Word to the Wise
Monday, January 19, 2009 - Monday in the Second Week in Ordinary Time
[Hebrews 5:1-10 and Mark 2:18-22]Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will bust the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.
To the Jews of his time, Jesus presented a puzzling picture of the familiar (old) and something entirely new. His statements about fasting and other Jewish observances were scandalizing to some. On the other hand he seemed to be emphasizing parts of the old that were quite familiar - the two greatest commandments of the law, for instance! The image of the wine and wineskins confronts us with the problem. For Jesus, the old wineskins of the Torah were insufficient to contain the new wine of his teaching. He does not advocate throwing away the old wine and old wineskins, but he does recommend getting new wineskins for the new wine. I suspect that the long term implications about what happens to the old wineskins once they became empty are left to the imagination or else simply not a part of the story at the time. Yet, if I personally identify with the image, I wind up with some concerns. This is especially true in what is technically known as "ecclesiology" - the study of the Church. I entered religious life in 1964, during the Second Vatican Council. Like many Catholics, I knew this was going on but had no idea of the firestorm that would engulf the church in which I had grown up and which had nurtured my faith and my interest in religious life! For the next 10 years, church life was a succession of bewildering changes. Things my seminary authorities assured me were absolutely necessary became unnecessary literally overnight! I found myself hanging on to wineskins both old and "new" (although we were told that really the "new wineskins" were actually the more original ones, just modernized!) In fact, recent actions from on high give the impression that somebody wants to come up with the original designs again so we're faced with a choice between "new old wineskins or old new wineskins." Oh my! It will take the Holy Spirit to sort this all out, which was probably Jesus' intent anyhow. At least we know the "bridegroom" is with us. Grab whatever wineskin is nearest and celebrate that! AMEN
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