New Wineskins for New Wine
Luke 5:33-39
Commentators will tell you that folks in ancient Israel fasted for two primary reasons: grief and anticipation. It’s no surprise, then, that John the Baptist’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fasted regularly. With John’s crew, there may have been a bit of grief connected to repentance from sin. With both John and the Pharisees, though, there would have been anticipation for God’s decisive movement in the world. From this vantage point, fasting was a proper practice for both of these groups.
Contrast that now to Jesus and his disciples, who didn’t place the same emphasis on fasting. Indeed, today’s scene is one of feasting - Jesus is still at Levi’s party hobnobbing with tax collectors and sinners. And, it seems that the question of fasting comes from these table companions. As the tax collectors and sinners considered the devout groups in their society, John the Baptist and the Pharisees would have naturally come to mind. So also would this new teacher Jesus. But, Jesus wasn’t like the others, especially in the realm of fasting. Why the difference?
Jesus’ answer to this question has everything to do with who he is and what his ministry entails. Remember that grief and anticipation were primary motivators for fasting. Jesus, though, is bringing the kingdom as God’s chosen servant. His is a ministry of joy and fulfillment, two emphases that make fasting inappropriate. Jesus is like a bridegroom at a wedding feast, and his disciples are like his attendants. When Jesus is on the scene, it is time for joyful feasting rather than sorrowful or anticipatory fasting!
Jesus further highlights the difference between his ministry and those of John and the Pharisees by referencing patches and wineskins. In the case of a patch, you don’t put a new, unshrunk patch of cloth on an old piece of clothing. If you do, you’ll end up damaging the old garment further when the new piece of cloth shrinks and pulls away from its stitching. In a similar manner, it’s not smart to put new wine in old wineskins. Older wineskins have already stretched under the pressure of fermenting wine. Putting new wine, which has yet to expand, in an already stretched skin will spell disaster when the old skin bursts under the new strain. John and the Pharisees represent a prior moment in God’s dealings with the world. They are like old wineskins and old garments. Jesus, though, is like new cloth and new wine. What God is doing in and through him demands a new approach. Unfortunately, some will prefer the old wine to the new. Rather than entering into a new space in which new wine will age wonderfully (an act of faith), they opt for the comfort of the old system.
Importantly, all of this talk of new and old doesn’t mean that Jesus negates or nullifies what came before him. Indeed, we are still dealing with cloth and wine. The key is to see that in Christ God is bringing to fulfillment the promises of old. As such, Jesus and the present kingdom take precedence over any and all other controlling themes. In Christ, the kingdom is here, and that makes all the difference.
Of course, things aren’t that cut and dry in Christian experience. Though the kingdom is here, it is also yet to come. That may be what Jesus referenced when he spoke of fasting once again when the bridegroom is taken away. Because we still await the full consummation of the kingdom, we may indeed fast in anticipation. Yet, it is telling that Jesus left his people with a feast - the Lord’s Supper - as our central act of devotion. Originally, Christian communities shared the Lord’s Supper at common meals. Feasting, then, both literally in shared food and sacramentally in the body and blood of the Lord, has always been the center. We feast in anticipation, tasting in our varied fellowship the life of the kingdom come. Along the way, we ask again and again what it means to live as kingdom people, as a kingdom community, and as subjects of King Jesus. When we start here, we make ourselves and our communities like new wineskins for the new wine of Jesus and his present kingdom. That wine will shape us as we stretch to accommodate its breadth. And, it will grow richer with time in the deepening bonds of our life together.
Photo by Sven Wilhelm on Unsplash
It is interesting to me that this week as I was reading through Matthew I came across this and reflected, not dissimilar to your reflection. What I have struggled with is the idea of church assimilation. I really don't like the idea of assimilation. Here is my reflection from my journal: The fast is looked upon as a desired discipline. But Jesus' response helps us understand what fasting is for. It is for mourning. When we fast, we enter into the observance of sorrow in the process of lament. We mourn the loss of connection with God that occurred so long ago. There is nothing we can do to fix that, but fasting makes space for a connection to the way back. When we don't make space for mourning -for sorrow - we cannot know the joy. Jesus isn't saying fasting is wrong, he is saying that for them moment, the connection to God has been restored and no mourning can take place. There is no sorrow in the presence of Jesus, only joy. Only feast. There will come a time, but now there is no need. But then comes the parable of the cloth and wineskins. I believe this talks of the old and the new that was present at that time, the ways of the old covenant with the fulfillment of the bringing in the new kingdom. Jesus' fulfilled teachings were new cloth and new wine and you can't just put those into the old covenant -it will break everyone. I think this speaks against assimilation. That we must leave space for the new to be new and the old to be old, offering kindness to each. If Jesus' disciples did all the same things as the Pharisees or John's disciples, there would be no no noticing the bringing in of something new. It was not about assimilating to the Jewish way, it was about being made new. To preserve the newness of Jesus there was a need for a new wineskin.