Wednesday, January 19, 2022
One day some people said to Jesus, “John the
Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the
Pharisees. Why are your disciples always
eating and drinking?” Jesus
responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom
will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Then Jesus gave them this
illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses
it to patch an old garment. For then the
new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old
garment. “And no one puts new
wine into old wineskins. For the new
wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New
wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who
drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.” Luke 5:33-39
Jesus brought plenty of change to
contemplate, and sometimes confuse. That
can be good or bad, depending upon which side you settle. If you’re confused, it’s ok; not everything
Jesus said is for immediate understanding and implementation. However, if you’re just going to contemplate
(with little intention of diving-in and doing), you’re always going to be a
little empty...that is, until you finally get it, that the
interruption of life you’re feeling, over what Jesus is bringing to your table,
is exactly what Jesus came to bring. In
short, He came to change everything. He
came to turn everything that needs turning on its ear.
In the case of new wine vs. old wine,
there is problem with neither. The
problem exists in how you treat it. New
wine is going to expand. The older the
wineskin, the more possibility it won’t hold…the container will go bust! Old wine has done its expanding, but still
needs attention…a cool, protected place where disturbances are minimal. In that scenario old wineskins will do.
The mistake Jesus was pointing-out in
this conversation with disciples, was the focus too many of us have on the
wineskins. We become attached to that
which we’ve come to hold dear. That’s
seen in everyday life, from cradle to senior living homes. A child loves his favorite toy or “blankey”
which give security and comfort. An
elder wants quiet and predictability – also the hallmarks of safety. A twenty-something wants none of the above,
only that everything should change.
Giving up a comfort zone is something
that rarely happens when you’re talking about church. Hymns, choruses, loud-clanging cymbals, and
guitars will be at war in the rehearsal rooms.
Praise teams will push choir-seekers to the side, and the quiet of
yesterday’s prelude will be replaced (changed) into whatever new thing hasn’t
yet been done. And the old (I can use
that because I am that) will lament about the discarding of old skins,
while the young push back with get a life…we’re here to show you the NEW you’ve
been missing.
The saddest thing (to me) about all
the pushing and shoving is that, at times, both sides are right. There is a time for the new to be held in
expandable minds, and a time for young minds to venerate what stands
forever. The target, lest we forget, is
the wine…not the skin in which it is held.
For You Today
Got a little judgmental in you about
new or old wineskins? Better check out
the wine before you berate the Wine Master.
[1] Title and Other Images: Fresco Tours via Wikimedia Commons Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
