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Morning Meditation
July 4, 2026
Reading: Matthew 9:14-17
Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding-guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.’
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
The most important acts of religious life for the ancient Jews are: prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
Weddings were times of special festivity. The couple remained at home for a honeymoon, during which time they held an open house and the bride and groom were regarded and treated as queen and king. Jesus now compares himself to the bridegroom and his disciples as the bridegroom’s closest friends. How could such a gathering be sad and grim? This is a time of rejoicing of a lifetime. To be with Jesus is an occasion of joy, for in Christ’s very presence there is a thrilling energy of life. Those who walk with Christ walk in the glow of joy. Unfortunately, the reality is that joy does not last forever. Nonetheless, Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. His presence is constant, amidst the vicissitudes of life. The most cherished relationships we have do come to an end. It is only the joy of eternal life that endures for ever. This is the joy which Christ alone offers to us.
New ideas can sometimes pose difficulties. In light of that, one aspect of human behavior is the attachment to the status quo. The new necessarily challenges that status. Given the Jews attachment to The Law, what Jesus proposes is God’s final word, not subject to revision whatsoever. One lesson that life inevitably teaches is that one’s mind must be flexible enough to entertain a new idea, new inventions, new ways of thinking, new sense of God’s will for us. And human beings are quite inflexible, if not hostile, at times when they consider something new. I do recall when St. Thomas was beginning a strategic planning process, Father Anderson cited those members of the congregation who would object to change and say, “We used to do it this way…” He then called them the “Use To Committee.” This behavior is not peculiar to one congregation or period of time. Within the Church resentment of and resistance to the new is chronic. We attempt to adapt new truths and practices into structures never intended to accommodate them. We have lost sight of an important truth: when any living thing stops growing it begins to die.
Throughout history human beings have lived in a constantly changing and expanding world. Jesus warns the Church that it dare not live in and cling to the past. Our prayer should ask God to free us from closed minds and encourage us to open our minds to new truths. This is ever more important in the present age in which we witness constantly rapid and tremendous changes. Jesus warns the Church that it dare not be the only institution still living in the past.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
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