Daily reflection _ new joy of relationship

NEW JOY OF RELATIONSHIP
Know that the Lord is God; He made us, His we are; His people, the flock He tends.
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
In all history Jesus Christ stands apart. He is unique! There is simply no one else like Him, nor will there ever be. As the eternal Son of God, He exists before all of creation. As man He was born in time but continues now in a glorious form of human existence. These are profound truths, difficult to grasp.
The reason St. Paul addressed these great truths is that there was confusion among the Colossians. They actually thought it possible that something created, especially the angels, could be superior to Christ. Paul says a resounding "No" to that thought. Christ, existing before all else that is, is actually the cause of all creation together with His Father. Jesus is the head of all creation. As human, Christ is the head of the Church.
These days I doubt that we are tempted to think that angels could be superior to Christ Jesus or that anyone in the Church could possibly be more important than Jesus. Maybe we need to think of new forms of temptations, modern values which could be seen as superior to Christ Jesus.
The question comes down to, what are our values in life? How much worth do we place in money, power, prestige, popularity, even just getting our own way all the time? Are we perhaps falling prey to the myriads of commercials on TV which are designing to make us always want something more or something better? Are material things the source of our real joy?
In the Gospel today we hear about fasting and feasting. In a consumer culture like ours, fasting and prayer is needed to deepen our spiritual growth in our trust of God. The disciples of John the Baptist were upset with Jesus' disciples because they did not fast. Jesus gives a simple explanation. There's a time for fasting and a time for feasting and celebrating! To walk as a disciple with Jesus is to experience a whole new joy of relationship akin to the joy of the wedding party with the groom and bride. To be a disciple there is both a time for rejoicing in the God's presence and celebrating His goodness and a time for seeking the Lord with humility, fasting and prayer.
Jesus goes on to warn the disciples about the problem of the "closed mind" that refuses to learn new things. Jesus used an image familiar to the people of His time - new and old wineskins. What did Jesus mean by this comparison? Are we to reject the old in place of the new? Just as there is a right place and a right time for fasting and for feasting, so there is a right place for the old as well as the new. "Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
In the Responsorial Psalm we pray - Know that the Lord is God; He made us, His we are; His people, the flock He tends.
We are called to enjoy going out together into common pastures, playing together, working together, and living our life together. Jesus showed us how to be a part of a community - a community person in the full sense of the term. We are members of the flock because Jesus is our head; Jesus is the Shepherd of life.
Our challenge today: God wants our minds and hearts to be like the new wine skins - open and ready to receive the new wine of His Holy Spirit.