The New Wine
In Saturdays’s Gospel, I was focused on the passage from Matthew about putting new wine into old wineskins. As several readers on here know, this Gospel was the inspiration for a National Catechetical Award called The New Wineskins Award, which it just so happens my friend won. We have harassed her ever since. So, usually this passage makes me think of Cheryl and makes me chuckle a little. But today, I kept hearing “new wine…new wine” which made me reflect on the question, “What is my new wine?” I mean my last post was my old whine (HA!!) and that is where this took me.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Matthew 9:16-17
I spend every July in “reset” mode so that I can bring new energy to my ministry come August. I take this time to have fun with my family, especially my siblings. It is the month that old friends visit, campfires linger, cousins come in and general cup-filling takes place. I tend my garden, I jam, I bake, I cook, and I relish in the freshness and the aliveness of the everyday. I am hyper-focused on berries and all of the mystical elements they bring. I listen to the birds, look for rocks, and swing on swings. It is a busy, energetic, and fruitful time.
In this passage, I sense Jesus is calling us to re-think, re-imagine, and move forward with confidence knowing that whatever comes, our wineskins, in their freshness, will mold to it. Gone are the restrictions of the old vessels. Gone is the taste of the old wine, though it may have been delicious. We can anticipate the sweetness that the new wine will bring; the boldness, the texture, and the body. It is impossible to not enjoy the flavor or the experience because of the joy that we shared making it; this new wine.
The new wine allows us to let go of all of the past experiences, holding onto only what serves our growth and expansion. Nothing will feel new if we continue to view it with old eyes, an old heart or an old injury. Only the freshest of outlooks can bless the new wine.
So, if you are feeling weighed down by all that is out of our control in the world, consider how Jesus is calling you to stomp the grapes for your new wine. Consider if you are forcing an old wineskin accommodate what it simply cannot in its dryness. And then imagine the soft, subtle feel of the new skin, notice the rich color of the new wine and move forward with confidence and anticipation of the goodness to come.
