"Things both new and old"
5th Sunday C,
Cobh
9 February 2025
My friends,
“Everyone who becomes a disciple of the Kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old.”
So, Jesus concludes in St. Matthews Gospel (Matt 13:52) having shared the wisdom of the wonderful parables he used to effectively to teach his disciples – the parable of the Sower, of the dragnet, of the darnel of the mustard seed, of the treasure and of the pearl. What these parables are for us are, bearers of wisdom, truth and insight for living well. So often what’s involved is not new but a recovery of insight and wisdom from our past that in a world obsessed with new things we’ve forgotten or lost.
This might be said of Pope Francis with his recent letter on the Sacred Heart (Dilexit Nos). It has come as a surprise to many that he chose to devote an entire letter to what many would regard as a traditional devotion – which had gone out of fashion. On the contrary, he goes to great lengths to show how the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus can speak so warmly to the hearts of a new generation.
When we speak of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we reverence the love of Jesus for humanity as expressed in this self-surrender on the cross in love, for our sin and failure. So, in reparation, the image of the heart of Jesus pierced with a lance from which, the gospels relate, blood and water poured out; that image serves as a symbol of his whole person, his sacrificial giving of himself for all.
His wounded heart is testament/witness to Gods love in Jesus for wounded humanity. Despite our blessings and great prosperity there is a great hurt and pain in many peoples lives, in the lives of many families. The wisdom of old was to have an image of the Sacred Heart at the centre of our home as a reminder of that healing love of Christ that is always poured out generously to those who place their trust in him.
Pope Francis in drawing from this traditional devotion, with deep roots across the centuries, is inviting a new generation to open their hearts to allow their lives to be touched and enriched by the love of Christ. So many are starved of spiritual nourishment, they thirst for living water. The heart of Christ Jesus truly changes and transforms those who place their trust in him.
Many who are highly educated can find it difficult to make that act of faith and trust. It is pride at work – we might lose control. Todays Gospel from Luke recalls the Lord Jesus inviting the Apostles to cast out their nets again – though they fished all night without success. But because he said so they did. And we know of their overwhelming catch. It was a moment of transformation that changed their lives.
For ourselves gathered today carries the invitation to cast out the nets again. There are many reasons to be despondent and downhearted if we surrender to harbingers of fear and threat. Love drives out fear and darkness. Placing ones trust anew in the love of God in the Sacred is old insight that is ever new.
So cast out the net again!
