Sunday's Message: The Parables of Jesus - New Wine and Old Clothes (Mark 2:21-22)

During the months of September, October and November, we'll discuss the following parables found in the Gospel of Mark:

• September 22 - New Wine and Old Clothes (Mark 2:21-22)
• September 29 - A Strong Man (Mark 3:23-27)
• October 6 - The Sower (Mark 4:1-20)
• October 13 - Lamps and Baskets (Mark 4:21-25)
• October 20 - A Growing Seed (Mark 4:26-29)
• October 27 - The Mustard Seed (Mark 4:30-32)
• November 3 - Clean and Unclean (Mark 7:14-23)
• November 10 - The Wicked Tenants (Mark 12:1-11)
• November 17 - The Fig Tree (Mark 13:28-31)

During the service on Sunday, September 22, we used Mark 2:21-22 to better understand that parables of the old clothes and wineskin. Below is the text and a recording of the sermon. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).  You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page. 

Now, this morning, we’re going to start a new sermon series that we’ll be in until the middle of November, one that’s entitled The Parables of Jesus: The Parables in the Gospel of Mark. And I’ll tell you, in a way, this is becoming a fall tradition, because we’ve done the same thing in 2022 and 2023.You see, a couple of years ago, we looked at the parables that were unique in the Gospel of Luke, you know, like the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. And then, last year, we focused on those stories found in Matthew, and I’m talking about parables dealing with women who were both foolish and wise as well as a manager who was both dishonest and shrewd. Now that’s what we’ve done. And this fall, we’re shifting our attention to Mark. 

But before we get into the stories themselves, I think it’s important for us to be on the same page about what a parable is. You see, in English, parable comes from the Greek word παραβολή which means “riddle” or “allegory.” In other words, a parable is a story that generally either explains something that’s pretty hard for folks to understand or that challenges us to do something that may be difficult or uncomfortable for us to do. It’s sort of like what Stephen Kendrick, the writer and producer of the movies Fireproof and War Room said:

Jesus communicated parables to the secular people around him and he used stories that were very relevant to their lives, and He was taking heaven’s truth and packaging it in an earthly context. 

Now that’s what he said, and I think he’s spot-on. And in this series, we’ll be looking at some of those stories that are found in Mark. 

And this morning we’re going to start with two extremely short parables about how Christians should handle the old and the familiar and the comfortable when we’re face to face with the new and the different and the strange. And I’ll tell you, I think this is something with which we can all identify. For example, just this last week, I ran across a meme that I posted on the Sligo Presbyterian Church Facebook page: Dozens hospitalized after new hymn is introduced in church. Now, I thought that was sort of funny, and so did Scott and Ellen. In fact, Scott, you wrote, “Ohhhh I wonder what's coming up Sunday?”, followed by three emojis. Now that was the meme. 

But, you know, whether you find it funny or not, I think it does point to an issue we confront in the church all the time, this tension between the old and the new. Of course, different congregations resolve it in different ways, with some tossing out everything that reflects the past even though there might be a few babies in with the bath water. While other churches simply dig in their heels and keep doing things the way they’ve always been done, you know, to recapture what used to be, even though they also know that those who remember the glory days are getting older and older and becoming fewer and fewer. And still others try to walk that delicate line between the past and the present by creating something that probably won’t send anyone either to the hospital or to another congregation but which, when you get right down to it, may not be all that satisfying to anyone, leaving us with the question: how should we handle the past as we move into the future?

And I’ll tell you, that’s what we’ll be talking about during the first message in this series. You see, we’re going to look at two parables from the second chapter of Mark that, I believe, just might help us figure this stuff out. And to it, we’ll focus on three questions: What did Jesus say? And then, what do the parables mean? And finally, what are we going to do about them? And even though I doubt that we’ll leave with a specific plan, maybe a concept but not necessarily a plan, hopefully, we should have a better understanding of what we might want to do.

Of course, to get there, we’ve got to start by looking at the parables themselves. Now to get an idea about what was happening in the second chapter of Mark, here’s the scene. Jesus was with his disciples, and they were being hassled by a bunch of folks called Pharisees, men who were all about the Law and doing things the way they’ve always been done. Anyway, these high and mighty defenders of tradition were saying that, while some very religious people were willing to go without food as a way to honor God, they couldn’t help but notice that Jesus and his disciple didn’t, something that these Pharisees didn’t like that one bit. But when he was confronted with their questions, “Jesus answered: The friends of a bridegroom don’t go without eating while he is still with them. But the time will come when he will be taken from them. Then they will go without eating.” [Mark 2:19-20, CEV] And then, after he’d gotten their attention, he offered these two little stories. He said, 

No one patches old clothes by sewing on a piece of new cloth. The new piece would shrink and tear a bigger hole.

No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The wine would swell and burst the old skins. Then the wine would be lost, and the skins would be ruined. New wine must be put into new wineskins. [Mark 2:21-22, CEV]

Now that’s what Jesus said to those fine, upstanding men who were bent out of shape because he and his disciples weren’t doing what they thought they should have been doing.

And I’ll tell you, I think the point of these two stories was and is pretty clear, clear for them and clear for us. You see, first, I think Jesus was suggesting that, as he was doing his preaching and teaching and healing, he was bringing something fresh, something original, something new to the people, something radically different from what they’d had in the past, and because of that, the world was never going to be same again. You see, I believe Jesus understood that he was like the bridegroom who’d come to be with his guests, and he was like a vat of grape juice that was ready to ferment. Of course, this idea that the coming of Jesus was like light shining in the darkness, I’m telling you, I think that’s what Peter understood, when he wrote this in his first letter:

Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.

