Matthew 9:16-17

I moved a lot as a kid. By the time I was in 4th grade, I had lived in 4 states. Learn a new route to school. Stick your neck out and try to find a friend to sit with in the cafeteria. Find a scout group or sports team to join. Go to a new doctor and dentist. And then wash, rinse, repeat. And no, we were not a military family so most of the time moving was very unexpected.  It was hard but also it was good – it exposed me to new things, and it helped tighten the bonds within our family.  

I think it also contributed to me being someone who is (generally) open and positive about change. I repeatedly had to let go of the old things, the old friends, the old places in order to embrace new ones. Kids seem better at that than adults are, anyway. 

There are a lot of good things about stability and tradition and maintaining the status quo. And part of the challenge in life is knowing when those things are important and when to let go of them. Jesus is talking about that in this passage with new wine and old wineskins.  If we who are trying to make this world better (more like God intended) simply go and pour new “wine” (opportunities, methods) into old “wineskins” (structures and systems) – guess what happens? The wineskins are so stretched from long term use that they can’t expand any longer and they burst. And the new wine spills all over the floor. Now both are ruined. It just doesn’t work. And it’s messy! So, that means we have to pursue these new things differently – maybe with new people in new ways and combinations and places. That requires discernment and risk and courage and creativity and humility. And potentially leaving something meaningful behind.  And it is what we are called to do and be as changemakers.  Packing boxes up can involve loss and grief and difficulty, yet also can be the beginning of something beyond our (often) limited imaginations. 

 PRAYER: God, help us realize that you are present in old and new.  Guide us as we strive to make change to know what to keep and what to leave behind.  May we trust that you are with us, always.

 PROMPT:  Where might God be asking you to seek and do something new?  What might you need to leave behind to do this new thing?