Saint Luke 5: 33-39: A new wine, new wineskins.
Today the discussions with the Pharisees begin: why don’t the followers of Jesus fast, as do all good Jews, the Pharisees and the disciples of the Baptist? They accuse the disciples of «eating and drinking», just as they will blame Jesus (Lk 7,33s). The issue is not so much whether to fast or not, or whether fasting falls into Jesus’ ascetic program. He himself had fasted forty days in the desert and the Christian community, from very early on, dedicated two days a week (Wednesday and Friday) to fasting. Jesus does not eliminate fasting, which is deeply rooted in the spirituality of his people.
The question is whether the Messiah has arrived or not. The fast before Jesus had a sense of messianic preparation, with a certain tone of sadness and mourning. To continue fasting is not to recognize that the Messiah has arrived. The Bridegroom has arrived. His friends are celebrating. Messianic joy overcomes fasting. Then, when the Bridegroom is «taken away» from them again, because he will not be visible to them from the day of the Ascension, they will go back to fasting, although not with a tone of hope or sadness. Above all, Jesus underlines the radical novelty of welcoming him as sent by God. He does so with the double comparison of the «piece of a new mantle in an old mantle» and the «new wine in old wineskins».
Accepting Jesus in our lives involves important changes. It is not just about «knowing» a few truths about him, but about changing our lifestyle. It means living with inner joy. Jesus compares himself to the Bridegroom and us to the «friends of the Bridegroom.» We are on a party. Or do we live sad, as if the Saviour had not yet come? It also means radical novelty. Faith in Christ does not ask us to make some small changes to the facade, to mend the old clothes a little, or to take advantage of the old wineskins in which we kept the previous wine. Faith in Christ asks for a new garment and new wineskins. Jesus breaks the mould. What Paul calls «putting on Christ Jesus» does not consist of patches and superficial changes.
The apostles, for example, had a religious formation typical of the Old Testament: it was difficult for them to mature into the new mentality of Jesus. We are surrounded by an ideology and a neo-pagan sensibility. We also have to mature: the new wine of Jesus forces us to change the skins. New wine implies new attitudes, ways of thinking proper to Christ, which do not coincide with those of this world. They are changes of mentality, profound. Not mere external touch-ups. In many respects the dress of this world and that of Christ are incompatible. That is why every day we come to hear, at Mass, the new doctrine of Jesus and to receive his new wine.
Peace and good
Fr. Antonio Majeesh George Kallely, OFM
