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 wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.’ (Mark 2: 21-22)

Jesus offers a new teaching and a new way of understanding. He did not, however, seek to overturn the old way. Rather, he sought to fulfill the original purpose of the old way.

How do we accommodate the old and new? We want to patch the old cloak so that the tear will not grow, to preserve the cloak and continue to enjoy its warmth and protection. Not only do we use shrunk cloth, but we try to find a texture and color that will best match the old.

The gospel of Luke makes clear we prefer old wine. (Luke 5: 39). But we cannot use old wine skins to hold new wine. The fermentation will burst the old skins. So we prepare new skins that will flexibly respond to the turmoil of the new becoming old, that will contain the volatile new as it ages. We will also wait patiently for the new wine to assume the depth of color, texture, and taste that comes only with time.

Many of those who heard Jesus were urgently seeking an agent of change, the bringer of a new age, a messiah who would dramatically transform their situation. Many heard Jesus and decided he was not the one for whom they sought. He seemed too much a reformer and insufficiently a revolutionary.

In terms of the wider society, it was at least two generations - and some would suggest 200 years - before the teachings of Jesus were being heard and believed by large numbers. Old wine is worth the wait.