"In the Gospel , Jesus is clear on this , he is very clear: new wine in new wineskins . God brings the wine, but it must be received with this openness to what is new. And this is called docility. We can ask ourselves: Am I meek the Word of God, or do I always do what I believe the Word of God to be? Or do I filter the Word of God so in the end it is something other than what God wants done? " .

Vatican City ( AsiaNews) - Christian freedom and Christian obedience is "the courage to discern always discern, not relativize"; "what does the Spirit do in my heart, what does the Spirit want in my heart, where does the Spirit take my heart. And obey. Discern and obey".

These were the words of Pope Francis today in his homily at Mass celebrated this morning at Casa Santa Marta, recalling that at the time of Saul, when a battle was won, the spoils were taken and part of them used for sacrifice. "These beautiful animals - Saul states - will be for the Lord." But, reports Vatican Radio, the Pope showed that Saul "reasoned with his mind, with his heart, closed within habits", while "our God is not a God of habit, rather a God of surprises". Saul "did not obey the Word of God, he was not amenable to the Word of God." And Samuel admonishes him on this, "he makes him feel that he has not obeyed, he was not a servant, he acted like a lord. He took possession of the Word of God." "Rebellion, not obeying the Word of God is the sin of soothsaying". "Ostentation, lack of docility, doing what we want and not what God wants, is the sin of idolatry". And this, he said, "makes us think" about the meaning of "Christian freedom, of Christian obedience".

"Christian freedom and Christian obedience is obedience to the Word of God, it is having the courage to become new wineskins for new wine that is continuously poured out". Because "the Word of God is living and active, it discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart". "The Word of God is living and, therefore, comes and says what it wants to say, not what I expect it to say or what I hope it says".  The Word is "free".  And it is also a "surprise, because our God is the God of surprises".

"The Gospel is newness. Revelation is a newness. Our God is a God who always makes things new and asks us for this docility to its newness. In the Gospel , Jesus is clear on this , he is very clear: new wine in new wineskins . God brings the wine, but it must be received with this openness to what is new. And this is called docility. We can ask ourselves: Am I meek the Word of God, or do I always do what I believe the Word of God to be? Or do I filter the Word of God so in the end it is something other than what God wants done?".

If I do this, "I end up like a piece of rough cloth on an old garment, and the tear gets worse." The Pope added that "conforming to the Word of God in order to receive it" is "an ascetic attitude in itself". "When I want to attach a machine to the power source, if it does not fit, I look for an adapter. We must always try to adapt, to adapt to this newness of the Word of God , to be open to novelty. Saul, who was one of God's elect, God's anointed,  had forgotten that God is surprise and novelty. He had forgotten, he had closed himself within his thoughts, within his rules, and so he applied human reasoning".

"Let us ask today for the grace of obedience to God's Word , this living and active Word, that discerns our hearts' thoughts and feelings".

 

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