New wine on new wineskins

YES, we need to know how to flow with the times, adapting

ourselves with the new developments and circumstances without losing

sight of what is truly essential in our life. That’s the lesson we can

learn from what Christ said about new wine to be put always on new

wineskins, not old, and not to put a patch from a new garment on an

old one. (cfr. Lk 5,36-38)

            That is why we have to feel the necessity to continually

explore the things, adapt ourselves to the changing circumstances and

make the necessary innovations along the way.

            But let’s always remember that innovations do not

completely do away with some old practices and traditions. We may be

discarding certain old things, but they should not be the essential

things that should never change. We can only discard or make

innovations on those things that can and should change.

            Innovations can spring only from some old ground. They

cannot be completely new, because only God can do that when he creates

something, which means he makes something from nothing. In our case,

we can only innovate from something that is already existing.

            Besides, as we are reminded in the Book of Ecclesiastes,

“there is nothing new under the sun.” (1,9) Everything is under God’s

control and always works according to God’s laws. No matter what we do

to delude ourselves by thinking that we can create something

completely new, things still work under God’s laws.

            Thus, again from the Book of Ecclesiastes, we read:

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is

vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the

sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains

forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the

place where it rises...” (1,2-7)

            It is wrong to think that things can be completely old and

therefore should be discarded totally, and that there are things that

can be completely new. Even the new creation ushered in by Christ with

his passion, death and resurrection rises from the old, damaged

creation.

            And this is the main point in our understanding of what is

truly new. We and things in general can only be truly new when we are

renewed by Christ. That means that our spirit so vitally reconnects

with the spirit of Christ such that we become another Christ. We have

his mind and heart. We have his life in us.

            Regarding this point, St. Paul says: “Take off your old

self with its practices, and put on the new man, which is being

renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no

Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian,

slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” (Col 3,9-11)

            And again, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature.

The old things passed away. Behold, new things have come.” (2 Cor

5,17)

            While it’s true that we have to adapt ourselves with the

new things as time flows, we should not worry too much about that

concern. We will always be a child of our time, of our culture, of our

environment. We should not be too apologetic for this condition and

should just be game with the unavoidable tensions related to the

condition.

            As long as we are not trapped by that condition and can

manage to transcend it to touch base always with what is essential,

that is, to be vitally identified with Christ, then we can always

manage to be new and innovative.

  

            Remember that in order to save us, God had to become man

in Christ, and had to adapt himself completely to our condition even

to the point that, as said by St. Paul, he became like sin without

committing sin. (cfr. 2 Cor 5,21)