New Wineskins

Jesus went out again beside the lake; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax-collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples—for there were many who followed him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax-collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, ‘Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding-guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. ‘No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.’ Mark 2:13-22

Jesus used the image of new wineskins to illustrate, along with other word pictures to help us envision how we deal with different situations and different people. The folks were judging Jesus eating with tax collectors and comparing him with John's way of living which was austere and isolated. We are in danger when we compare, and judge people and situations based our own cultural experiences and biases. When life changes for us, with age and injury, we cannot behave as we once did. We might need to ask for help and ask questions, so we understand. We need to assess our capacity and refit our lives. We are invited today to set aside our judgments and seek the support and insight of community, before we tear new holes in the fabric of our lives.

Gracious Creator, you made our lives everchanging

and despite our desire to keep everything as it was

you know our growth and wisdom come from change

our hearts are opened anew when we face into the new.

We are nostalgic and mostly blind in our memories

we want things the old way despite the danger

of living in the past and judging with no clear eyes

shutting out all the living joy we won't embrace.

Open our eyes to the new changes around us, Lord

and help us to see possibility and new joys coming

help us to set all fears aside so we can truly embrace

your love and healing in brand new wineskins. Amen.