Mark 2:18-22

Hebrews 5:1-10

Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4

Mark 2:18-22

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are awesome in your glory and love your people so much that you willed to be our bridegroom. Help me to understand and delve into so great a mystery.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Why do your Disciples not fast? After a number of successes in the opening chapter of Mark’s Gospel, the second chapter begins a series of five conflicts. The first conflict (Mark 2:1-12) centered on Jesus claiming the divine ability to forgive sins. The second (Mark 2:13-17) involved Jesus reclining at table and eating with tax collectors and sinners. The third conflict, which we read in today’s Gospel, concerns the practice of fasting. In each conflict, Jesus was doing something good but was falsely accused of doing something evil. Jesus was accused of blasphemy, of associating with public sinners, and now, of not obligating his disciples to fast like the pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist. The opposition of the religious authorities to Jesus only increases with each encounter. The Pharisees in Jesus’ day prided themselves on fasting twice a week. They mistakenly thought that such ascetical practices made them righteous before God. They had yet to learn that only with the new wine that Jesus brings – the grace of the New Covenant – will pious practices like fasting, almsgiving, and prayer be meritorious for eternal life.

2. Jesus the Bridegroom: Jesus used each one of the five conflicts to reveal something about his identity. The first conflict gave Jesus the opportunity to reveal that he is the Son of Man, prophesied by Daniel, who possesses the divine power and authority to heal the sick and forgive sins. In the second conflict, Jesus revealed himself as the divine physician who attends to the physically and spiritually sick and calls sinners to follow him and dine with him at table. The third conflict revealed Jesus as the divine bridegroom promised by the prophets like Hosea, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Jesus compares his disciples to groomsmen or “sons of the bridal chamber.” As the bridegroom, Jesus brings the new wine of salvation. The old wineskins, symbols of the Old Covenant, were unable to contain the new wine that Jesus brings. The saving grace that Jesus, our divine Bridegroom and eternal High Priest, merited for us through his passion and death needs the new wineskins of the New Covenant.

3. Priestly Mediation: In the First Reading, the Letter to the Hebrews considers how a priest acts as a mediator between God and humanity. It points out how the high priests – Aaron and his priestly descendants – were appointed priests by God, but that they were beset by weakness and committed many sins. They not only offered sin offerings on behalf of the people but had to offer sin offerings for themselves too. When Aaron and his sons offered a bull in sacrifice once a year on the Day of Atonement it served as a reminder of the original sin of the first high priest, who fashioned a golden calf for the people of Israel to worship. The high priests of the Old Testament were able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, because they themselves were ignorant, erring, weak, and sinful. Sin tragically breaks the relationship with God and humanity. And so, when a priest offered a sacrifice for sins, they were acting as mediators by offering the worship of the people to God and by asking God for mercy to be given to his sinful people. Jesus, like the high priests of the Old Covenant, did not appoint himself to the high priesthood, but was appointed by his Father. Jesus assumed our human nature and brought it to perfection through his obedience and suffering. And through this priestly act he became the source of our eternal salvation.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, eternal high priest and divine bridegroom, intercede before the Father for your bride and pour out the Spirit into her heart so that she may return your love with joy.

Living the Word of God: Do I ever think about fasting outside of the season of Lent? What types of fasting would be beneficial for me? Can I fast from certain foods, alcohol, or social media?