Daily Catholic Lectio. Sat, 5 July ’25. The Cloth and the Wine

Daily Catholic Lectio

Sat, 5 July ‘25

Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time – Saturday

Genesis 27:1–5, 15–29; Matthew 9:14–17

The Cloth and the Wine

“New wine is put into fresh wineskins.”

Today, the disciples of John come to Jesus with a sincere question: “Why do Your disciples not fast?”

At the heart of this question is a misunderstanding. They are trying to apply fixed religious structures to the living and dynamic community Jesus is forming. They want to institutionalize grace. But Jesus gently redirects their gaze.

He clarifies: while He, the Bridegroom, is with them, there is no place for mourning. His presence transforms time itself—turning fasting into feasting, grief into joy. Once He is taken away, then fasting will become meaningful. Jesus proposes a kind of “situational ethics”—where responses are shaped by the presence or absence of the Lord. Through two vivid images—an old garment and old wineskins—He teaches that the newness He brings cannot be stitched onto the old; it must grow in fresh space.

In the first reading, we meet a different kind of deception. Isaac is old and nearly blind. He intends to bless his elder son Esau. But Rebekah, favouring the younger son Jacob, devises a plan. She prepares food and disguises Jacob in Esau’s clothes and animal skins. Isaac, deceived by the touch and smell—and after sipping wine—blesses Jacob.

Jacob’s disguise and the wine deceive Isaac. In the Gospel, Jesus uses cloth and wine as images to correct the misunderstanding of John’s disciples.

In both cases, the context determines the meaning. Fasting, when the Bridegroom is present, is out of place. Jacob’s blessing, obtained through trickery, will eventually lead to guilt, exile, and transformation.

We often seek blessings—but why?

Blessings give us hope.

Blessings strengthen our spirit.

Blessings increase love and connection.

Yet, like a shadow opposite to light, there are curses—born of jealousy, anger, or injustice.

Only love can break the power of a curse—like the kiss that breaks the spell in fairy tales.

Pause.

There is a heart-wrenching question in today’s first reading:

“Father, have you only one blessing?” Esau cries.

“Bless me too, father!”

Esau’s pain is severe. He has been betrayed by his brother, manipulated by his mother, and bypassed by his father. His cry mirrors many “elder brothers” in the Bible—those who feel overlooked, displaced, or silenced.

But the story takes a surprising turn. Eventually, Esau—this heartbroken man—becomes the one who blesses Jacob with forgiveness. He transforms his pain into magnanimity.

In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” It’s not about what people have done in the past—but how we respond to them now.

So today’s Word invites us:

Are we clinging to old cloth and hardened wineskins?

Or are we open to the newness of grace,

where forgiveness flows,

joy returns,

and wounded elder brothers learn to bless?

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy