OLD AND NEW

20 January 2025

Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

OLD AND NEW  

Introduction

This very well known passage of Hebrews evokes the central place in our faith of the passion and glorification of Christ. Jewish priests had to first offer sacrifices for their own sins. Christ replaced the “I will not serve” with the service of obedience to the will of the Father. 

You know from experience that change is always a problem to us. It calls us away from the security of our ingrained habits and our certainties. And it forces us to go unfamiliar ways. That is why, as if by nature, we resist change. It is an inherent law of Christianity to be always open to renewal and conversion. The trouble is that the old and the new are usually intolerant of one another.

Opening Prayer

Unchanging and ever-new God,
you want us to be your pilgrim people
on the march with Jesus, your Son,
toward a new future of justice and love.
Do not allow us to be suffocated in being contented
with old habits and sluggish ways.
Help us to accept the pain
of leaving the familiar behind us
and open us to the challenge of the Gospel
to become more like your Son
who guides our faltering steps,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

1 Reading: Hebrews 5:1-10

Brothers and sisters:
Every high priest is taken from among men
and made their representative before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by weakness
and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.
In the same way,
it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said to him:
You are my Son:
this day I have begotten you;
just as he says in another place,
You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.
In the days when he was in the Flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 110:1, 2, 3, 4

R. (4b) You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

The LORD said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand

till I make your enemies your footstool."

R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:

"Rule in the midst of your enemies."

R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

"Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendour;

before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you."

R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:

"You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."

R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

Alleluia

Heb 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The word of God is living and effective,

able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 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."

Intentions

–   For the Church, that the People of God and its leaders may follow the promptings of the creative Spirit, to speak to the people of today in the language of today, the ever-new message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we pray:

–   For artists, poets and inventors, that they may reveal to us the splendour of creation and the riches of life beyond its apparent drabness, we pray:

–   For our communities, that we may not be afraid of authentic change and draw from Christ the courage to start the renewal of the world and of the Church with the renewal of ourselves, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, our God,
with bread and wine, we celebrate
the covenant you renew with us
in the blood of Jesus Christ.
Make us indeed your new faithful people
bound to you in an everlasting union of love.
Renew our hearts;
make us your new wine of hope and joy,
that we may rebuild this earth today
and march forward with your Son
toward a new heaven,
where you will be our God forever.

Prayer after Communion

God of hope,
you have given us Jesus, your Son,
as our companion on the road
for understanding the old familiar things
with a new and young heart
and for renewing ourselves and the world.
Let him prod us on
when we try to compromise
by merely patching up the old here and there;
let him curb our impatience
when we try to rush people
beyond their capacity for growth.
Lead us ever forward through our trusted guide,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

Yes, it is not easy to change ourselves, our Church, our world. But life is growth. We have to grow up to the size and the stature of Christ. We have to become mature Christians in mature communities, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Reflection:

Hebrews 5: 1-10
Jesus calls us to his priesthood

Today’s first reading deals with how Jesus fulfils the role of our High Priest. Every high priest is a bridge builder between God and his people. He is chosen from among the people and put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

These are the two-fold responsibilities of a priest: To pray to God on behalf of the people and to offer gifts and sacrifices to God. And this is what Jesus does: He prays to God on our behalf and sacrificed himself to expiate our sins. He not only taught us how to pray, but he continues to pray for us and within us. He fulfilled the office of priest perfectly through his sacrificial death on the cross.

In the early days of the Church, the word “priest” was reserved only to Jesus Christ to emphasize that he is ultimately the only priest. Only around the seventh century, the term priest came into common usage. However, we should strive to recognize that “priest” means Jesus Christ foremost and that the priesthood of the ordained and that of the faithful is a sharing in the one priesthood of Jesus Christ.

A priest is a mediator between God and men, a bridge between God and his people. To accomplish its purpose a bridge must be in contact with both shores. The priest, as a human being, must be familiar with the sins and weaknesses of others because he experiences them in himself. And he has to include his own sinfulness in the offerings. The priest is no ‘super-man’. And he is a priest, not because of his superiority over others, but simply because he has been chosen among many to fulfil his intercessory role.

Over the years, many priests of today tend to ignore, with disastrous consequences, that their priesthood is not their merit but a vocation for a purpose. As the reading says, sharing in his fellow human beings’ weaknesses qualifies someone for the role of the priest.

The author of Hebrews quotes this verse of Psalm 110 to show that God has called Jesus to his role as priest. Jesus is among us at this moment. What we do is pleasing the Father because Jesus is our priest, renewing his sacrifice and bringing our worship to the Father. We are fortunate people to have Jesus Christ as our priest.

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20 January 2025

Mark 2: 18-22

Embracing Freedom and Mercy in Christ

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that His message is ever new, challenging us to live as authentic Christians by embracing His transformative Word. Using the analogy of new wine in fresh wineskins, Jesus calls us to let go of rigid, outdated mindsets and make room for the surprises in the newness of life that He offers.  

Jesus teaches that His Word surpasses all human ideologies, breaking the bonds of pride and self-righteousness. It invites us into the freedom of trust in God’s mercy. The Lord’s precept that “He desires mercy, not sacrifice” underscores that true discipleship is not about rigid adherence to external practices but about interior conversion and living out God’s love in justice, charity, forgiveness, and mercy.  

As Pilgrims of Hope, we are called to be docile to God’s Word and open to the Holy Spirit’s action in our lives. This requires courage to move beyond our comfort zones and a willingness to embrace the newness of Christ’s call. His Word can disrupt our plans and challenge our assumptions, but it is always life-giving, drawing us closer to the heart of God.  

At times, the enemy may deceive us with half-truths or ideologies that distort our faith, but Jesus leads us to freedom. To be a Christian is to trust in His grace, to allow His Word to renew us continually, and to let mercy, not judgment, guide our actions.  

Let us ask for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was the first to receive the “new wine” of God’s Word, that we may also become fresh wineskins, ready to carry the joy, hope, and mercy of Christ to the world.

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