Friday after Ash Wednesday

Isaiah 58:1-9a; Psalm 51:1-10; Matthew 9:10-17

Why does new wine damage old wineskins?  New wine is still fermenting for a while.  In the process it expands.  Old wineskins have lost their elasticity and don't stretch anymore, so the expansion of the fermenting wine causes the skin to burst.  As Jesus says, both are ruined in the process.  It seems he prefers to preserve both the old skin and the new wine.  Both have their place; and indeed, over time the new skin will become old, and newer skin will be needed for new wine.  Eventually the old skins will become unusable, but by then the newer ones will be perfect for the older wine.

I always identify with the new wine.  I hear Jesus bringing news, not olds.  I love starting things and thinking up new ways to do things.  But as time goes on, I have to admit that my skin is losing some elasticity.  I get set in my ways.  And as our community takes shape, I expect others to fit within the skin we've been creating.  That's a necessity, and a danger.

All communities and organizations take certain shapes.  When new people join, they are expected to fit their wine into the old skin, and generally they are judged by how well they do that.  But St. Benedict saw the possibility that if new wine is straining the old skin, the problem may be with the skin rather than the wine.  He urged the abbot to listen to the novices and newcomers, who bring fresh eyes.  His rule aimed to create a "skin" that was fresh enough to hold the new wine of the Gospel, while letting it mellow in a stable environment.  That is a hard balance to maintain!

Families share this dynamic.  Children are raised to fit in the wineskin: "As long as I pay the bills, I make the rules!" But children, and young people, and newcomers, bring fresh vision.  The effort involved in helping them understand the skin of the family rules also keeps the parents supple, as they must reflect on their ways of doing things.  The balance strengthens both the new and the old.

In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says: “A person of advanced ago must go immediately and ask an infant born just seven days about life’s source.  Such asking leads to life when what is first becomes last.  United they become a single whole.”  (Logion 4)

Where is your skin a little brittle these days?  Where are you being challenged by new wine?  Pray for the grace to keep loose enough to learn and grow.