“And the disciples of John and the Pharisees used to fast; and they come and say to Jesus: Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast; but Thy disciples do not fast? And Jesus saith to them: Can the children of the marriage fast, as long as the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they shall fast in those days. No man seweth a piece of raw cloth to an old garment: otherwise, the new piecing taketh away from the old, and there is made a greater rent. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: otherwise, the wine will burst the bottles, and both the wine will be spilled, and the bottles will be lost. But new wine must be put into new bottles.”
My dearest beloved brethren, nobody puts wine, old or new, into skins these days. But the point Jesus was making would be clearer to us if He had said, ‘You don't try to put diesel in a car that runs on petroleum’; or if He had said, ‘You don’t put a 2023 Toyota Camry spare parts on a 1960 Peugeot 404 car.’ Jesus could not install His message of love and justice into the stiff mindset of the Pharisees, who gave all their energies to following the tiniest points of the law.
Lord, may we be new cloaks, fresh wineskins, and hearts ready to hear Your message, through the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Practicing your religious faith is paramount to you that you will rather die a Martyr than participate in society’s traditional practices and rituals that are not in line with the teachings of our Lord Jesus, dear faithful believers in Christ Jesus.
Jesus said that He is the bridegroom. He hints at His future death when He says that the bridegroom will be taken away. When Jesus speaks of old and new clothes and old and new wines, Jesus is referring to old and new forms of religious practices: the old ways of the scribes and Pharisees with their many 'traditions' which they patched onto the Mosaic Law, and which Jesus condemned, and the new 'wine' of Jesus' teaching poured out on His disciples.
I pray Lord to grant us the Grace of conducting ourselves in such manners that our ways of life communicate gospel values, today and every day of our lives, through the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I pray. Amen.
Be courageous and fearless in the Lord; for God is with you. You’re blessed; remain blessed!!!