Luke 5:33-39

Posted by DJL on Feb 1, 2013 in Daily Bread | 0 comments

Then they said to him, “John’s disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink.” Jesus said to them, “You cannot make wedding-guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.’”

What constitutes the religious life? What, that is, should religious people do? How should they behave? What should be their demeanor and outlook?

The common expectation – both among many who are religious and many who aren’t – is that religion is a pretty somber affair. We’re talking about God, after all; almighty God at that. And so I suppose the right outlook is one of holy awe, if not fear; restrained actions, lest one make a mistake or do something embarrassing; and utter seriousness in the presence of the Almighty. Who are we, finally, before the Maker of the Universe?

I understand that perspective, to some degree. And, indeed, there are times for seriousness, for sobriety, for contrition, for fasting, for remembering, in the words of the Ash Wednesday service, that we came from dust and to dust we shall return.

But that’s not the half of it. There is also room for laughter, and joy, and exuberance, and even foolishness.

In point of fact, the passage we’re reading today is an important part of the story as it offers one more clue to the “royal time” Jesus introduces and mediates. He is the One through whom God will work to redeem God’s beloved world. For this reason his disciples do not fast. They are like guests about to dive into a wedding celebration and banquet. Jesus is trying to wake up the Pharisees and teachers of the law to the possibility that God was doing something new; that the rules were changing; that God was still in the business of creating something out of nothing. But that’s hard to see when you’ve already figured things out and draw a measure of comfort and stability from that knowledge.

And it’s not just those folks who struggle. We, too, often assume we know what God wants – contrition, piety, seriousness, and the like. We, too, draw a measure of comfort from knowing what’s expected of us.

But perhaps we also need to be reminded that because Jesus came to announce God’s profound, earth-changing love, all the old categories no longer apply. The rules have changed; life is new. So…holy awe? Sure, sometimes, but holy mirth as well. Seriousness? Of course, on occasion; but so also hilarity. Piety? Yes, surely; but also joyful service.

Jesus came to shake things up, you see – even what it means to be religious.

Prayer: Dear God, let us witness to your grace and goodness today through the laughter and joy we bring to others, making this day seem less like a budget meeting and more like a wedding banquet. In Jesus’ name, Amen.