Biblical Debbie Downers and Wineskins
This picture will make more sense in a moment, but if you don’t know who Debbie Downer is, you should watch this video first. You will have to watch a short commercial first but I think it is worth it if you like silly humor. To get the full experience you need to watch the video from the beginning but the best part begins half way through. The total clip is about 6 minutes.
Ok, try to get serious now but keep that clip in mind when you get to the gospel.
Before we begin, I think it would be helpful to read today’s scripture readings first. After you’ve read them, come back to this tab, but keep the other one open. It may be helpful to take another look later.
Ok, now that you’ve had a chance to read the scriptures you’ve probably noticed that the first reading and psalm contain a lot of joyful language. In addition, we are reminded of how God is the author of all creation and through him all things are made new. However, once we get to the Gospel, the biblical equivalent of “Debbie Downer” enters the scene.
The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?”
To really understand this passage we need a little bit of background. Jesus has recently called Peter, James and John and now he moves on to the next Apostle, Matthew (but he is called Levi for now). Levi is a tax collector. During this time, tax collectors had a bad reputation because of how they made their money. The tax collectors were told they had to collect a certain amount of money from the people. However, they could collect as much as they wanted, as long as the Romans got their share first. Anything they collected above the Roman tax was profit for the tax collector. So, not only were the people burdened by the heavy Roman tax but they were obliged, under Roman law, to give the tax collector what they asked for – and tax collectors lived a good life!
Now, the details we have of Levi’s first encounter with Jesus is minimal. Jesus sees Levi sitting at a tax table and calls out to him, “come follow me.” Levi immediately gets up and follows Jesus. Yup, that’s it! Well, at least initially. Shortly after, we read that Levi hosts a big reception at his home. He invites all his old friends, many whom are pharisees & scribes, and of course Jesus. At the party the Pharisees see another opportunity to discredit Jesus by accusing him of essentially “having too much fun.” In short, Jesus reminds them that there is a time and place for everything and right now they should be having fun; there will be a time for fasting later.
However, in context with the first reading and psalm, the line that caught my attention was:
“no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.”
When Levi, like the other Apostles, was called to follow Jesus he would have to leave the old life (skins) behind. In Christ he has been made a new creation. Levi’s new life as Matthew was not compatible with his old life. He was called to live a life of love, service and sacrifice. Often times that love & sacrifice would conflict with the old life. There would be the temptation to live the new life in the old “wine skin. ”
If we think about our own faith journey, the same is true for us. Once we make that commitment to Christ we may have to leave parts of our old life behind. We need new skins for that new wine. We may be challenged by the pressures of modern society to put our new life in Christ into old wine skins, attempting to hold on to the standards of the world while following Christ. Sometimes the two are not compatible and at some point we are going to bust.
The reality is that none of us are perfect. At some point we are all going to make mistakes. The point is not to shame ourselves or become spiritual Debbie Downers, but rather to consider, how can I do better? What parts of my life are not compatible with my Catholic faith and am I ready to throw away that old skin?