The world is busy. We hear it all the time. We are distracted, worn out, and distressed. People are critical of others and even of the Church. Sometimes it isn’t progressive enough; sometimes it is too progressive. We get caught up in what is happening around us, what has been done to us, and what we think should be different. And yet, ironically, nothing has really changed since the time Christ established His Church.
People are human. In every age, we need essentially the same things. We get caught up in the same things of the world, in ourselves, and with one another. And, we become busy and comfortable with the way things are. We develop our familiar ways of thinking, reacting, judging, and living, and we don’t particularly want to have to change. Change is hard. Change is uncomfortable. Isn’t this part of what Jesus is getting at in the Gospel today?
Jesus speaks almost tongue-in-cheek about the old and the new wineskins. Those accustomed to the old wine say, “The old is good.” Of course it is. It is familiar. We know it. We are comfortable there. But Jesus is telling us that there is so much more, which requires new wineskins.
I remember once kayaking in the ocean and having to put on a wetsuit. If you’ve ever tried it, you know it isn’t particularly graceful. It takes work to pull yourself into it. You tug and adjust and work your way into something that doesn’t immediately feel natural. But you do it because you are preparing to enter a different environment. Once you’re in, you can go into the water and experience something amazing and beautiful.
Change and Conversion
Perhaps that is a little like conversion. Changing is hard, but it is necessary if we want to enter more deeply into the life Christ is offering us and really become stewards of the mystery He has entrusted to us.
I like to think of this in a lighthearted way in ordinary life. Just today, I was growing impatient with a person at the store and looked up and smiled, almost laughing to myself, to remind myself, “Anne, you have the new wineskins on now. You don’t fit into the old ones anymore.” It became easy to just sit and wait and use the time for good things. That pause, the saying, and ability to laugh at myself slows me down to use my will, take the next step, and move forward. It’s a quick trick that really diffuses the current frustration.
And then I think about that beautiful phrase from the first reading: “Be good stewards of the mysteries of God.” What a beautiful statement and tremendous gift, that God entrusts His mystery to us.
Can you imagine if someone walked up to you today and said, “I’ve got it. I’ve got your cleaning, your errands, and your yard or your difficult people at work or contradictions that will happen. I’ll clean them up. . I’ve got dinner. I’ll take care of all those troubles in your life. And, I’ll talk to the people you’ve had disagreements with. I’ll sit and have coffee with you and listen. What do you need? Give me the list. I’ve got it.”
Can you imagine what that feels like? Take a minute to visualize someone actually doing that, for real… Does it sound too good to be true? Yet, in a way, this is what God is promising to do for us in the reading and psalm. Reread them now. He’s essentially saying: Let go. Give it to Me. Trust Me. I’ll take care of all the things that weigh you down, the judgements or anything cluttering your mind or heart. But, you have to let me. You need faith and trust.
The things we have surrendered to God don’t need to occupy our minds all day. We don’t have to keep judging, solve every dispute, ruminate on grievances or wounds, or carry every trouble that is simply too much for us.
Faith plus trust, true surrender, brings peace and calm and, ultimately, delight, like kayaking in the ocean, seeing and delighting in a new and unknown environment.
So if we have given it all to God, what do we do with all that time? Discover. We “take delight in the Lord” as the psalm tells us.
We look up from ourselves and begin to notice what is actually around us, beauty in ordinary life, mystery in beauty, as we take and make the time to dig deeper and let ourselves enjoy it.
This is where I think Hans Urs von Balthasar, a well known philosopher and theologian, has something particularly important to say to us. He wrote, “Our situation today shows that beauty is a necessity for the soul, a source of delight that transcends mere pleasure.” Hans was a man of great depth with deep faith. He said, “I grew up with a straightforward faith unencumbered by doubt,” free to delight. He lived the formula of faith plus trust. This led him to beauty.
Beauty shows us Reality
Beauty invites us to stop and really see. It opens our senses and our minds to something beyond the immediate. It can lead us into wonder, and in wonder we begin to encounter mystery. The beautiful is a doorway to something deeper, to the reality that creation is a gift and that there is more to life than our immediate concerns.
This is why we need to deliberately seek the good, the true, and the beautiful. We need to raise our minds to higher things and give ourselves time to discover them.
And this can happen in very ordinary life. Take fifteen minutes to go for a stroll that isn’t exercise, leave the phone in your pocket, and use your senses to notice the sounds, smells, trees, sky, gardens, architecture, light, weather, and the work of someone’s hands. Or pull out the watercolors you’ve been meaning to use, read an art book, sit with a painting, listen to unfamiliar music, or plan a visit to a museum. Use your hands to carve, build, work with wood, garden, photograph something beautiful, or create a new meal with spices from another culture to share with someone.
These things may seem small, but they are ways of paying attention. They raise our minds above the constant noise and allow us to become immersed in something real. We discover, and then we delight. In doing so, we become better stewards of the mystery God has entrusted to us in the first reading. And this is where the lightness comes in. The Alleluia refrain lifts our eyes. We have given the things that weigh us down to God so Christ can enter in with His Light. Because we trust Him, we are free to discover and delight. “Today is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Today, this ordinary life, this moment, there is mystery here.
The Challenge: Today, commit to fifteen minutes of intentional pause using the ideas above. Whatever you choose, don’t make it productive. Make it an opportunity to notice and discover. And when you catch yourself slipping back into something you have already surrendered to God, smile and hear that little nudge: “(your name), you have the new wineskins on now. You don’t fit into the old ones anymore.” Then look up. There is something beautiful to discover all through your day.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me let go of what I need to in your name. Give me new eyes to see the good, the true, and the beautiful, and help me put on my new skin. When I fall into old judgments, impatience, or wounds, let the Holy Spirit remind me, “(your name), those are your old wineskins. You live in the new now.” Lead me toward beauty, delight, and the higher things that draw me deeper into You.
