David Bahn – Reflections

Matthew 9:14-17

¹⁴Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵And 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. ¹⁶No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. ¹⁷Neither 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.”

No disrespect here; the Astrodome was indeed a marvel in its day. An indoor stadium. Air Conditioned. Astroturf. All these were groundbreaking advancements in the realm of sports arenas. It was a whole new wineskin and it made a huge impact in the sports world in its day.

There has been some talk of renovating the structure for other purposes. Ideas about its suitability for other sports teams or uses have been advanced. But this “old gray mare ain’t what she used to be, ” as they say. It remains relatively unused for much of the time.

When Jesus does his work in people’s hearts the transformation is from the inside out. It requires a different orientation toward life, a different set of priorities, and a new social agenda. The Holy Spirit will not be contained in the hard hearts of people unmoved by the needs of others or the grace and goodness of God. Sometimes we must act our way into a new feeling. But Jesus calls for a deep transformation of all we are so that the new wine of his love, power and mission can shape us in new ways every day.

Maybe there is an old wineskin that you simply need to discard and a new way of facing this and every day that will allow Jesus’ new wine to flow through you to others.