Friday 6 September 2024

Today is Friday the 6th of September in the 22nd week of Ordinary Time. One Hope Project sings, ‘Good Work In Me’. Everything I have within And all that is before me Meet me in this broken place Transform it for Your glory I lay this life downfall into You now A sacrifice of praise Surrender to You, my loving Savior I trust in Your great name You will meet me in my hurting, Jesus You are all I need Your love will satisfy I trust the plans You have for me I will stand upon the promise You've not forsaken me You walk beside me in the waiting You are doing a good work in me Now when I'm faced with trials I will choose your joy each morning I trust You, though I'm terrified So use me for Your glory I lay this life downfall into You now A sacrifice of praise Surrender to You, my loving Savior I trust in Your great name You will meet me in my hurting, Jesus You are all I need Your love will satisfy I trust the plans You have for me I will stand upon the promise You've not forsaken me You walk beside me in the waiting You are doing a good work in me You are a God of transformation Your presence carries restoration You deserve my praise There's power in Your name You are a God of transformation Your presence carries restoration You deserve my praise There's power in Your name You'll meet me in my hurting, Jesus You are all I need Your love will satisfy I trust the plans You have for me I will stand upon the promise You've not forsaken me You walk beside me in the waiting You are doing a good work in me Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke. Luke 5:33-39 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.” ’ Jesus does not want his disciples to be tied down by the chains of a stifling tradition. Where might he be inviting you to break free and walk in a new direction? How might Jesus be calling you to think in new ways and to do new things? There is always a tension around holding onto what is wholesome tradition and still deeply good, and also being open to new expressions that encourage growth. Can you see both of these qualities in Jesus? What is the new wine that Jesus wants you to drink? How does it smell? How does it taste? Take and receive it from him . . . Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.