Vineri 
One of the strange ways in which Jesus described his teachings and mission is found in Matthew 9:17: “Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved." By these images of “wine” and “wineskins” Jesus referred to our system of beliefs and ways of thinking. Contrary to what we would like to think, our thinking is not fixed but rather changes not only over centuries but even within our life time. With this statement Jesus claimed that Christianity was not intended to be another version of the popular beliefs and ways of thinking of his time but one so radical that popular mentality had to be discarded in order to receive the new religion.
That Christianity was a powerful new wine for the wineskins of the popular religion of that time was proved by the fact that Jesus was killed and the first Christians bitterly persecuted in order to eliminate the new religion. While at that time Jesus could rightfully call his teaching “new wine,” few today would think of Christianity as “new wine” any more after two millennia of drinking it with the multitude of flavors that are available now. Moreover, our modern ways of thinking which have been liberated from the ignorance of ancient beliefs and mentalities can hardly be described as “old wineskins” any more. The reaction of modern people to Christianity seems to be: “Neither can the old wine of Christianity put into our modern wineskins." No wonder that for many people today, particularly young ones, that “old time religion” which Jesus taught does not make any sense any more.
Jesus’ choice to describe his teaching by comparing it with a beverage like wine which is often discouraged in the Bible because of its intoxicating effects is strange. By this image, however, Jesus wanted to make two claims about Christianity. One of the unique qualities of wine as beverage is that it gets better in time. Even those who do not use alcohol know that the older the wine, the better. Wine is probably the only beverage which does not come with an expiration date. That is not true even about bottled water. As time passes, wine does not get obsolete and discarded, but becomes tastier and more precious. If Christianity was a strong wine for ancient people when it was new, it must be a much stronger wine now for modern people after two millennia of fermentation.
Another reason Jesus used the image of wine to describe his teachings was the feeling of excitement and happiness which wine creates. Jesus claimed that Christianity would turn the most hopeless and desperate life in one full of hope, purpose, excitement, and happiness. No wonder that those who saw the first Christians speaking with excitement about their spiritual experience after Pentecost dismissed them as being drunk or “filled with new wine” (Acts 2:13). The skin and the appearance of those Christians had not changed, but there was a new life inside that wine can only fake for a few hours. Modern people may have adopted new ways of thinking which may be called new wineskins, but there is no life and happiness in modern beliefs and many today, both rich and poor, resort to alcohol and its stronger versions, drugs, to bring an illusion of happiness in their empty and hopeless lives.
The conflict between the wine of Christianity and the wineskins of popular mentalities is as strong today as it was at the time when Jesus first came and he is challenging us just as he challenged those who lived in ancient times to understand the wine of the religion he came to offer, to understand the wineskins of our beliefs, and to make a choice between the two when they are incompatible. It is this tension between Christianity and modern ways of thinking that will be the focus of ours short meditations. It is a journey which I hope will bring new meaning, purpose, and understanding of what we are and what we believe.
Aurel Ionica - Majesty.ro
