By Dr. Jimmy Braswell
Chaplain, Home Hospice of Odessa
One of the six parables included in all three of the synoptic gospels is the parable of the old clothes with new patches.
The parable basically tells us that new patches on old garments don’t work. The patch just makes the tear in the garment worse.
One of the accounts is found in the Gospel of Luke 5:33-36. The meaning of the parable is to remind us that we can’t simply correct behavior or patch things up in a friendship, a business agreement, or a marriage. If we want things to be different in relationships, the whole commitment must change. We don’t change details’ we change our entire attitude – to our very being.
Otherwise, we simply “spin our wheels” with trivial “patches” that really don’t make much of a difference. Do you sense a need for a change? Fall in love again with the person, organization, job, or task; really get interested in the relationship or organization from the bottom up and you’ll find yourself falling in love after a whole new garment.
