Film Friday There is a scene in this biopic about Bob Dylan’s early days, when Bob plays the Newport festival and the crowd boo him. He had been adored by the new generation, he was original and radical and a voice for the people. But Newport was a folk festival and Bob wanted to move on, so he turned up with a band and an electric guitar. Oh oh. That’s not going to go well. In the movie he plays a song there from his new album, the now classic Like a Rolling Stone, which sounded fantastic to me as I watched, but back then, at that moment, folks weren’t able to appreciate it, because this was not what they expected. Change was in the air.
In Luke 5 Jesus spoke about new cloth and new wine. These were radical pictures about needing to start again with God. About not getting stuck and remaining open to the work of the Holy Spirit. No one pours new wine into old skins, he said, because the old skins would burst. Likewise it’s no good stitching old and new cloth together, because one would tear the other. The whole thing need renewing. When Jesus walked into town and called folks to repent because a new kingdom was coming, the Greek word for repent recorded there is metanoia, and it means change the way you think. The kingdom is coming, and we need to be willing to change, to not get stuck. To offer ourselves afresh so God can make us new. It’s difficult because we so easily get stuck in our ways.
I sometimes think of the pillar of cloud leading the people across the desert in Exodus. Some days it stayed put, some days it moved on, and the people were called to keep alert, so that they knew when to stop and when to move forward. And Jesus is here to help us with this, not just to teach us and guide us but able to offer us the resources we need. Follow me, says Jesus, and he leads us on.
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