New Wine, New Wineskins
Matthew 9:14-17 | 5 July - Saturday of week 13 in Ordinary Time - Year C (I)
From the Gospel according to Matthew
At that time: The disciples of John came to Jesus, saying, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.
This passage occurs during Jesus' early ministry, where he's increasingly challenging traditional religious practices. John the Baptist's disciples, who practiced austere religious devotion, are puzzled by Jesus' seemingly lax approach to established customs like fasting.
"Bridegroom" - A messianic reference, with Jesus identifying himself as the long-awaited one
"Old garment/new cloth" - Represents the tension between old religious systems and Jesus' new covenant
"Wine and wineskins" - A powerful metaphor for spiritual transformation and adaptability
"Fasting" - A traditional Jewish practice of spiritual discipline and mourning
Jesus isn't dismissing traditional practices but rather revealing a fundamental truth about spiritual transformation: new realities require new approaches. The presence of God's kingdom demands fresh ways of thinking and living. Just as new wine needs new wineskins to expand and mature, our spiritual lives must remain flexible and open to God's ongoing work.
Like many, I was trying to force new spiritual insights into old patterns of thinking and behaving. I was the old wineskin – rigid, inflexible, and resistant to change. The result was exactly what Jesus described: frustration and spiritual leakage.
The breakthrough came when I realized that God wasn't asking me to patch up my old way of life but to embrace a complete renovation. This meant letting go of comfortable but limiting religious habits and allowing the Spirit to create new capacities within me for growth and transformation.
Act: This week, identify one area where you might be resisting God's new work:
Journal about what "old wineskins" (outdated attitudes or practices) need to be replaced
Practice intentional flexibility in your spiritual routine
Ask God to show you where you need renewal
Reflect: What rigid patterns in your spiritual life need flexibility? What "new wine" is God pouring into your life right now?
Let us pray: Lord, make us new wineskins, ready for your fresh work.
From the sayings of Saint Hannibal Mary Di Francia:
Mary gave us Jesus and she gives him back to us in the Eucharist.
The 5th of July is the 40th Day of the passing of my sole sibling, +Klybe Marr Aurellana. Please include him in your prayers.
