New Wine, Old Wineskins

"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins." -Mk. 2:21-22

I wonder how much wine has been wasted over the years by trying to pour it into old wineskins. You see it on a lot of levels. A woman moves into a new marriage because the old one didn't work, only to discover that she brings the same set of problems to the new marriage that contributed to the failure of the old one. A man swears he'll never dance with the devil again, but he sets down to the same computer, in the same isolated room, with the same void in his heart. New wine, old wineskins.

These words of Jesus have been on my mind a lot lately. I have been part of a group of people who have been discussing worship renewal. I'm pleased with how our discussions have evolved; I think it has been a work of the Spirit. A lot of us went into that discussion thinking mostly in terms of the form of worship, the mechanics. Where we ended up was with the realization that the heart of the matter is, well, the heart. A church's worship could be led every week by Zoe, and even throw in Mike Cope for good measure (preaching of course, not singing the classics), but that worship won't connect with God without hearts that are tuned in to him. New wine, old wineskins.

I am wondering what that means practically, especially in the context of a church. Should we just dissolve all churches and start over? Should we leave to themselves those who are locked in to old traditions, old and sometimes mistaken interpretations of what worship ought to look like, old wineskins? That has been the approach of a lot of people, and I think it has been good. I'm thankful for those who have the heart to plant new churches or to even find new expressions of God's kingdom in non-traditional ways.

It's noteworthy to me, however, that Jesus didn't just throw away all of the old wineskins, he remade many of them. He freed them from the ignorance or spiritual tyranny or sin that otherwise would have left them unable to receive what God offered. Considering how many of us have once looked a lot like old wineskins in some area of our lives, I think that is very encouraging. Hearts can be made receptive to the new wine.

For a lot of us, I think this is where our calling is, to help people invite God to remake their hearts. Sometimes we might wish it wasn't so. I confess there is a part of me that likes the idea of starting afresh, and that time might come, but I think some of us have actually become experts on the process of turning old wineskins into new. Not because we are so bright or spiritual that we have figured it out. It is because we have experienced it to such a high degree in our own lives.

I don't want to waste another drop of God's sweet wine, so I'm praying that he will help us see how we might facilitate changed hearts. This is his area of expertise so we need to be solidly convinced that he is the one who will make it happen, but I think it is true that he wants to use us in that process somehow.

What can be done to an old heart like mine? Soften it up, with oil and wine. The oil is you, your Spirit of love. Please wash me anew in the wine of your blood. -Keith Green