Daily Reflection for Friday, September 04, 2020
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Friday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090420.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Responsorial: Psalm 37: 3-4, 5-6, 27-28, 39-40
Gospel: Luke 5: 33-39
Our reflection on Friday’s readings:
“The old is good.” Luke 5: 39B
It seemed like an ordinary day until I got home. A flurry of texts began alerting me that school was closed due to COVID-19 and remote learning would ensue. My mind filled with a variety of thoughts. What does remote learning entail? Do I have the materials I need? How will I communicate with parents who don’t speak English? Isn’t direct therapy better than online therapy? Do parents have the technology to participate? Do I have the technology I need?
Over the course of the next few weeks I learned what remote therapy would entail, and I did not like it. “Old is good,” bellowed in the core of my being! As I tried to prepare for and set up remote learning sessions, I can remember times when I would just lay my head on the table. I was so overwhelmed with the task at hand and the changes that I needed to make in such a short time that it seemed impossible! As my head laid on the table, I would pray, thanking God that I had a job and asking for the Holy Spirit to make haste to help me.
The Holy Spirit helped me sew together new wineskins and fill them with the new wine. I did get parents contacted and helped them set up the technology needed. I used Google Translate to communicate to parents who did not speak English. My husband helped me find technology to assist me in delivering Occupational Therapy services online, and parents and grandparents made their schedules available to help their children. The result was positive overall. In most cases, my students made a lot of progress and parents were empowered to help their children succeed. This amount of progress was unexpected and awesome to experience!
I never would have chosen to do this. I was forced to comply with the situation created by the COVID-19 virus. In the Gospels, Jesus constantly challenged the people around him by offering new wine, new ways of looking at the way they lived and how they treated people. Although he met opposition, he did not force compliance, but kept teaching or healing and offering helpful hints to guide them and us. Today’s hint shows me that my tendency to think “the old is good” limits the growth that the Holy Spirit can bring about when I allow new wineskins to be created.
What new wine is being offered to you today? Are you willing to ask the Holy Spirit to create new wineskins for the new wine being offered?
Blessings for the journey!
Paula Paul