Mark 2:18-22

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 such a great mystery and return your love.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Third Conflict: We are reading a series of five conflicts in Mark’s Gospel. In the first story, which we read on Friday, the scribes thought Jesus was committing the sin of blasphemy by claiming for himself the divine authority and ability to forgive sins. In the second conflict (Mark 2:13-17), which we read on Saturday, the Pharisees tried to sow division between Jesus and his disciples by pointing out how Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. The third conflict, which we read in today’s Gospel, concerns the practice of fasting. The opposition comes from the people who are concerned that while the disciples of John the Baptist and those of the Pharisees fasted, Jesus’ disciples did not. In each conflict, Jesus was doing something good but was falsely accused of doing something evil. Jesus forgives sins but is accused of blasphemy. Jesus calls public sinners to follow him, but is accused of becoming unclean through association with them. In today’s third conflict, Jesus is accused of an omission because he does not seem to demand ascetical and pious practice from his disciples. Do I falsely judge and accuse others? Am I guilty of labelling as evil what is good?

2. Fasting: The Pharisees, in Jesus’ day, prided themselves on fasting twice a week. Jesus did not think that fasting was bad. He himself fasted for forty days and forty nights. He even invited his disciples, in the Sermon on the Mount, to fast, but to do so in secret. We are invited to pray, fast, and give alms especially during the Liturgical season of Lent. The Code of Canon Law (canons 1250-51) mandates a practice related to fasting – abstinence from meat on all Fridays throughout the year, unless a solemnity falls on a Friday. While the universal law requires Friday abstinence, some Episcopal Conferences (like the USCCB in the United States) permit alternative penances, such as works of charity or prayer, in place of meat abstinence on most Fridays, though they encourage its continuation. In the end, we have to realize that in some way, our Bridegroom has been “taken away,” but also that “he is with us until the end of days.” That is why our Christian life here on earth has times of fasting and times of feasting. We celebrate not only the passion and death of our Lord, but also his resurrection, ascension, universal reign, and Eucharistic presence among us.

3. 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 brought. 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.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, 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?