Mk 2:18-22 The New Skins

Mk 2:18-22 The New Skins

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With the Lord’s arrival, the celebration must begin. God among us is cause for celebration. We are and will never be alone, orphaned – forgotten. In fact, Christ’s first miracle begins in Cana, at a wedding feast. The celebration must continue. His hour begins while a wedding takes place. This is the beginning of a relationship that will last forever. The symbolism is rich between the wedding feast and the relationship, the love, between man and God. The Lord decides to marry his people, “for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part!” “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” Here we have a vivid reminder of the creation of man and woman and their fall – but also the promise, the vow, made by God to man: I will never leave you.

The Lord is present at the wedding and therefore the celebration will never end. When the wine runs dry, a disgrace or sin for the couple, it becomes the catalyst for God to bless the couple, his people, with grace upon grace, blessings and abundance. The Lord is all I need. There is nothing I shall want. There is nothing I shall need as long as He is with me through the long and difficult night.

The wine has not run dry. In fact, the quality has improved. Of course all were amazed! All are joyful! All are grateful. Is it so hard to see the parallel with the old and new wine and man’s beginning and his re-creation? The Pharisees, and John’s former disciples, cannot understand the reason for the celebration. They have eyes only to see the fall and not the grace; ears to hear only the past and not the promise; hands to touch the wound but not to cure; and tongues to speak about sin, but not about the Savior! In order for the celebration to last it will require a new wine in a new wine skin! There will have to be a new union, a lasting union, between men, and between man and God. A new heart, mind, soul, hands, tongue and a new pair of glasses are needed to recognize the amazing gift of grace, meaning and purpose the Lord of has given to us.

I must make it my constant duty to uphold, to the highest degree, the value of all that surrounds me. I cannot point out another’s weakness without guiding them in the right direction. I cannot condone without offering an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord. If I must correct, then it must be to help and not to hurt. I must remember that the temptation to wound is strong for we have fallen, we have all hit bottom. Rather than a curse, this should be a reminder that I can never give up on anyone.

Lord, help me to remember the graces and not the falls; the joys of the day more than the terrors of the night. I remember the times I have been hurt rather than the times I have been helped. The Pharisees were blind but their greatest sin was to make others blind as well.

Lord, increase in me a desire to point out the strengths of others; to be an authentic witness of grace. To appreciate, value, the life that has been given to me so that I can help others see the goodness of the Lord.