Thoughts for the Day
Monday, 18th January 2021: New things for old
God Mark 2 Jesus Law
Reading : Verses from Mark, Chapter 2
Jesus said, 'No one sews a piece of unshrunk 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 new wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.
(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)
Thoughts
I was totally accustomed to Matins every Sunday from childhood, until the 'parish communion movement' took over and we had Communion each week. Years later as part of a four denominational Ecumenical Church worshipping in a Community Centre I learnt that having a medieval building with stained glass windows and candles, was not as important to my faith as I had thought. Throughout my life God has nudged me forward to learn more about Him and more about my faith, and more about what was really important.
In our Gospel reading today Jesus offers his listeners a parable. He reminds his listeners that no-one sews a new piece of material onto something old. Whether it is cloth or a wineskin, disaster would occur, either because the new cloth would shrink, or because the wineskin would expand through fermentation. Jesus came to change the old Law and to bring in a new one. Christianity would not destroy the old, but bring it to fruition. An adult does not destroy the child within them, but fulfils the promise of that baby!
This last year has made me see what is important for a Christian, not the church building, though I miss it, or the beauty of music or liturgy, though I miss them. What is important, is that we continue to worship, alone or online; that we continue to pray for ourselves and others; and we continue to be faithful to God. Our new world may well be different, but it can still be faithful!
Prayer
Lord God,
You came to change our world:
to change it for individuals,
and to change it for society.
May we keep the faith
in these difficult times
and continue to worship You
whether alone or together.
Amen.
You might like to look up these verses that deal with Jesus fulfilling the Law:
However, the following cartoon style video is a really wonderful way of explaining what Jesus means about fulfilling the Law. It is produced by a not-for-profit group, along with many other subjects, and is really worth watching!