Luke
5:36-39
As
we begin this series looking at parables of Jesus, we do well to remember that
parables tend to leave “the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise
application to tease it into active thought.” That’s what C.H. Dodd says about
parables, and we do come to Jesus’ parables first with an “Oh, yeah…” and then
quite quickly with a “Wait…what?”
As
with most parables, today’s comes as a response to a question or challenge. In
this case, the Pharisees are getting on to Jesus for not being “rabbi-y” enough
and the disciples not being “disciple-y” enough. Jesus and his band are
breaking all the rules. And the Pharisees are calling Jesus on this. So, Jesus
tells them a parable.
This
parable about “patches & wineskins” is about old and new, and we find that
the Pharisees are not real big on embracing “new.” In fact, most of us kind of
wince at the idea of change—good or bad change. We—like the Pharisees—become
very comfortable in how we do things, in what we have. But, Jesus is bringing
about something new, something fresh.
The
Pharisees should not be surprised. Some 600 years before this time, Jeremiah
the Prophet had already tipped God’s hand—God was going to do something new.
These Pharisees should have been on the lookout for it: “The days are coming,”
declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of
Israel and with the people of Judah” (Jer. 31:31). A new covenant, a new promise,
a new deal was coming…and it comes through Jesus. Most of us are reminded of
this each time we take Communion, when we hear those words of Jesus: “…after
the supper [Jesus] took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my
blood, which is poured out for you’” (Luke 22:20). “New covenant…”
With
all of this talk of new and change, we do need to remember that the Good News
of God in Christ Jesus is unchanging, the call of Jesus’ to love God and neighbor
is unchanging. The truth does not change, but how we share, express, live out
the truth does change. One of the most amazing and most beautiful aspects of
the Christian faith is its ability to adapt to any culture, any language, any
people, any time, any “style” and not lose the message of God’s love for us or
Jesus’ call to us be a people of faith, hope, and agape love.
So,
the parable of “patches & wineskins” is really the parable of “new garments
& new wine.” Jesus doesn’t want to be a patch on a small, ripped piece of
our lives; Jesus wants us to put on a whole new garment—Jesus himself. Jesus doesn’t
want to try to pour his way of thinking and doing into a dried out, rigid old
wineskin; Jesus wants to pour his new wine—his way of thinking and doing—into
our renewed, flexible lives. Jesus knows we’re comfortable with the old; Jesus
wants us to try out and embrace the new. Jesus offers to bring newness to our
lives…renewal, refreshing. This is good news for us!
Sunday, October 12, 2025
“Parables: Patches & Wineskins”
Watch/Listen: HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment