Fresh Skins

When God shifts, everyone needs to take notice.

Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins." - Mark 2:18-22

We hear a lot about shifts and pivots these days.

The pandemic threw everyone into a tizzy, making normal life difficult, so some of us found a way to adjust, change our normal behavior to help us cope, help us keep our businesses open and make a living.

This is what I think Jesus' coming signals for us.  We have to shift, from the old way of living to something new.

That is what the Pharisees didn't understand.  The game had changed and they were still playing by the old rules.

But Jesus wasn't changing the game.  He was simply trying to point out that the situation was different.

They were fasting to show God that they were repentant, and worthy of God's grace, but Jesus, representing God, was the salvation they sought.

They just couldn't see that what they desired was already there for them.

Their adherence to the old view kept them from seeing the new reality.

So, how will we know if God does this for us again?  Will we recognize Jesus when he comes to show us God is with us?  Or will we continue to live our lives oblivious to God's presence?

Jesus leaves us with two images, the patched cloth and the old wineskin.

I guess he wants us to think about our reaction to changes around us, making us think before we jump to conclusions about what is happening.

Now that isn't easy to do.  It meals we need to be open to new ideas, and yet stay focused on what it means to live in the Spirit with God in our hearts.

More to come...