There’s this interesting parable in the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke where Jesus talks about wine.
"And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved." - Matthew 9:17 (CSB)
"And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins." - Mark 2:22 (NLT)
"And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one, after drinking old wine wants new; for he says, 'The old is fine.'" - Luke 5:37-39 (NASB2020)
I can’t think of a time when I’ve heard a sermon preached on this random section of Jesus’ teaching that 3 of the 4 Gospel writers deemed significant enough to include. I’m sure I’ve heard one, I just can’t remember it at the moment.
There’s also a chance I haven’t heard one. Because let’s be honest, it’s a weird parable. And I grew up in a church that didn’t talk about wine, sssoooo
But.
What I do remember, vividly, is a conversation I had with my Spiritual Director a couple of months ago.
For those of you unfamiliar with spiritual direction – like I was just a few years ago – in an article in Christianity Today, Richard Foster defines it as, “an interpersonal relationship in which we learn how to grow, live, and love in the spiritual life. Spiritual direction involves a process through which one person helps another person understand what God is doing and saying.”
Basically, I sit with my Spiritual Director (SD from here on out) and talk about what God might be up to in my life.
So, back to a couple of months ago.
I was sitting with my SD in the cozy space she has for us to meet, talking about the recent movement of Holy Spirit and how He was really catching me off guard. I was experiencing relationships in new, fresh, safe ways and I didn’t know what to do with it.
“Sounds like new wine,” she so rudely quipped.
“Hmmm,” I so wisely murmured.
“You might need some new wineskins.”
“That feels really costly.”
And that conversation has been ringing loudly in my ears since May 15th.
Because new wineskins are costly. Literally, you have to go out and buy them. You can’t just walk into the cellar and pull out the old wineskins you’ve had for years and years. Because, as aforementioned by our Gospel writers, new wine will cause the old wineskins to burst.
But the old wineskins…man…they’re comfortable. They’re familiar. They’re accessible. They’re available.
They don’t cost anything.
I don’t have to spend emotion, money, time, energy, etc. on the old wineskins.
But if I put new wine into them, I lose the wine AND the wineskins.
New wineskins are costly.
They require work.
Time.
Energy.
Risk.
Vulnerability.
Stepping out of my comfort zone to go and get them.
But if I put the new wine from the new harvest into the new wineskins, everything gets preserved.
It’s so attractive to just walk into the cellar and grab the old wineskins. There’s less risk and less effort involved.
But the old wineskins just don’t work anymore.
All of the new that I have tried to force into the old patterns (aka: wineskins) can’t be held. It all falls apart. And I would argue it all falls apart for the better.
Because the Lord is offering new wine AND new wineskins.
He’s not giving me fresh wine without also providing the proper container.
He’s inviting me to receive both gifts – the wine and the skins – open handedly and without fear that, even though the new wineskins are costly, He is helping me figure out how to cover the tab.
Don’t get it twisted – this isn’t about my salvation and paying for my own redemption.
This is about God offering me fresh abundance and me wanting to stuff it into old patterns of living that have not served me well. The old is comfortable, like the quilt my Great Aunt Vi made. And it serves its purpose. It did the best it could for me with what it had.
But I have something new now.
And while the new might be costly, it will be worth it.
It will be worth it to see the craftsmanship the Creator comes up with to hold this new wine.
I can’t wait to see what’s to be stored.
Kayla Smith 