Word to the Wise
Monday, January 15, 2007 - Second Monday in Ordinary Time
[Hebrews 5:1-10 and Mark 2:18-22]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.
MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2007 Second Monday in Ordinary Time [Hebrews 5:1-10 and Mark 2:18-22] 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. New wine shows up again today! This time the new wine that Jesus gives is considered from the viewpoint of the container! This image has been used a lot in the last 40 years since the Second Vatican Council! Needless to say, there has been some debate about both the container and the wine, but this has been mostly about church structures and it is by no means over! There is disagreement over whether or not the old wineskins are truly empty, let alone suitable for new wine. It's clear from the gospel passage that Jesus considered his message to be something new - something very different from the faith represented by the Pharisees. But the "newness" was not really in the content but in the way it was presented. Jesus was well within the rabbinical tradition in most of his teaching about daily living. But his way of living the teaching was new. He did not emphasize certain customs as sacred but was willing to be flexible. Of course, in his very person, he represented something radically new: God made flesh! I find new wine and old wine enjoyable. But I also recognize the wisdom in the teaching about the wineskins. As I grow older, I recognize the wear and tear on my own! AMEN
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