Tuxedo Shirt Jesus

September 7, 2018

There is a slightly irreverent but sweet scene in the cheesy movie called Talladega Nightswhen 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. 

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. 

One thing I’ve learned to embrace from working with memory care elderly (dementia and Alzheimer’s) is that everything, every moment, and every experience is constantly new. They have a sense of awe and wonder that those of us with intact memories do not have. They truly live in God’s time, which is right here and now always. As I serve them, I have no choice but to be in the present with them and in that I get to experience the glory of Christ as the New Covenant. The wine we share is fresh and life giving. They are not tainted by the past, the routine, the “we’ve always done it this way”, and because they stand on holy ground, I also get to stand on the sacred that God gives us in this present moment. My memory care friends teach me to love extravagantly right now and that is what tuxedo Jesus with new wineskins calls us to do today and it is well with my soul. 

Reading 1 1 COR 4:1-5

Brothers and sisters:
Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ
and stewards of the mysteries of God. 
Now it is of course required of stewards
that they be found trustworthy.
It does not concern me in the least
that I be judged by you or any human tribunal;
I do not even pass judgment on myself;
I am not conscious of anything against me,
but I do not thereby stand acquitted;
the one who judges me is the Lord.
Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time,
until the Lord comes,
for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness
and will manifest the motives of our hearts,
and then everyone will receive praise from God.

Responsorial Psalm PS 37:3-4, 5-6, 27-28, 39-40

R. (39a) The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Trust in the LORD and do good,
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart's requests.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Turn from evil and do good,
that you may abide forever;
For the LORD loves what is right,
and forsakes not his faithful ones.
Criminals are destroyed 
and the posterity of the wicked is cut off.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
R. The salvation of the just comes from 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.'"