Mark 2:18-22
John’s disciples and the Jewish leaders sometimes fasted,
that is, went without food as part of their religion. One day some people came
to Jesus and asked why his disciples didn’t do this too. Jesus replied, “Do
friends of the bridegroom refuse to eat at the wedding feast? Should they be
sad while he is with them? But some day he will be taken away from them, and
then they will mourn. Besides, going without food is part of the old way of
doing things. It is like patching an old garment with unshrunk cloth! What
happens? The patch pulls away and leaves the hole worse than before. You know
better than to put new wine into old wineskins. They would burst. The wine
would be spilled out and the wineskins ruined. New wine needs fresh wineskins.”
Food for thought!
The man who walks with Christ walks in radiance of joy. This
is what Jesus is trying to teach us on innumerable occasions. This time round,
he compares this joy to a wedding joy. At the wedding the bride enjoys the company
of the bridegroom, and the bridegroom enjoys the company of the bride. All this
means that it is good for our souls to be with Jesus, and that Jesus too enjoys
our company. Think about it, Jesus enjoys to be with you. Do you enjoy Jesus
moment? Do you have in your day any JESUS MOMENT?
It also tells us that no human joy lasts for ever. John's disciples were at this time sad because John was already in prison. For Jesus' disciples that time of sorrow would come when Jesus is imprisoned. It is one of the great inevitabilities of life that the dearest joy must come to an end. All humans and their joys pass away. Jesus alone is the same yesterday, today and for ever; God alone abides amidst all the chances and the changes of life. The dearest human relationships must some day come to an end; it is only the joy of heaven which lasts for ever, and if we have it in our hearts, nothing can take it away.
This also means that days will come, days of challenges, of hardships, of suffering. It means that life was not meant to be easy. Life is a challenge. Even for Jesus there was a moment of agony; he could not and did not escape it. Jesus was never under any illusions; clearly at the end of the road he saw the Cross awaiting him. He knew that for him the way of life was the way of the Cross, and yet he did not swerve one step aside from it. Here is the courage of the man who knows what God's way costs, and who yet goes on.
So, seize the moment, seize the present joy, seize the week and all its opportunities. Don't shut your mind for new ideas. We should never be afraid of adventurous thought. If there is such a person as the Holy Spirit, God must ever be leading us into new truths, new things. Just look at the many inventions in technology, in computers, in cell phones, in medicine, etc. How would medicine fare if doctors were restricted to drugs and methods and techniques of three hundred years old?
Many people are afraid of new methods, new innovations, new ideas. That a thing has always been done in certain way may very well be the best reason for stopping doing it. That a thing has never been done may very well be the best reason for trying it. No business could exist on outworn methods; a business allergic to innovations is doomed to die. The same with many of us; either we change or we perish.
Jesus' plea to us is to be open minded! At least this week.
It also tells us that no human joy lasts for ever. John's disciples were at this time sad because John was already in prison. For Jesus' disciples that time of sorrow would come when Jesus is imprisoned. It is one of the great inevitabilities of life that the dearest joy must come to an end. All humans and their joys pass away. Jesus alone is the same yesterday, today and for ever; God alone abides amidst all the chances and the changes of life. The dearest human relationships must some day come to an end; it is only the joy of heaven which lasts for ever, and if we have it in our hearts, nothing can take it away.
This also means that days will come, days of challenges, of hardships, of suffering. It means that life was not meant to be easy. Life is a challenge. Even for Jesus there was a moment of agony; he could not and did not escape it. Jesus was never under any illusions; clearly at the end of the road he saw the Cross awaiting him. He knew that for him the way of life was the way of the Cross, and yet he did not swerve one step aside from it. Here is the courage of the man who knows what God's way costs, and who yet goes on.
So, seize the moment, seize the present joy, seize the week and all its opportunities. Don't shut your mind for new ideas. We should never be afraid of adventurous thought. If there is such a person as the Holy Spirit, God must ever be leading us into new truths, new things. Just look at the many inventions in technology, in computers, in cell phones, in medicine, etc. How would medicine fare if doctors were restricted to drugs and methods and techniques of three hundred years old?
Many people are afraid of new methods, new innovations, new ideas. That a thing has always been done in certain way may very well be the best reason for stopping doing it. That a thing has never been done may very well be the best reason for trying it. No business could exist on outworn methods; a business allergic to innovations is doomed to die. The same with many of us; either we change or we perish.
Jesus' plea to us is to be open minded! At least this week.
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