New and Old - Wine, Cloth and Paradigms

I was reading some scripture last night before going to sleep and ran across these familiar verses in Luke 5:36-39 NIV:

[36] "He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. [37] And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. [38] No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. [39] And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, 'The old is better.' ”

I was thinking about that last line - "no one after drinking old wine wants the new."  I think this is so insightful, and speaks of the paradigms that we have become familiar with in  our lives, and especially in our faith.  Jesus does not say there is anything wrong with the old, or the new, but He is speaking about two things - the need to change, and our choices.

He introduces, both in talking about the cloth and the wine, the fact that the old is unable to change to accommodate the new. In both cases the new and the old become ruined.  It is only the new wineskins, and new cloth that is is capable of supporting the amount of change the new wine or cloth brings.  The old is fine, and leaving it to itself will continue to serve its purpose, but the new requires new.

When I read this, and think about this, I am lead to look at our modern model for large congregational churches.  Sorry, that is just where my mind goes.  Having been a part of several very good churches, I am familiar with the good this model for church produces, and the for vast majority of Christians in America, this is our paradigm of church.  However, there are also limitations to this model, and it is not that the model is bad, just not flexible enough to meet all the felt needs of all the people.  I, like many others, have grown hungry for something different.  I know many who have bounced from church to church looking for something that they are missing or hungry for in their Christian walk.  I believe that the Lord, is giving some people a taste for new wine.  The old wineskins and old cloth (models for church life) cannot change enough to meet their needs, but those seeking change often don't see any alternative.

This is the very thought that has lead me choose the small, home church model that we are presently working out and investing in with our lives.  There is a level of connectedness, a level of flexibility, an ability to practice and experiment that is not possible in a larger congregation.  There is the ability to sow into, to encourage, to mature the spiritual giftings in all.  There is a flexibility to chuck all and follow the flow of the Spirit rather than the liturgical program.  There is a richness to the times of fellowship that are not just happenstance, but rather a planned part of our gatherings. There is the opportunity to process and discuss aspects of our faith, and the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, that allows us to apply that which we learn to our lives.  There is a level of trust and intimacy that develops that makes our times both safe, and flexible.

Finally, the real goal of all of this is to experience more of the Lord, and His manifest presence, in my life.  I am not satisfied with my level of intimacy with the Lord, my knowledge of the Lord and His ways, my ability to represent the Lord to others.  I realize there is so much more and that is the hunger that has not been sated.  There have been times of glorious encounters with the Lord, both in the large congregational settings as well as in my own daily prayer, but I am hungry for more, both for me and for those that I love and share life with.  Our faith journey is all about growing in relationship with the Lord and with each other, and I believe for me this will most easily be accomplished in a smaller and more intimate setting.

It is my prayer that as we grow and pursue the Lord, we will all mature into a healthy and strong body of Christ.  It is my prayer that we will learn to build new wine skins for the new wine. It is also my prayer that we of the new wine appreciate and value the old wine and wine skins, for they are good!  It is also important that we all recognize the new wine and new cloth and make allowances for them to change and mature.

Amen!