Luke 5:33-39: a reflection

33They said to him, “Why do John’s disciples often fast and pray, likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink?” 34He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast in those days.” 36He also told a parable to them. “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old garment, or else he will tear the new, and also the piece from the new will not match the old. 37No one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled and the skins will be destroyed. 38But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved. 39No man having drunk old wine immediately desires new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”

When Jesus is questioned about fasting, he answers with a parable about new and old: No one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine will burst the skins. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. Jesus was bringing something genuinely new, and it could not simply be poured into the old forms; the newness he brought needed new vessels to hold it. The old wineskins, stiff and set, would burst under the new wine; the new required something fresh to contain it.

Notice the point: the newness Christ brings cannot be contained in the old forms; it requires new wineskins. Jesus was not merely patching up the old; he was bringing something genuinely new, which could not be poured into the old, rigid forms without bursting them. The new wine of what Christ brought needed new wineskins, fresh vessels able to hold it. And he notes the resistance: those used to the old prefer it, saying the old is better, reluctant to receive the new. But the newness of Christ calls for a freshness able to receive it, not the rigidity of the old.

That is worth taking to heart, for we can try to fit the newness Christ brings into our old, rigid forms, or cling to the old rather than receiving the new. Christ brings a genuine newness, a new life, a new way; and we can try to pour it into our old rigid patterns, or prefer the comfortable old to the challenging new. But the new wine of what Christ brings needs new wineskins, a heart made fresh and open to receive it. Do not try to cram the newness Christ brings into your old, rigid forms, or cling to the old because it is comfortable; be made new, a fresh vessel able to receive the new life Christ brings. Let Christ make you a new wineskin, fresh and open, able to hold the new wine of what he brings, rather than clinging to the old that cannot contain it, as Jesus said the new wine must be put into fresh wineskins; for the newness of Christ calls for a renewed heart to receive it.

Lord Jesus, when you are questioned about fasting, you answer with a parable about new and old: no one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine will burst the skins; but new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. You were bringing something genuinely new, and it could not simply be poured into the old forms; the newness you brought needed new vessels to hold it. Show me the point: the newness you bring cannot be contained in the old forms; it requires new wineskins. You were not merely patching up the old; you were bringing something genuinely new, which could not be poured into the old, rigid forms without bursting them. And you note the resistance: those used to the old prefer it, reluctant to receive the new. But your newness calls for a freshness able to receive it. Take that to my heart, for I can try to fit the newness you bring into my old, rigid forms, or cling to the old rather than receiving the new. You bring a genuine newness, a new life, a new way; and I can try to pour it into my old rigid patterns, or prefer the comfortable old to the challenging new. But the new wine of what you bring needs a heart made fresh and open. Keep me from trying to cram the newness you bring into my old, rigid forms, or clinging to the old because it is comfortable; make me new, Lord, a fresh vessel able to receive the new life you bring. Help me let you make me a new wineskin, able to hold the new wine of what you bring.