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Message from Pastor Bill – January 2009
Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. [Matthew 9:17]
Nobody drinks aged wine and immediately wants to drink young wine. Young wine is not poured into old wineskins, or they might break, and aged wine is not poured into a new wineskin, or it might spoil. [Gospel of Thomas 47]
History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker’s damn is the history we make today. [Henry Ford]
Dear Saints:
As we embark on this New Year together, embracing new possibilities, it is my vision that this church becomes a four generation church embracing all ages, cultures, and persuasions in the overall ethos of the church. So often in present day churches, there is a division with the old and contemporary forms of expressions in our understanding of Scripture. For so long my interpretation of Matthew 9:17 was that the dangers in stubborn allegiance to old habits and traditions can sometimes seriously hinder maturing faith. Jesus warned according to the Gospel of Matthew of making tradition, particularly religious tradition, the standard by which all things should be tested (vv. 36-39). His parable of the wineskins pleads for at least the openness to consider something new as we make resolutions reflective of this New Year. It affirms timely changes in matters of growth and new life.
As I reflect on this text in light of the congregational expression found at St. Matthew, I now have a different interpretation on what Jesus is saying to our community. Although I am not an expert wine drinker except at communion, I enjoy wine enough to understand that generally speaking, aged wine is finer. It is mellower, smoother, and the product of nature’s processes. New wine is generally an easier product as it does not take up space for extended periods of time. Also I assumed that with the new wine it was necessary to use new wineskins. New wine for me can be the "charismatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit" making room for spontaneous prayer, song, insights, prophecies, readings, dance etc., and I tried to go with the flow, not merely the established pattern.
However, after hearing the varied stories of the congregants and discerning effective ways of outreach and evangelism, I am not so sure that this will be the best ways for us to come together as a church and community. Maybe Jesus was in fact pro-Old wine. His concern in Matthew seems to be with the wineskin more than the wine. Certainly he rejected the religion of the Pharisees, but that was primarily a stand against hypocrisy and the righteousness of law. And when he says “both are preserved” is he referring to old wine and new wine or old wine and old wineskins? Thomas’ rendition makes me even less certain of my old assumptions. The first half, “young wine is not poured into old wineskins, or they might break” seems to be concerned about old wineskins, while the second half “aged wine is not poured into a new wineskin or it might spoil” is mostly concerned with old wine. So is Thomas confirming Jesus’ preference for the old? From the Gospel of Thomas and my new interpretation found in the Gospel of Matthew and my short time here at St. Matthew, I have made the following conclusions, regarding tradition and the need for new wine (transformative change): 1) It is not bad merely because it is old; 2) Much of the enduring content of faith is that which has stood the test of time; 3) The main thing to ask about tradition is the question of quality, not the measure of time; and finally 4) Truth appears in all traditions. I consider myself a Confessional Lutheran, and the orthodox view tends to see ONE tradition, for example Catholicism, as the one true tradition.
So, St. Matthew, perhaps as Jesus was suggesting as we move towards a future, the quality of the life for which we hope will be found in our gathering and re-integrating that which is noble, fine and mellowed, while allowing culture and spirituality to naturally evolve and emerge without compromising, via transformative change, the nature of the Gospel. From this perspective we will have an appreciation of both what is new and what is traditional in finding their right places alongside one another.
Pastor Bill
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