1. Jesus taught: »New wine is not put into old wine skins. If it is, then the skins burst, the wine spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wine skins, and so both are preserved« (Matthew 9,17).
2. Lent reminds us that Jesus is the New Wine and He is received in new wine skins. The Old Testament cannot hold what Jesus brings, hence the New Testament. The Old Testament was not bad, but it has been fulfilled in Jesus. He is God with us and is inaugurating the very kingly reign of God in history (Gibbs 480). Through Jesus the Father in heaven is offering salvation, forgiveness and fellowship (Gibbs 480). The starting point has to be new, and Jesus himself must be the starting point (Gibbs 480).
3. The issue in this pericope is: What do you make of Jesus (Christology)? (Gibbs 481). Is he someone you just add on to your existing philosophy or theology? Is he merely a good man who teaches morals and virtue? Is he one god among many you try to appease or appeal to? Jesus is the Cornerstone of our faith; salvation is complete in Him, and there is no one else we need trust to appease God’s justice.
4. Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be (Matthew 6,27). When your heart is focused on Christ, His promises and His word, then your priorities change and you’re freedom to choose what really matters (Gibbs 355). Lent intensifies our focus on Jesus, who He is, where He is going and what He will do. Jesus is the Son of God who is going up to Jerusalem to suffer, die and rise again; He did this to save us and redeem us. He is your treasure and your heart should be devoted to Him.
5. If your heart is not set on Jesus, then repent and make Him your treasure. If your heart is set on Jesus, but you are weak or afraid of the cost of discipleship, they repent and ask Him for strength and courage. God calls you to repent; it is a call which derives from the heart of God Himself. With this call, God wants to arouse in us and repentance that is more than a superficial, symbolic act or a desperate solution to an embarrassing predicament.
6. When God the Father looks down upon this Earth He sees you; His heart is set up on saving you, for you are His treasure. He sent His Son to redeem you. Jesus taught us: »The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field« (Matthew 13,44). You are the treasure; Jesus gave all He had, His very life, to buy you and make you His own. That is the love and mercy He showed the world on His cross. Jesus has reached out to us long before the call to repentance, and He has become our Mediator before His Heavenly Father. Amen.
7. O God, You desire not the death of sinners, but rather that they turn from their wickedness and live. We implore You to have compassion on the frailty of our mortal nature, for we acknowledge that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Mercifully pardon our sins so that we may obtain the promises You have laid up for those who are repentant; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (altar book 485)
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