'Then the disciples of John approached him and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast [much], but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved (Mt. 9:14-17).”’
From antiquity, fasting was a common religious practice. It was a way of humbling yourself before God and strengthening yourself in prayer. Respect was given to Jesus by the way the question was asked in that they did not ask why Jesus did not fast. Jesus compares fasting to mourning, and his disciples to guests at a wedding, an occasion of joy. The bridegroom is frequently interpreted to be God. The Pharisees represent the old and the disciples represent the new. The old and the new do not mix but both must be preserved, and they are both preserved in Jesus.
Almighty God, when we turn our backs to you we are fasting without the benefit of your grace. In your mercy lead us out of our spiritual deserts to the oasis your son has left for us until we can be with the bridegroom in our eternal home. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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