Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, 'Follow me.' And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples for there were many who followed him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, 'Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?' When Jesus heard this, he said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.' Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, 'Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?' Jesus said to them, 'The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. 'No one sews a piece of un-shrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.'
Sinners and tax collectors. It is interesting to me that the sinners are lumped together with the tax collectors. Are tax collectors sinners? Well, maybe not today. However, in ancient times they were not so desired. In fact there were hated because they were thought to betray their own people. Therefore, the tax collectors and sinners are lumped together.
In today’s passage, Jesus is running around and having dinner with the “wrong” people. Jesus responds to accusations by articulating his call is to be with those who need him most – those that need to be restored to society. When asked why he doesn’t fast like the Pharisees and the disciples of John, he answers comparing himself to the bridegroom at a wedding feast.
Jesus follows this comparison with the images of the new and old, shrunk cloth and wineskins. I think that this means that the newness of His teachings and ministry are "breaking through" into the world. It all looks different, and it is all different. Jesus’ unexpected message brings with it new ideas about renewal and restoration of life within us. New life, new patches, new wineskins...
Our Lenten call today is one of deeper repentance and change of mind or heart (metanoia). To hold the new wine, we need become anew. We need a change of mind or transform, from a "legalistic" framework of thinking to a way of joy. The joy of being with and in Christ. It is expansive and will burst the old skins. It contains joy, love, and more. It is thinking “outside” the old box, of our old mindset of prescribed acts or works. In our practice as Christians, we are always called to remember to change our hearts. It's time for new wineskins as we are all recreated anew.
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