You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while. Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns. [1 Peter 1:3-7, CEV]

You see, when he entered our time and space, Jesus brought something new. In other words, he was like new wine. And I think that’s the first thing we can take from these parables, but that’s not all.

You see, second, in these parables, I believe Jesus was also suggesting that this newness demands change, and I’m talking about, change on our part. In other words, we just can’t force the new life and the new hope that Christ brought, we can’t force this newness into structures and systems that just weren’t made for it. It would be like, what, using an unshrunk piece of denim to patch a hole in your old jeans. Good night, the first time you wash them, you’re going to have a hole bigger than you had before. Or maybe better, it would be like pouring grape juice or sweet cider into containers that aren’t able to expand, you know, like old, crusty, dried up wine skins. I mean, what’s going to happen when that juice starts to ferment and that cider starts to turn hard? The jar’s going to break and the skin’s going to burst and the floor’s going to get wet and sticky. Man, doing that kind thing would be stupid, wouldn’t it? New wine needs new wine skins, because they’re able to expand while maintaining their integrity. And based on what he said in these parables, for Jesus, this also applied to him. In other words, the newness he brought also demands change, a change in attitude, a change in structure, and a change in approach. As a matter of fact, I think it’s the same kind of change Paul understood when he wrote this to the Corinthians:

Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others.

What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace. We were sent to speak for Christ, and God is begging you to listen to our message. We speak for Christ and sincerely ask you to make peace with God. [Corinthians 5:17-20, CEV]

You see, no matter how you cut it, the newness brought by Christ demands change. And for me that’s the second thing we can take from the parables. But again, that’s not all.

Because third, I think these parables also remind us that the old has value. And I’ll tell you, although this point may not be as obvious as the first two, I believe it’s equally important. You see, even though it may be plain that Jesus is like the new wine, and as we all know, new wine demands new wine skins, in the first parable Jesus said that those old clothes should still be patched;  they’re worth preserving and shouldn’t be tossed away. And when he talked about what would happen if you put the grape juice in a dry, inflexible container, he said that not only would the wine be lost, the old wineskins would also be ruined. And that’s a bad thing, because they’re also worth saving. You see, for Jesus, in spite of fact that certain things were going to have to change, what was old still had value, a perspective that the writer of Deuteronomy certainly had in mind when he wrote this:

Don’t forget how the Lord your God has led you through the desert for the past 40 years. He wanted to find out if you were truly willing to obey him and depend on him, so he made you go hungry. Then he gave you manna, a kind of food that you and your ancestors had never even heard about. The Lord was teaching you that people need more than food to live – they need every word that the Lord has spoken.

Over the past 40 years, your clothing hasn’t worn out, and your feet haven’t swollen. So keep in mind that the Lord has been correcting you, just as parents correct their children. Obey the commands the Lord your God has given you and worship him with fear and trembling. [Deuteronomy 8:2-6, CEV]

And so, even though Jesus brought something new and that newness demanded change, the old still has value. You see, for me, that’s what the parable means.

Which now leaves us with a pretty important question, doesn’t it: what are we going to do about it? In other words, how are we going to take what Jesus said and apply it to ourselves? And even though I think it could probably be taken in several different directions, let me briefly share with y’all three ideas that might help us use what we know to shape how we live. For example, since we believe that Jesus brought something fresh and original and new into our world, we can certainly spend some time focusing on his message, this radical and revolutionary good news that has the potential to transform not just our lives but also our communities and our nation and even our world. And since we understand that this newness is probably going to demand that we change certain things, we can intentionally decide that we’re going to be open to both the possibilities and the opportunities. You see, since we’re here not just to enjoy the good news ourselves but to communicate it to others, it doesn’t make sense for us to dig in our heals; instead we need to open our minds so that we can take this wonderful story we’ve been given and share it to the world, using their language, not necessarily ours. Man, we need to open ourselves to the newness. And finally, since we also understand that the past is still important, need to take the very best from a story that’s been around for almost two thousand years and, with help and direction and inspiration from the Holy Spirit, shape it into an outreach that will resonate with folks who know a lot more about Stanley tumblers than wine skins and who are far more likely to place an order than to sew a patch. In other words, because of these two little stories, we can claim the message and shape our mission and celebrate our memories. You see, that’s exactly what we can do with these two wonderful stories. 

Now, I’m not going to stand up here and say that the meme I mentioned a little while ago accurately reflects reality. As a matter of fact, even though it might worry Scott a little bit, I’m pretty confident that a new hymn will not be sending anyone to the hospital. Although I must admit, some of the contemporary music I hear, well, it really does make me feel a little queasy, but then, I’m an old man. Still, that shouldn’t distract me and I’ll tell you, similar feelings shouldn’t distract us from the meaning of these two little parables. You see, thanks to what Jesus said, we can understand that he brought and continues to bring into our space something new and that the introduction of anything new really demands change while at the same time we have an excellent motivation to preserve the very best from the past. And this is something we can do when we focus our attention on the message that Jesus brought and when we open our minds to the mission and when we use our memories to inform our outreach. You see, this we can do, because we’ve heard the parables of the new wine and the old clothes. And next week, we’ll move onto our second parable from Mark, the story about a strong man.