Jesus said, “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

In our world, it’s easy to feel pressured to get the latest thing, whether it’s because it’s faster, has more features, or simply looks better. At the same time, there’s a strong sense of nostalgia for the past, when things were supposedly better.

The Bible often seems to offer conflicting advice to us. For example, in the book of the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 6 verse 16, God tells us to “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths.” Yet later, in chapter 31, verse 31, he says that he “will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”

This tension between the old and the new seems universal and was thus also present in Jesus’ time. It is perhaps most evident in Jesus himself: he is the fulfillment of ancient prophecies, but in a very new and unexpected way.

In the text above, Jesus is confronted with the following question: since his teaching is new, should those who follow it abandon Jewish rituals and traditions? As is often the case, Jesus does not simply answer the question but instead reveals where the true focus should lie. For him, both the new and the old have their place, as long as we do not lose sight of the ultimate goal of any act of faith: giving glory to God.

 How do you balance the desire for new expressions and ideas with the appreciation of and respect for traditions and the past?
 In what ways can you ensure that your actions, whether rooted in tradition or innovation, ultimately give glory to God?