New Wineskins

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew 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 the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” Matthew 9:9-17

Creator God, author of new beginnings

we find ourselves in new times and places

with extraordinary new challenges ahead

and feel we were not trained for this now.

You taught your disciples in sacred stories

to help them see the changes needed

often they marveled and then forgot

as we do today, forgetting your lessons.

You call us to recognize the times we are in

to pray and trust you boldly in all things

we want the comfort of the old familiar

yet you promise there is new wine ahead.

Help us to be made new again for you

let our hearts and souls be rebuilt

make us ready servants in these new days

let your love be our guide for the road ahead. Amen.