New garments and wineskins

Matthew 9 : 14 - 17

Neither is new wine put into old wineskins..the skins burst, and the wine is spilled...the skins are destroyed...

.....new wine is put into fresh wineskins.

Jesus announces that his coming has inaugurated something new: God's kingdom has come! To the people he was speaking to especially the religious leaders and even the disciples of John the Baptist, this was truly radical. They still held on to fasts and other religious observances as part of their piety. But the 'new cloth' and the 'new wine' that Jesus offers will not fit into old cloaks and old wine skins. In fact the old garments and old containers would be totally inadequate for what Jesus' presence brings.

As I read this, my response is a sense of expectancy. A hopeful one. There is so much going on in the world around us and in my own personal life that can pull me down towards discouragement and sometimes even despair. An easy thing for the evil one to do because I tend to have a cautious approach to life and to think of the 'what ifs' before I can embrace any new thing.

At this time in history, Jesus' presence is often a veiled one. Jesus the bridegroom is very much with us and yet there are times in our fallen world when we do not sense his immediate presence. However there will come a day when Christ will return in glory and then, there will be no need to 'see through a glass darkly'. We shall see him face to face. Then there shall no longer be any need to fast. In the meantime, fasting (not only from food but also from anything good that threatens to become an attachment) remains an important spiritual discipline. Not to earn God's approval but to sharpen our desires as we await the coming of the bridegroom. If we live in celebratory mood all the time, our innate hunger for God is often satiated with the things of this world, which may be good in themselves but can never truly satisfy. In order to prepare new garments and new wine skins, in order to prepare ourselves to receive the 'new wine' that Jesus gives, there are times when we have to 'fast', to sharpen the true hunger that only he can fill.