New Wineskins | Matthew 9:14-17

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The wedding attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are ruined, but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.

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Lent. Such a powerful time in the church year and in our lives of faith. These days between Ash Wednesday and Easter call us, as followers of Jesus, into a time of reflection and soul-searching. St. Paul reminds us that “we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” I know that’s true for me. But the purpose of this time is not to get stuck in the grip of misery or inadequacy but to acknowledge before ourselves and God that, well, we need work. Sometimes a LOT of work! We’re not perfected yet. And the way to let God remake and renew us

is through recognizing those places where work and healing are needed. To be honest about that. To admit our sin in the presence of a loving God who WANTS our repentance and renewal.

“Why don’t your disciples fast like we do?” the followers of John the Baptist ask Jesus. “Because it’s not time,” he says. But in Lent we are invited to fast, to reflect, to pray that God would make us new, ready again for the “new wine” of Resurrection hope. As the writer of Ecclesiastes tells us, there is “a time to mourn and a time to dance.” In Lent, we take time to mourn and “cleanse ourselves” so we can dance at Easter with joy and newness.

Let us pray. Gracious God, guide our thoughts and our hearts during this Lenten season. Help us to be honest about the ways we fall short so we allow you to forgive and cleanse us. And prepare us for the dancing time when we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus and the bright newness that lifts us and all creation. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Pastor Paul Egensteiner

Interim Minister, Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, Rochester, New York

Pinecrest Faculty: 1995

Assistant Director: 1996-1998

Director: 1999-2014

Assistant Canteen Director: 2018