’No one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.’
Matthew 9:14-17
The world keeps on changing and we must adapt to that change. This is one of the things Jesus is telling us in this passage.
Pope St. John XXX111 (23rd), following this dictum, initiated Vatican 11 and the Church made changes to many of its practices. The Council did not say that what was done in the past was wrong, but made modifications and put new wine into fresh skins.
Jesus himself prepared his followers for changes when he said: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. Just like the Pharisees in Jesus time, many of the faithful find this difficult to understand and follow.
Lord, help me to understand that we live no longer with the Law that says ‘an eye for an eye,’ but your commandment that says, Love one another as I have loved you.