Matching

“‘But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins’.” (Luke 5:33-39).

Christ Giving the Keys to the Kingdom (Perugino)

My maternal grandmother used to say that for every person there is a match.  She was speaking – of course – about the vocation of marriage.  And what she was really trying to say was that there is a perfect match prepared for us by God who we are supposed to meet and marry if we are called to the vocation of marriage.  In this she was certainly not trying to say that there was a perfect person – just that there was a perfect match.

And what did she mean by this?  Well, she meant that if I have a particular fault in my nature or behaviour or personality, then God sends me a spouse who will be able to help me to deal with that fault (or vice) as the case may be.  For example, if I am impatient, then God will ensure that my spouse challenges me to become more patient.  Perhaps he will do this in ways that might feel trying to me, but he will do it nonetheless…  He might be slower to act on things than I am and this will encourage me to hold my tongue rather than jumping up and down in a tantrum to try to get him moving faster…  There are other things also that I might do differently, when faced with a match.  My husband – for example – is more adventurous than I am, and this means that his sense of adventure balances my sense of security and vice versa.

And I have been thinking about that as I have been thinking about the parable of the wineskins…

“Jesus told them a parable: ‘No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment; if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins’.” (Luke 5:33-39).And it seems that this is the same principle…

You see, God is calling me to find the match – no old wineskin for new wine.  He wants me to appreciate the value of His message to me and to HOUSE that value inside a soul that is prepared for Him.  In this Christ calls me to be more than a Pharisee – for the hypocrisy of the Pharisees was truly despised by God…  He is calling me to be receptive to His message – in its very core and essence.  Because if I can open my heart to the message of God – however He sends it to me – then I will be a better person.

And perhaps, his message looks like a husband who sometimes tries my patience?

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.