True Love and Authentic Relationships

WORD 2day: Monday, 2nd week in Ordinary time

January 15, 2024: 1 Samuel 15: 16-23; Mark 2: 18-22

The Word today presents to us a few binaries... obedience - sacrifice; new wine - old wine; new wine skin - old skin. The message that is offered is clear: we have choices to make and each of those choices has its own consequences! 

New wine is not better than the old wine (ofcourse, those who are familiar with wine will know it better) but the new wine is "new" and it needs a new skin that can hold it. If not, the nature of the new wine will pierce through the skin and spill out... wasting itself and tearing the skin.

Christ's teaching invites us to a new outlook on the world, on relationships, on God, on faith, on our daily life and commitment - an outlook that is integral, holistic and complete. That which makes it complete is LOVE - love for God and love for one's brothers and sisters!

Ritualism and Legalism are decisively transcended by an understanding of our Christian life in terms of love and relationship! It is not in keeping thousand and one laws that we are truly regarded "Christian"; it is not in the numerous practices of rigour and asceticism that we become true Christians... but it is in Love. When I love, I am from God, for God is love! When there is no love in me, I am far from God and I am far from being a Christian.

Hence, what really matters is not who is more ascetic or who is more observant with religious rules, but who is truly loving, loving from the depth of one's being! What really matters is love and relationship, true love and authentic relationships!