A New Wineskin We All Must Become
Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
My dear encountered couples:
When we have guests in our homes, the last thing we think of is fasting. Food is usually aplenty, glasses are seldom empty; it is time to enjoy. And that is what Jesus is saying about those in his company. It was time for them to rejoice. When the party was over, then would come the fasting, the dieting, the hard work. The dishes would need washing, the house would need cleaning, and everything must be made to look like new - for the next celebration.
Jesus came once in visible form, he said he will come again for us to see him. It is now the time for us to get everything cleaned and in order for his next arrival. Which means clean up our characters, clean up our souls, clean up our acts.
What does Jesus mean about “Nobody sews a piece of shrunken cloth on an old cloak or pours new wine into old wineskins?” There are as many explanations as there are theologians, but one way of looking at it can be: Our souls must become as good as we can get them, Jesus says like new, if we expect him to ever hold any wedding parties with us on the guest list.
Do you know places you would never go for an enjoyable time? Do you know people you would hesitate to visit because it is more like pain for you than pleasure? If we want Jesus to come in the flesh to us and take us with him to heaven, I suggest we make sure our welcome mat is not only rolled out for him, but that there is something worth finding at the end of that mat. This is not the time to just sit and wait for Jesus. It is the time to get something done with ourselves. When Jesus comes will he be happy with what he finds in us or turn away in disappointment, never to come back to us again? A new cloak we all need – a new wineskin we all must become. Jesus is coming, and we surely don’t want our souls to be found wanting.
