Monday of Week 2 in Ordinary Time
1 Sam 15:16-23
Mk 2:18-22
“New wine, fresh skins!”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus’s words “New wine, fresh skins!” arrive loud and hopeful. They hint at renewal breaking into ordinary time. As the new year began, it was tempting to believe that this was exactly how the year would start for me: bright, ordered, spirited, hopeful.
But instead, I was met with chaos and judgment. Some voices suggested that not taking the Bar exam meant failure. Others implied that I was underestimating my potential, or that I was letting others take advantage of me, as if becoming a lawyer and charging clients thousands of dollars per document was the only legitimate proof of success.
Beneath these remarks was a truth I lived: the path to getting clients is not straightforward, especially as a person with disabilities. I had tried before, but failed.
Yet, something good came from these comments, and it was ‘curiosity’. Curiosity to examine where God might be leading me to. That curiosity became my unexpected New Year’s resolution — to be curious, confident, and courageous. Curious about God’s movements, confident in His timing, and courageous enough to let Him make all things new, even when it feels messy, slow, or unintuitive.
In today’s first reading, Saul clung to what he already knew, to old habits of self-justifying obedience. He offered sacrifices, but he did not surrender. He gave God ‘offerings’, but not his heart. In the same way, the ‘old wineskins’ in the Gospel today are the structures, mindsets, and identities we cling to because they are familiar, respectable, socially approved, yet unable to hold the transforming work of God.
My own ‘old wineskins’ were tied to a very particular image of success — passing the Bar, becoming a lawyer, making my career look impressive on paper. And so, the tension surfaced: Should I force myself into that mould because I should be ‘grateful’ for my degree and squeeze all possible income out of it? Or should I abandon the degree altogether?
Where is God in all this chaos?
This year, I hope to be open-minded to His grace and work in me, letting a ‘new wineskin’ form slowly, over time. I hope to live my life with authenticity and be faithful to the gifts that I’ve been blessed by God; and not just prove myself and bind to societal metrics and expectations.
And that makes me wonder: How about you? What ‘new wine’ might God be fermenting within you, and what ‘old wineskins’ might be too brittle to hold it?
Maybe for someone, the old wineskin is perfectionism.
For someone else, control.
For another, the fear of disappointing others.
For yet another, the belief that their worth depends on productivity.
Today, though, the good news is this — Jesus does not shame us for our old wineskins. He gives us the everlasting grace for us to be transformed into new identities, and the patience for us to grow into the new wineskins that God has created for us.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Brenda Khoo)
Prayer: Lord, give me new wine for this season, and new skins to hold it. Make me curious to notice Your movements, confident in Your timing, and courageous to follow where You lead. Teach me to trust even when I cannot yet see the path. Amen.
Thanksgiving: Thank You, Lord, for the desires You place in my heart, for the people and opportunities that help me grow, and for the quiet ways You accompany me. Even in uncertainty, thank You for always being present with me and in me. Amen.
OXYGEN 
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