Every Wine Has its Container.

Saturday 6^th July, 2019. Genesis 27:1-29, Psalm 135 and Matthew 9:14-17

_*“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Matthew 9:15)*_ 

Sometime ago, I saw a documentary on the process of wine brewing and it was interesting to see how grapes are harvested, pressed and fermented to produce wine. What really struck me while watching the documentary was the fact that the shape of the wine glass determines the taste of the wine.

How is it possible that the same wine tastes differently in different types of glass? In today’s Gospel passage, we see that wine selects its container. You do not put new wine into old wineskins lest you risk losing both the wine and the skins.

Just as wine selects its container, the Christian life also selects its environment; there is a particular attitude, a particular mode of behaviour, a particular type of spirituality that is befitting of a Christian.

You cannot claim to be a Christian with a bad attitude. You risk losing your Christian Faith and even your very life itself. Again, you cannot be a Christian and still live a life of pretence; or show-off as the case may be. Otherwise, one day your fake skin will burst and the whole world know you had just been deceiving yourself.

A genuine Christian acts based on conviction. Do not go about fasting just because you see people fast. If you must fast, then let your fasting be personal to you. Do not make a show of it.

In today’s first reading, we saw how Jacob trickily obtained the blessing meant for Esau through the connivance of Rebekah his mother. In truth, Esau himself had already sold his birth-right to Jacob and as such, Rebekah only assisted Jacob in getting what had become his. Some of the lessons we learn from this episode include:

a.      There is nothing as precious as a Father’s blessing. Property will surely fade away but blessing remains forever.

b.      We must guard against hasty pronouncements. Esau probably did not think it through before giving away his blessing for a pot of porridge.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, may the wine of your sweetness find a ready skin in my heart. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 13^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Genesis 27:1-29, Psalm 135 and Matthew 9:14-17).