Matthew 9:14-15

Isaiah 58:1-9a

Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19

Matthew 9:14-15

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I recognize that I have sinful tendencies. I recognize my weakness and inability to overcome them. With you, all things are possible. I trust in you and am confident in the help of your grace.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Fasting in the Old Testament: The story of the fall of Adam and Eve can be read as a failure to fast and refrain from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve committed the first and original sin by failing to control their desire to eat (see Pitre, Introduction to the Spiritual Life, 72). Due to the sin of our first parents, all human beings are born into this fallen world with a disordered craving for the pleasure of food. “Seen in this light, the biblical practice of fasting is firstly about reversing the effects of the Fall by training the desires of the body to obey the will of the soul. If a person can learn to control cravings for good things, like food, he or she will more likely be able to control cravings for evil things, like sin” (Pitre, Introduction to the Spiritual Life, 72). Fasting was seen as a way to prepare to encounter the Lord God. Both Moses and Elijah fasted for forty days and forty nights before entering into God’s presence (see Exodus 34:28-29; 1 Kings 19:8-12). Fasting was also an outward sign of inward repentance (Joel 2:12-16). On the Day of Atonement, the people of Israel would abstain from food and drink (Leviticus 16:29). “In sum, the biblical practice of fasting is all about turning away from sin and turning to God” (Pitre, Introduction to the Spiritual Life, 74). 

2. Fasting in Jesus’ Day: Although the Law of Moses only mandated fasting once a year on the Day of Atonement, the Pharisees practiced fasting twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays (see Luke 18:12; Didache, 8,1). All three synoptic Gospels record Jesus’ response to the question about why his disciples do not fast (Matthew 9:14-15; Mark 2:18-22; Luke 5:33-39). Jesus uses the question to reveal that he is the divine Bridegroom sent to save his bride and give her the wine of salvation. Jesus also reveals that the day will come when his disciples will fast. There is a deep mystery here. Jesus, our bridegroom, is both with us and “taken away” from us. He is with us in the Eucharist and in the depths of our souls through grace. He is taken away because he died on the Cross for us and ascended to heaven to reign at the right hand of the Father. And so, our Christian life is marked by feasting and fasting. This means that there is a time for rejoicing and feasting and also a time for penance and fasting.

3. Fasting in the Age of the Church: An early first-century Christian writing, called The Didache, exhorts Christians not to fast on Mondays and Thursdays like the hypocrites (the Pharisees) but on Wednesdays and Fridays. In the second century, Christians were known to fast for forty hours, from the afternoon of Good Friday to the morning of Easter Sunday, to commemorate the Lord’s Passion and time in the tomb. The liturgical season of Lent, as a time of fasting for forty days, later developed and was standardized by the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325. This practice recalls Jesus’ forty-day fast in the desert and battle against the devil’s temptations. In the twenty-first century, we are obligated to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but can also voluntarily fast throughout the year and during Lent. We can fast not just from food but also from many other good things to strengthen our will and our resolve to resist temptation.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you fasted forty days and forty nights to give us the supreme example of self-denial. When tempted to turn stones into bread to satisfy your hunger, you resisted. When tempted with the wealth of the earthly kingdoms, you resisted. When tempted to make a display to earn the admiration of the crowds, you resisted. Help me in my battles against the unquenchable desire for pleasure, the insatiable hunger for luxury, and the insistent craving for renown. 

Living the Word of God: What do I need to fast from the most? Fasting from food? Fasting from alcohol? Fasting from entertainment? Fasting from social media? If this fasting frees up time during my day, then what should I do with that time?