Matthew 9:14-17

Matthew 9:14-17

The disciples of John approached Jesus 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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have united me and espoused me to yourself through your Son and the gift of your Spirit. I am yours, and you are my God. Speak tenderly to me and guide me by the hand to your eternal embrace.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Christian Asceticism? Jesus has just healed a paralytic and forgiven the man’s sins (Matthew 9:1-8). Jesus has also called Matthew, a tax collector, to follow him. He is dining in Matthew’s house, and this provokes both the Pharisees and the disciples of John to have doubts about Jesus. The Pharisees question the association with someone working for the Romans. The disciples of John are concerned about the feasting and lack of asceticism. “The disciples of John the Baptist continue as a group after their master’s imprisonment (Matthew 4:12). Given John’s commitment to an ascetic way of life (Matthew 3:4) that included fasting (Matthew 11:18), they perhaps look with suspicion on Jesus’ disciples for feasting with sinners and tax collectors (Matthew 9:10), and question whether they are truly committed to pursuing righteousness. In response, Jesus describes himself as a bridegroom, thus applying to himself an Old Testament image for God in his relationship to Israel (Isaiah 62:4-5)” (Mitch and Sri, The Gospel of Matthew, 134-135). Just as the people should not fast and mourn during a wedding feast, so also the people should not fast while Jesus, the Bridegroom-Messiah, is with them. However, the day will come when the Bridegroom is “taken away.” This is an allusion to Jesus’ passion and death on the Cross. When that happens, Jesus’ disciples will fast.

2. Fasting and Feasting: In one sense, the Bridegroom has been taken and reigns in heaven at the right hand of the Father. In another sense, the Bridegroom is still with us in the Eucharist and in the Church. Thus, we are called to live lives of both mournful fasting and joyful feasting. There are times during the Liturgical Year, such as Lent and most Fridays, when we are called to fast. And there are other times, such as Solemnities and Sundays, when we are called to celebrate and feast. The bridegroom is mysteriously with us and yet will return at the end of time. The bridegroom invites us to mourn and to rejoice, to sing a funeral dirge and to dance to a wedding flute. As we live out our Christian lives, we need a healthy balance between fasting and feasting, and the wisdom to discern when to ask pardon for our sins and when to rejoice in the Spirit.

3. The Restoration of God’s People: The theme of the restoration of God’s people is also present in the Gospel: Jesus is the divine Bridegroom who comes to his people as to his bride and, after his Resurrection, goes away to prepare a place for her in heaven. Jesus does not come simply to restore the old order (the old wineskins), but comes to make all things new. He brings the Old Covenant to fulfillment by establishing a new, everlasting covenant in his blood. He is the Messiah who brings New Wine to his people (see Amos 9:13-14). In the Eucharist, we share in the wedding feast of Jesus, the Lamb of God. We partake of the New Wine, which is Jesus’ Blood. The Mass is where we receive the Bread of Life, the “hidden manna” (Revelation 2:17). Jesus, the Bridegroom, has given us, his bride, the gift of the hidden manna and the new wine, for he himself is the hidden manna and the new wine.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are my bridegroom. You have given me the gift of new wineskins – the New Covenant – and filled them with the new wine of salvation. Help me to appreciate each day these gifts that you have given to your Bride, the Church. Wash me clean in the water of the Spirit and in your Blood.

Living the Word of God: Do I struggle to see Jesus as my bridegroom? What good qualities should characterize my nuptial relationship with God? How can I be a better bride?