New Wine for Old Wineskins

Scripture – Mark 2:18-22: ¹⁸Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” ¹⁹Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. ²⁰But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. ²¹“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. ²²And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”

Reflection: There are many new churches today – so-called “emerging” churches. Often those of us in the “established” churches look at these new ones with suspicion. I find it interesting in this passage that two groups were fasting. My guess is the Pharisees would question Jesus out of suspicion that He was doing something wrong. John’s disciples, however, would question out of a desire to understand why Jesus acted differently.

The wine of God’s Kingdom is constantly being produced. I need to keep myself open to the new, emerging wineskins that are being produced along with it. God is doing a wonderful work through them.

My call continues to be to serve through Bethel – an old wineskin that is being constantly renewed. Somehow, Christ has maintained a flexibility in us so the new wine does not burst the skin.

Lord, please continue renewing me (and us) as we serve you in these ever-changing times. Keep us clear about who and why we are.

An Invitation: For anyone interested in sharing their personal reflections from this week’s readings, you are invited to come by the Tim Hortons donut shop at Dix-Toledo and Northline in Southgate this Sunday morning at 9:45am. We’ll have a cup of coffee and see what the Lord has been teaching us this week.