Parable of the patch and wine skins in scripture

The wedding is on, even in the face of sadness and loss, because hope conquers fear, and love is stronger than death. It is an attitude that encourages us to laugh out loud and speak our truth to a sober, cautious world of artificial limits and social censorship. New wine is a way of life, an invitation to effervescence and expansion. The parables of Jesus are not just lessons they are teachers that accompany us and help us interpret our experiences in new ways. The time would come when suffering was required, but even this would reveal something new and be celebrated with the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup. The bridegroom was present, so his disciples were right to enjoy the nuptial banquet, allowed to suspend the rules of religion to feast and enjoy the wine of gladness. Then it is back to fasting and sacrifice.вЂќДЇor Jesus, the coming of GodвЂ™s Kingdom was a new moment, signaling a new covenant that would never be withdrawn, only deepened by the demands of real love. Life is hard and the honeymoon is soon over. The scribes and Pharisees were like dour older couples who know the score and impose their own limits on the hopes of the young.

Weddings are about beginnings, the future, the joy of love whose dreams are still undefined by adversity. Institutions lose their flexibility and become self-preserving and unresponsive to new ideas.ДЄ frequent and potent image in JesusвЂ™ repertoire is the wedding feast. Structure defines everything in predictable ways, but it is often unprepared for surprises and slow to adapt. Tradition is good, as a final image affirms, like old wine that is stable and rich to the taste. These little images have survived as brilliant descriptions of the tension between tradition and innovation. Who puts fermenting wine in already stretched skins? Or a preshrunk patch on an old cloak? The skins will burst and the patch will pull away from the garment. Now is the time to celebrate, like guests at a wedding. Fasting is a discipline for those awaiting fulfillment. Jesus says, I havent come to patch up your old practices.

Jesus answered with three short metaphors loaded with meaning and challenging insights. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins or else the new wine will burst the wineskins.

The scribes and Pharisees quiz Jesus on why his disciples didnвЂ™t follow the example of John the BaptistвЂ™s and their own disciples by fasting. вЂњGot a stamp?вЂќ вЂњAre you sending a letter?вЂќ It seems that if anyone asked Jesus a question, he answered with a parable. It is said that if you ask an Irish person a question, they will answer with another questions. вЂњNo one pours new wine into old wineskinsвЂќ (Luke 5:37).

Parable of the patch and wine skins in scripture