Jesus In A Tuxedo T-Shirt | September 4, 2015

 September 4, 2015

There is a slightly irreverent but sweet scene in the cheesy movie called Talladega Nights when the main character Ricky Bobby, played by Will Ferrell, is leading grace before his family dinner. Here is the abbreviated version.

Ricky Bobby: Dear Lord Baby Jesus, or as our brothers to the south call you, Jesús, we thank you so much for this bountiful harvest of Domino’s, KFC, and the always delicious Taco Bell……

His Wife Chimes in: Hey, you know, sweetie, Jesus did grow up. You don’t always have to call him “baby.” It’s a bit odd and off-putting to pray to a baby.

Ricky Bobby: Well, I like the Christmas Jesus best and I’m saying grace. When you say grace you can say it to grownup Jesus, or teenage Jesus, or bearded Jesus or whoever you want.

Ricky Bobby: Dear tiny Jesus, in your golden fleece diapers, with your tiny, little, fat, balled-up fists….

Ricky’s Friend Cal: I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt, cause it says, like, “I wanna be formal, but I’m here to party, too.” Cause I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party. https://youtu.be/U1W7deoP-Ww

Ricky Bobby: Okay. Dear 8 pound, 6 ounce newborn infant Jesus, don’t even know a word yet, just a little infant and so cuddly, but still omnipotent, we just thank you….

What does this have to do with today’s gospel you ask? Well, I especially love the line that Ricky Bobby’s friend Cal says about picturing Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt, and I actually have the words “tuxedo t-shirt” notated in my Bible for this particular gospel. The Pharisees are testing Jesus again and commenting that, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” Jesus comes back with, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” DING, DING, DING: tuxedo t-shirt Jesus!!! In one sentence he basically says, “I wanna be formal (as in I am the bridegroom) but I’m here to party (because I am the host of the party).” I know that I am taking some pretty strong liberties with this one, but my point is that a life with Christ is never dull. His love is extravagant and he pours it on lavishly to each one of us. We have the opportunity to receive it or to block it. Jesus uses a simple metaphor like a wedding feast to demonstrate that a life with him is an extravagant celebration and that we should feast abundantly on the time we spend with him. There will be days when we are far away from him and on those days, we will be sober and not ready to party.

The good news is that Jesus is always with us, whether we recognize him or not. The bridegroom is wearing his tuxedo t-shirt at all times as a sign that he wants us to celebrate at the table with him, in him, and through him. He ends his gospel with a pretty big dis on the Pharisees, “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’” Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard the phrase, “But we’ve always done it this way”? Well, tuxedo t-shirt Jesus is very clearly telling the Pharisees that he is the New Covenant. Life with Christ is not stationary and it is always moving forward. When we get complacent we become like the old wineskins that can only accommodate old wine. Jesus wants us to be new creations in his extravagant love that is waiting for us at a great banquet where we will all eat and drink with our bridegroom in his tuxedo t-shirt. Raise your hand if you like to party? 

Reading 1 COL 1:15-20

Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the Body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the Blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

Responsorial Psalm PS 100:1B-2, 3, 4, 5

R. (2b) Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
For he is good,
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

Alleluia JN 8:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 5:33-39

The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink.”
Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days.”
And he also told them a parable.
“No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
Otherwise, he will tear the new
and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins,
and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.
Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, ‘The old is good.’”