Homily for January 20, 2020

The wine was a very important element at a wedding feast, the beginning of a marriage, as was clear from the story of the wedding feast at Cana, which precedes the story we just heard in today’s Gospel reading. Having spoken of Himself as the bridegroom, Jesus also compares His presence to that of new wine.

The new wine of the LORD’S loving presence and life-giving action calls for new wineskins to hold it and to dispense it. The LORD’S love is a grace, but it also makes certain demands on us, calling on us to continually renew our lives so that we can truly be molded by His love.

New wine, new wineskins. We have to keep shedding our old skin and develop new skin. We can never be fully satisfied with where we are at any moment of our lives.+