The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to Jesus and objected, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
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Fasting, along with prayer and almsgiving, are the three pillars of Jewish piety. The fasts are always accompanied by prayer and supplication and frequently by wearing sackcloth as a sign of penance and mourning. A public fasting is required on the Day of Atonement. It can also be done privately, on one’s initiative. In the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, the Pharisee declares that he fasts twice a week (Lk 18:12).
Brought up in the Jewish tradition, Jesus observed fasting. But fasting was not the main focus of his ministry. In today’s Gospel, some people object that his disciples do not fast, which is really a criticism of Jesus’ ways and teaching on matter of fasting.
Jesus proclaims God’s love for his people and their salvation in him. Fasting is an act of humiliation. People humble themselves before God to move God to action in their behalf. But the reign of God already comes with Jesus and in him; there is no need of self-humiliation to persuade God to act.
This conviction about God’s pure grace and unmerited love makes Jesus compare the reign of God to a wedding banquet. He is the bridegroom and his followers are the guests at the wedding feast. In the wedding there is joy and communion, satisfaction of body and spirit.
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SOURCE: “366 Days with the Lord 2020,” ST. PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
