No one puts new wine into old wineskins

Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him.

Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

- Mark 2:13-22

Yesterday, we read about the paralytic, who was lowered down through the roof of Peter's house in Capernaum, so that his friends could bring Him to Christ. Jesus was preaching in Peter's house, and it was so full of the people of the town, there was no room. When Jesus saw the faith of the paralytic and his friends, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?" But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. Again, we hear the command: Follow Me. Levi is Matthew, who will become an Evangelist, whose Gospel will elaborate on and fill in the details of Mark's. He is most likely educated and also the one apostle with a socially powerful position. We assume, of course, that he has already heard about Jesus.

Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." In the recent readings, we have begun to get a sense that Jesus is, indeed, not a holy man in the pattern of the old, but rather something new. The exclamation at the end of yesterday's reading, "We never saw anything like this!" tells us so, that this is the attitude of the people. Here in today's passage, we get the sense again of the "newness" of what Jesus is doing, and the pattern unfolds of His ministry. Jesus is here to heal; by his touch, He has already healed those who were "untouchable" like the leper. My study bible has some important notes: "In dining with sinners, Jesus shows the Kingdom's openness to the outcast, and its destruction of the barrier between sinful men and God. Jesus recognizes these people as a definable group. It is possible to follow Jesus and remain in one's social class; however, friends no longer come first." It adds: "True righteousness comes through faith and is accompanied by wholesome works. Many Pharisees were masters of dead works; some tax collectors and many sinners would become masters of true righteousness." Jesus' faith is transforming and powerful; He calls the lost back to Himself. His mercy is ever-present for those who truly seek relationship to Him and to dwell in the righteousness of the Kingdom. That He is sitting at table is symbolic for us: we who are called ("Follow Me") wish always to partake of His divine supper, the "daily bread" of His spiritual food for us, even the Eucharistic gift of His presence.

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days." Here we have allusions again to the great feast of the Bridegroom, the Eucharistic feast of Christ's presence with us. But there will be days when His followers will fast, after He is taken away from them. Being with the Bridegroom is a joyful time for His friends, a true feast.

"No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins." Here, Jesus truly defines Himself as "the new." A wineskin was the skin of an animal which formed a kind of bag for wine. As the new wine ferments, it expands the bag (and therefore the skin). Jesus alludes to a kind of need that is definitely there, and it is a paradox also that runs throughout the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures. What does God do with a sinful world? Here is our answer, our Redeemer, the One who has the power to forgive sins, to claim the lost sheep and bring them back. So, while the friends are with the Bridegroom, they rejoice. It is not a blanket condemnation of the old, but rather a fulfillment -- a new model with some new answers. The righteousness of this Kingdom is not legalistic, but characterized by love. In this season of Lent, we remember that fasting remains a useful and helpful practice for Christians and was so in the early church. We remember that all fasting is to help us understand, ultimately, that we fast from sin, to teach us our own capacity and discipline to choose, to develop discernment, to focus on the spiritual reality of the Kingdom and essential need for relationship with Christ before all else. A (Greek Orthodox) priest friend of mine used a wonderful saying: "We have tools, not rules."

In our own lives, Christ's illustration of "new wineskins" tells us something important. He also used the illustration of unshrunk cloth, to patch a tear in the old garment. To repair and to heal may require of us, also, new wineskins, new ways of thinking and being in the world -- a new way to look at things, to see our lives, and to see ourselves. Often, to repair what needs healing and mending in our lives asks of us a whole new kind of turnaround, a true repentance. He will lead us to this new perspective. The traditional and ancient tools of Lent (prayer, fasting, almsgiving) are designed to help us to radically commit to that "new wineskin" -- the place we need to go to see ourselves as Christ asks us to, to put our lives in His hands. Whatever way it happens to you, and however you observe the period of Lent, think today about the new wineskins. Is He calling on you to expand and to grow? To repent, to "change your mind" about something? Do you need a new garment into which you fit a new and different life? How does He call you to "Follow Me?" Don't be afraid to lose the old, in exchange for the new that can't fit back into the old pattern, which you may need to leave behind. This season asks us to get clear enough to renew that commitment to His strength to take us forward into the new, however we are called by Him to "Follow Me."