(Jesus) also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise, not only will one tear the new garment, but the piece from the new will not match the old garment. Similarly, no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins and will spill out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine but says, ‘The old is good.’ ~ Luke 5:36-39

I remember as a kid occasionally needing my mom to patch one of my pants. Sometimes the patch didn't match the material and I just knew all the kids were going to laugh at me because of it.
I love that Jesus is compassionate to the embarrassing clothing situations that kids go through! :-)
This parable is one of my favorites of Jesus. He just knows our human tendency to want to make square pegs fit in round holes.
I mean, it isn't that we think change shouldn't happen. We just want change to fit into our parameters, or for fixes to be quick.
If we could just change part, and not the whole.
If we could patch something up with a temporary fix rather than take apart the whole thing.
Like putting new flooring on top of torn, ripped, moldy linoleum instead of pulling the old floor out first.
It's like that with me I think a lot of the time. How willing am I to make room for the new by saying good-bye to what doesn't work anymore?
To begin again completely from scratch?
The Church finds itself I think at a precipice. For years, we've tried adding on to the old rather than dismantle what no longer works. And along the way, people have left the church.
Is it time to take the patch off the garment and make a new one?
Is it time to let the new wine flow freely into a wineskin that will hold it securely?
Holy One, help me to discern what is good and what is right and to not be afraid to let go of what not longer serves you or your people. Amen
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