Crushed and Fermented...The Gift of Wisdom

~~~ Sirach 4:11-19 ~~~ Psalm 119 ~~~ Mark 9:38-40 ~~~

 

While I am not an expert on ancient wine pressing;

one thing I do know is that without crushing the grape there will be no wine.

The early wines came from the grapes crushed by human feet.

The grapes were tossed together and trampled upon by people.

 

The earliest known method of wine pressing is some six thousand years old.

 

What appears to be utter destruction of the plump juicy grapes

eventually yields the tasty beverage we appreciate as wine. 

 

The only way to make wine is to exert pressure

from an outside source upon the grapes.

 

Following the crushing of the grapes the juice is then stored

for a period of time to allow for fermentation.

Fermentation requires only two components, sugar and yeast. 

Grapes themselves are full of sugar and their skins harbor wild yeast.

 

Today the process for making wine is a bit more sophisticated.

Now we have commercial wine presses and specific strains of yeast.

The whole process is controlled and consistently reliable.

 

Why, you may be asking am I talking about wine?

 

Today in the Sirach reading we hear about wisdom.

 

...at first she puts him to the test;
Fear and dread she brings upon him
and tries him with her discipline...

 

 

Just as the grapes are crushed we too must submit to the test before

being granted the wisdom.

We must be willing to have our previous beliefs challenged...

...Our old way of thinking crushed.

 

Wisdom sometimes goes against all that we previously held as truth.

 

Then she comes back to bring him happiness
and reveal her secrets to them
and she will heap upon him
treasures of knowledge

 

Later after fermentation we understand where our thinking must be altered.

Wisdom alters the fruit of what we believe.

Wisdom combines the sweetness of God and our human shortcomings.

This new combination creates something very different from what existed before. 

 

When we continue to seek wisdom from the Lord

we are constantly being crushed, fermented,

and re-created as new.

Wisdom gives a new spirit to our heart.