New wine … old wineskins.
An eternal problem for those seeking to do God’s will.
From our Gospel today: “Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
The child struggles. He has a square block; A round hole. And they won’t fit together. He tries and tries, but he block just won’t go into the round circle.
It’s a childish exercise … but one we learn over and over again as followers of Jesus.
Our Lord’s teachings were radical back in the day. The apostles had to learn that lesson. The “educated” of society never did.
Stuck in the framework of a society that demanded this and that – dozens upon dozens of rules handed down by Moses – Jesus came along and taught a new message, a simple message, a new way to connect with God. In our readings today, it’s pretty clear that many did not grasp this new way.
But let’s not judge. How many of us today are still caught up in the “old way” structure of our own lives … a structure that is not flexible, not able to welcome Jesus into our lives on a daily basis.
I’m thinking of the person who complains: “I would pray every day if I had time.”
I would fast.
I would go to Daily Mass.
I would pray the Liturgy of the Hours.
If only …
Life is too short to live by “if only.”
Christ and his Catholic Church are calling us now – TODAY – to change our lives and embrace what some say are radical things – daily prayer, respect for life, embracing the lowly, befriending the outcast. But those changes cannot fit into our lives as they currently are.
We must not be afraid to take on a new skin – a new wine skin, fit to accept the new wine offered by our Lord and Savior.
If we are too busy to pray each day … we are TOO BUSY.
If we can’t fit even 20 minutes of meditation into our day, then we are TOO BUSY.
If we are afraid to speak up for justice and the right to life, then we are TOO AFRAID.
Here in the United States, today is also a day to honor, remember and reflect on the life of Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist preacher who became an iconic leader of a movement toward racial reconciliation and respect.
During his time, King’s message was hard, if not impossible, to accept by those who were still enslaved by the old ways of thinking, the old wine skins. Although we still struggle with this today in America, we are not alone. Across the globe, nations struggle to find ways to live peacefully with neighbors who are different in color or worship God in a different way.
It’s nothing new.
But it’s something that will always be a struggle.
Just like our journey toward Christ and eternal salvation.
It’s a struggle, especially when we insist on holding tight to our old ways of living and thinking and being.
Shed your old skin. Change your life.
It’s not easy … but it’s possible.
Anything is … with God.
When should you begin?
Um … how about right now?
