Scripture: Luke 5:37-39
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, “The old is good.”
Thought for the Day: Too often this passage is used to knock our Jewish brothers and sisters, depicting them as old, useless and potentially destructive to something new. Yet the last line, though potentially sarcastic, could also be stating a very simple truth. Old wine in old wineskins can, in fact, be some of the best wine anyone has ever tasted…at least to connoisseurs of a certain fermented fruit beverage. For a Gospel writer (Luke) who was so passionate about anyone who might be marginalized, it seems a bit counterproductive to marginalize another group by discarding them as “the old stuff”. And then there are troublemakers like me who do not really enjoy wine. I’d much rather have a glass of grape juice that could be put in either old or new wineskins because it doesn’t release the gas that would cause the skin to stretch and tear. So maybe there are certain times when something life-giving can exist in both the old and new. And maybe it just takes a bit more creativity.
Prayer: God, you do new things all the time, but it appears that you also have a love of certain old traditions. There are probably times and places for both, and so help me to perceive how best to respond to each unique situation. Amen.
Are You Ready For Sunday?
Good Worship at:
8:15am, 9:30am and 11:00am
Wonderful Concert:
7:00pm
