Daily Devotional for February 12

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February 12                                                        Mark 2:18-22

           "... no one puts new wine into old wineskins;
       if one does, the wine will burst the skins, and the
        wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine
                              is for fresh skins."

So clearly, so simply, Jesus describes his message. The truth
of the Christian faith cannot be added to old forms of religion
any more than new wine can be poured into old containers.
The faith of Christ makes life completely new.

People of faith have often resisted the newness and the radical
change Christ brings. If the Gospel is to achieve its goal of
bringing all the world to the saving knowledge of Christ, then
change must occur. Allowing the Spirit of God to make all the
changes necessary ultimately allows God to add to the body
of Christ countless outcast persons.

The Spirit of God shattered the early church to make room
for gentiles; it shattered the white American church to make
room for persons of color; it is shattering the heterosexual
church to make room for homosexual persons; and it will
fracture the church again and again if we become closed to
other groups of persons.

The Spirit of God descends to make life new and to make the
house of God a house of prayer for all peoples. The religious
forms of our faith are replaced when they no longer contain
the new wine of Christ. God is a creating God; which often
means we must be made over and made new for God to fill
us. If we are thirsty for the new wine of Christ, then we must
allow God to make us fit containers.

   God, let me be unafraid of your changing me; let me
  trust that the changes you make will always be for my
        well-being. I want to trust that the newness I
                    welcome is really you, God.

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From The Road to Emmaus - An inclusive devotional Edited by Joseph W. Houle

Emmaus House of Prayer - Washington D.C.1989