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Gospel Reading for September 05, 2025 – Luke 5: 33-39
LOVE AT ITS CORE
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.'”
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The followers of John the Baptist and the Pharisees had to adjust to the teachings of Jesus, especially with regards the Law of Moses and their old understanding of the practice of Judaism. As Jesus says in Matthew 5: 17: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Jesus teaches us a way to practice religion not in a legalistic sort of way, but with depth and putting LOVE AT ITS CORE.
If we practice Christianity in a legalistic sort of way, such as faithfullly following religious practices, say, fasting during Lent but not sharing with the destitute what we have abstained from having, we would lose the very essence of fasting. If we go to Sunday mass just to fulfill an obligation and not to actively participate in the gathering of God’s family, we would lose the very essence of attending mass.
Our religious practices are meant to deepen our relationship with God and neighbor. Unless we put LOVE AT ITS CORE, they become meaningless activities.
Lord Jesus, teach us to put love in everything we do!
