For A Day

Learning to embrace the best of the old and new

08/03/2017

Matthew 13:47-53 Jesus said to the disciples: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." "Do you understand all these things?" They answered, "Yes." And he replied, "Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old." When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

           One of the things I love about my parents is their flexibility and their adaptability as immigrants. They worked very hard to teach their three children both to hang on to old Indian traditions but also to embrace new American customs. For instance, they taught us to use a knife and fork to eat instead of our hands, like we do in India. But do you know food actually tastes better if you use your hands to eat? It’s like the difference between drinking a soft drink from a can (where you can taste some of the aluminum) versus from a bottle (where the taste is clear). So, when no one is watching, I eat with my hands.

           Another example is marriage. In India, marriages are usually “arranged” by the parents, but that would be scandalous to American sensibilities. So, my parents admirably adapted to the new culture. They love that my brother married a beautiful Indian woman, and my sister married a handsome American man. But of course, I married the best Bride of all, the Church, in becoming a priest. My parents were successful immigrants. Why? Well, because they taught their children the value of both the old and the new. Sometimes you must hang tenaciously to the old, and sometimes you must warmly welcome the new.

           In the gospel today, Jesus teaches his disciples to have this same immigrant insight, how to hang on to the old and the new. Jesus says: “Every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household (head of a family) who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” In other words, Jesus urges his apostles to have my parents “immigrant insight,” which is really gospel discernment, in order to discern carefully what is old and needs to be saved and what is new and needs to be learned.

             If you study the 2,000 year history of the Church, you’ll discover there have been 21 “ecumenical councils” where all the bishops of the world sat down with the pope and decided matters of faith and morals. It’s fascinating to see the drama unfold in each council: the characters and the conflicts and the controversies. One council even happened in our own lifetime, the Second Vatican Council, in the early 1960’s. But do you know what the pope and bishops were really trying to do in every council? They did what my parents did as heads of a household: decide how to embrace both the old and the new. What do you keep of church teachings and what do you change? That’s not at all an easy decision or discernment.

             Folks, which way do you tend to lean: are you “old-fashioned” or do you prefer the “new-fangled”? Are you a “progressive” or tend to be a “traditional”? Do you like the “good old days” or do you think things have “never been better”? Would you rather write a hand-written letter or do you like to send text messages? Do you like the latest styles and fashions, or do you stick to stubbornly to the styles of “yester-year”? I heard someone ask recently do you know what the word “fad” means? It means “for a day.” Well, we all struggle with this dilemma because the march of history forces us to choose one or the other. May I suggest to you the immigrant insight of my parents, and Jesus’ gospel discernment? Don’t be exclusively one or the other, bur wisely and lovingly sometimes cling to the old, and sometimes welcome the new. Then, you, too, will be a “scribe instructed in the Kingdom of heaven.”

             You know, my dad is actually more old fashioned and hates to change, while my mother loves to try new things like texting an facebook. But that’s exactly what makes them such a good team, because sometimes the “old is gold” and at other times the “latest is the greatest.” And when you learn to love the best of the old and the best of the new, you will have actually embraced what is eternal.

 Praised be Jesus Christ!