Mon., Jan. 18: 1 Sam 15:16-23; Mark 2:18-22

New wine … old wineskins. Those of us accustomed to drink­ing a $3 bottle of Shiraz may find this image confusing. New wine will ferment and burst the old, stretched wine­skin. You need a new wineskin that will stretch with the expanding wine. Today in the United States we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It might be well to remember two things: 1. there are people who have only recently experi­enced a liberal activist Christianity. We should remind them that the civil rights movement was a Christian-inspired cru­sade against racism and included thousands of Catholics marching in the ranks. 2. It is not enough to change the law. The “new wine” of the Civil Rights Act was once too much for the “old wineskins” of our institutions, leaving us confused, resentful and scared. We cried, “What more can we do?” We stretched and we hurt, but it is more and more common for people of different heritages to join together, including in the White House. Where do we confront today’s new wine and old wineskins? Health care reform?

*For the generosity and strength to bear the burden of our convictions, we pray.