Fr Kevin Kilgore

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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.”
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 Gospel of the Lord.

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Fermentation is the process that turns grape juice into wine. 

During fermentation, gas is released, causing the wineskins to expand, which is why new, stretchy wineskins must be used. Old skins would rip and tear, spilling and ruining the wine.

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus likens the religious authorities and their legalistic beliefs to old wineskins – rigid, stiff, and unyielding. 

As a result, he could not pour his teachings, his love, or his grace into their hearts. Much like new wine being poured into old wineskins, divine grace would’ve caused their hearts and laws to expand.

Or, better yet, explode.

Which is why the Lord needed to bring new disciples – fresh wineskins – into the fold.

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Anyone who tries following Jesus and living out his word feels this tension. The Lord stretches our hearts and minds, and tames our flesh, sometimes to an uncomfortable degree. 

Are we not stretched in prayer? When we turn the other cheek? Seek to forgive? Carry our crosses? And give of our time, talent, and treasure until it hurts?

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May the Lord continue to transform our hearts into new wineskins, capable of being stretched, changed, and expanded by his grace.

So that we become ever more like him, who has loved us and given himself for us.

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Image credits: (1) Following Jesus, Facebook (2) Instagram (3) X.com

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Gospel: Luke 5: 1-11

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God,
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake;
the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,
he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.
Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
Simon said in reply,
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,
but at your command I will lower the nets.”
When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them. 
They came and filled both boats
so that the boats were in danger of sinking.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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It’s dawn on the shores of Galilee.

Peter is mending his empty, stinking, fishing nets. After having worked all night, he comes up empty-handed. His only rewards are sore muscles and a bitter dose of disappointment.

Failure is never fun.

Suddenly, Jesus shows up and steps into Peter’s boat. Looking at an exhausted, unsuspecting Peter, he tells him to row his boat back out to sea – that is, to do the same thing he’s done all night one more time.

To Peter, it was a ridiculous – and perhaps slightly offensive – request. He not Jesus is the professional fisherman. 

Besides, the best place to fish is not out in the deep, but along the shoreline, where the fish gather to nibble on underwater plants. After a brief protest, Peter gives in.

“Master, at your command, I will lower the nets.” 

Suddenly, his nets are tearing at the seams, providing a good lesson for Peter and us: Jesus can turn failure into abundance.

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While none of us may be professional fishermen, we all know what it’s like to fail, to stand idly, mending our broken hearts after having given our best at something, only to come up empty-handed.

Maybe we’ve poured ourselves into a marriage that suddenly ended; into children who have somehow separated themselves from us; into a ministry, a job, or a dream that’s dried up in spite of our best efforts.

Each in our own way, we can stand with Peter disappointed, out of luck, frustrated, mending our nets.

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Sometimes, that’s when Christ shows up, stepping into our lives while issuing the command: “Put out into deep and lower your nets for a catch.” 

Do the same old, same old one more time. Mysteriously, we may find our nets tearing at the seams.

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Image credits: (1) One Walk with Jesus (2) The Collector (3) MyMythos

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Gospel: Luke 4:38-44

After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.
Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever,
and they interceded with him about her.
He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up immediately and waited on them.

At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases
brought them to him.
He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ.

At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.
The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him,
they tried to prevent him from leaving them.
But he said to them, “To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent.”
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today we discover a full day in the life of Jesus.

The Lord began his day in the synagogue, where he cast out an unclean spirit from a man, revealing Christ’s power of evil.

“After lunch,” Jesus enters Simon Peter’s home, where he heals Simon’s mother-in-law who is deathly ill. 

Then he continues his ministry well into the evening. As we hear in today’s Gospel, “At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.”

I’d imagine by night the Lord was exhausted.

But early the next morning – before dawn – he is up and out, finding a quiet place to commune with his Father in prayer.

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Prayer is what sustained Jesus throughout his life and ministry. It’s also what should sustain us. 

Think of prayer as another word for relationship. Everything that you do to enrich your relationship with God – from studying his Word, to serving him in your neighbor is prayer.

But the most important form of prayer is that one-on-one, heart-to-heart time with God, which the Lord shows us today is best found, “very early before dawn,” before other obligations or demands of the day take over.

I’ve been fortunate to pray for at least an hour a day before dawn for the last fifteen years. It’s transformed my life.

Over time, God can do wonderous things in your heart, as well, even with a few minutes each morning.

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But be consistent. Be sincere. Be open.

Slowly, you’ll become more and more like him, “who has loved us and given himself for us.”

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Image credits: (1) Christ Pantocrator, Sinai (2) Circling a Date on a Calendar, Arthur Cauty (3) It’s a Beautiful Thing ~ Life, WordPress