wine. It’s a call for fresh customs for fresh times: the bridegroom, the messiah has come and a new fruitfulness is in the world. Luke is more careful, using the parable to keep a balance between old and new. Jewish religion is a revelation of God’s will and it is not just superseded by the gospel.

I would say that Luke’s caution has diluted the meaning of Jesus’ call: new wineskins for the new wine!

Faith should be impatient with multiculturalism, if it suggests that all moralities are equally good for people. Certainly all lawful moralities should be protected by law. But no existing morality can accommodate the gospel of new life. Believers have to create new moralities out of their experience of the gospel, and that is true whether their “existing morality” is middle class Christian or working class moslem.