💖 HOMILY - SEPTEMBER 5 💖

First Reading - Colossians 1:15-20 

Gospel - Luke 5:33-39

Life has a way of drawing us into routines. We become comfortable with familiar patterns, habits, and ways of thinking. But sometimes, we discover that these old ways can no longer hold the new experiences and possibilities before us. A new chapter in life, a new responsibility, or even a deep encounter with God calls us to change, to stretch, and to grow. This is the tension in today’s readings: holding on to the old versus opening ourselves to the new.

In the first reading, Paul gives us a majestic vision of Christ. He is the image of the invisible God, the Lord of all creation, the one in whom everything finds its purpose. He is not an addition to our lives but the very center, the one who reconciles all things through the blood of His cross. This truth is not meant to remain abstract; it is meant to reorient the way we live, the way we see the world, and the way we love.

The Gospel brings this vision into our daily reality. Jesus teaches that the life He brings cannot simply be patched onto old patterns. New wine requires new wineskins. The joy of the Kingdom, the presence of the Bridegroom, demands hearts that are supple and open, not rigid or resistant. The old ways of clinging to selfishness, sin, or narrow vision cannot contain the abundance of His Spirit.

Dear friends, the challenge for us is real. We may want the life of Christ but prefer to keep it on our own terms, fitting it into our old wineskins. Yet Christ calls us to be made new, to allow our hearts to be stretched by grace, our minds transformed by truth, and our lives reshaped by love.

So today we ask ourselves: Am I allowing Christ to be the center of my life, or do I still try to hold Him at the edges? Am I willing to be changed, even stretched, so that His Spirit may fill me with newness and joy?

May we have the courage to let go of what is old and to welcome the transforming newness of Christ. For only then will our lives become vessels of His light, His love, and His peace in the world.