St George's Cathedral, Cape Town

A sermon preached by the Very Reverend Rowan Smith in the Cathedral Church of St George the Martyr on the First Sunday in Lent, 1 March 2009

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins…. But one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.” Mark 2 v 22

One of the blessings of being part of the Catholic Church is our inheritance which takes us back to our beginnings. Therefore we have now entered into the season of Lent as part of that inherited faith and practice and our worship leaflets sketch out how this season came into being and then has undergone significant changes in our Christian history. It is, however, important that we reflect on and question this inheritance so that we are able to express these traditions in our present context.

St Mark, like the two other Synoptic writers has Jesus go off into the wilderness, a deserted place in preparation for his life's work. That this is so important for Mark is evidenced by his contracted account of Our Lord's temptation so that he can get on with what really matters:

“ Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God and saying 'The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near…” 1 v 14f

Mark then shows how this announcement and Our Lord's subsequent ministry leads to conflict on a number of level's beginning with the casting out of an unclean spirit Mark 1 v 21-28. The New Testament reading tonight, no doubt chosen for the season of Lent, shows the conflict with the religious leaders, who are also eagerly looking for the coming of the Messiah and who set aside periods of fasting to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom. They do not recognise Jesus as Messiah despite his illusion to the “bridegroom” whom the Jewish people would have understood to be symbolic of Messiah. Look, says Jesus, the Messiah is here so how can we fast. The new age has come.

But here we encounter one of the problem areas in the Gospels; the evangelist anticipated the return of Messiah and God's reign reaching fulfilment in Christ in their time, but it did not happen and the early Church continued to have times of fasting only now in the knowledge that Christ has come and will return again in the glory of the Father. Therefore:

“ no one puts new wine into old wineskins … but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

Therein lies the quest for us today, what is the appropriate fast for us in Lent, not only as preparing us through prayer and discipline to journey with Our Lord in his passion, death and resurrection but also as working to bring about the reign of God? The reading from the book of David is a pointer for us since Daniel turns to God “ by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes…” 9 v 3

Daniels's prayer is not for his personal needs, his prayer is with and for the people who have “… sinned and done wrong, acted wickedly and rebelled …” v 5

In the Muslim tradition the month of Ramadan is observed not for the piety of the individual alone but also in solidarity with those who have no choice in fasting as they simply have no food. Our piety too can never be simply about our own spiritual growth because we are part of this world that God loves as Daniel puts it: “Ah, Lord, great and awesome God, keeping covenant and steadfast love with those who love and keep your commandment…” v 4b.

To acknowledge God as great and awesome and showing steadfast love is to enter into the reign of God, into moving away from self and embracing this world into which Jesus comes proclaiming good news. As Our Lord Jesus was lead by the spirit into a desert place, so we too in this season of Lent are being lead to places of solitude, of stillness, places of being open to God, places of simply resting in that steadfast love. In the Sunday Independent today, I came across this quote, by the poet Geothe, which the presenter of this year's Academy Awards, Hugh Jackman, has on his blog:

“ A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful implanted in the human soul.”

So in our context in South Africa today we need to discover appropriate ways of fasting in anticipation of the establishment of God's reign in our hearts and in our land. Perhaps we could begin by avoiding not so much food or drink but worry, pessimism and despair. Look around and see what are the things that produce negative attitudes in us and pray for grace to let them go. Then too look at our Church and ask that the Holy Spirit help us discern those areas in our life where, like the Pharisees, we are still concerned with outward traditions which prevent others from entering the kingdom of God. Should we have new wine skins for the new wine of Civil-Unions? We are in fact to anticipate that kingdom of God, which is like a wedding banquet, where everyone is welcome and no one excluded but for those who reject the wedding garment of grace. Jesus is the new wine and we are the new wineskins whose task is to give to others, who thirst, the generous love of God and bring new hope, new joy and new life to our thirsty world. So we pray to Our Lord:

“ thou of life the fountain art,
freely let me take of thee
spring thou up within my heart
rise to all eternity…” AMR 193

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