And they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink." Jesus answered them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days." And he also told them a parable. "No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. (And) no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.'" (Lk5:33-39)
Religious practices or pious activities are often compared. Comparing is always to prove which one or who is better than the other. Jesus did not enter into this game. He did not compare to find out whose disciples were better than the rest. He entered into the discussion as to why or when should one fast. Wedding celebration was not the time to fast or to discuss about fasting. Presence of the bridegroom is a sign of celebration and not the time to fast.
Not only comparing but also patching up the old and the new would not also produce the desired effect. Patching up old with the new will only make the situation worse. It would destroy one or the other. Similarly the new wine poured in the old wine skins would destroy the wine skins and the wine would be wasted.
Jesus has come into the world with new. His preaching and working should not be compared or patched up with the past. Jesus in no way spokes ill of the old (old is good) but he would want the new to be accepted given its merit it deserves. The kingdom that he speaks of is not for comparison or to be patched up with the old. It has its own strength.
