"People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved." (Matt. 9:17) Ah, jealousy, betrayal, deception, and ironic reversals… This is the stuff of great storytelling, and we are the beneficiaries of phenomenal storytelling in today's readings! First, witness Isaac and Rebekah, the couple with a twisted history, one might say. For fear for his own life at the hands of the presumed lecherous Philistine men, Isaac had attempted to pass off beautiful Rebekah as his sister, so that the Philistines would not kill him and take his gorgeous wife. However, the Philistine King Abimelech discovered her true identity as Isaac's wife, and insisted that none of his men should molest her under penalty of death, or they would incur guilt for the whole people. (Gen. 26:1-11) The Genesis tale makes it seem that the enemy leader, Abimelech, has greater integrity than the patriarch, Isaac, in respect to his wife. Abraham had supposedly pulled the same deception with his wife Sarah, and she, too, was spared from the advances of the King of Gerar, Abimelech, because of the King's integrity. (Gen. 20:1-18) This is indeed an ironic reversal. Second, witness the intense rivalry of the twin brothers, reinforced by their parents. Rebekah preferred the younger of the twin boys, Jacob, but Isaac preferred Esau, the hairy hunter, who was to have inherited, as was the custom, the father's authority, and the best portion of all his property. Rebekah schemed with Jacob, the younger son, to dupe Esau out of his inheritance by having Jacob dressed in goat skins to trick blind old Isaac into giving Jacob his paternal blessing. This was not the first time that the issue of the blessing arose, either. Jacob had already gotten Esau to give up his birthright under oath in exchange for some bread and lentil stew, but that's another story. (Gen. 25:27-34) Back to today's portion of the saga… Even the aging Isaac knew that something was amiss with the trickery by his son, Jacob, when he gave him the blessing that was supposed to be reserved for Esau. "Come closer, son, that I may feel you, to learn whether you really are my son Esau or not." By the time Esau and Isaac figured out that Rebekah and Jacob had "stolen" the elder son's blessing, it was too late, for Isaac had already appointed the younger son, Jacob, as master over everyone and everything. Jacob was to become "Israel," the progenitor of a great race. But Esau urged his father, "Have you only that one blessing, Father? Bless me, too!" But Isaac made no reply; and Esau wept aloud. (Gen. 27:38) What a dramatic web of ironic reversals! So it must have seemed in the time of Jesus. Here was the "son of Mary," a nobody, a carpenter's kid, performing healing miracles on the Sabbath, teaching in the Temple, and not only associating with, but forgiving the sins of "known sinners." Who did he think he was, this undeserving, non-pedigreed peasant? How dare he teach the multitudes with the authority of God? When the jealous objections of those who were fasting and keeping their religious obligations were voiced, it smacked of the old sibling rivalry. "Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?" (Matt. 9:14) I can imagine Jesus, looking upon the "whiners" with love, patience, and a healthy dose of frustration. The wedding feast was in full swing, and they were acting like it was a funeral, furious that Jesus and his band were not fasting, too. The bridegroom had arrived, and they were chanting a dirge for an old Temple establishment that was on its way into obscurity. The new wine of healing, reconciliation and salvation was flowing, and they were clinging onto the old skins of sacrifices and sin offerings - trying to force the delicious new wine into what was rotting and bursting at the seams. What a shame. God works through all the ironic twists of our lives, even through
our sinfulness, our petty jealousies, and our unforgiving, hard
hearts. We can cling to what is old and rotting, the jealousy, fear,
anger, rivalry, and continuous killing of our brothers and sisters,
but the Lord invites us to taste the goodness of the new wine, and
to let it flow freely into the new wineskins of our lives! It begins
with healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation, and becomes a feast
for all who join in the dance! Today, I praise God with the Bridegroom,
whose living and dying brought new life to us all. |