The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
"Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?"
Fasting was such a universal spiritual practice that it was something shared in common by the disciples of John and the Pharisees, and indeed, many cultures in many times and places throughout history. We can exaggerate the scene in our minds by imagining a Buddhist, a Muslim, a Hindu, and a variety of others joining in the interrogation. 'Jesus,' they all say together, 'You say that your are the physician sent to heal those sick with sin. How is it then that you ignore this rudimentary and necessary remedy?' How indeed. Fasting does seem to be a properly basic discipline, designed to free those who do it from subjugation to lesser things, allowing their minds to rise to the contemplation of higher goods. Those who fasted in past times were expressing their commitment to a higher vision of reality than that of the mere exigencies of the body, which seemed like a praiseworthy practice.
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."
Jesus did not in fact dispute with them about the importance of fasting. What he did instead was to recast it around himself, around his own person, in a way that must have been shocking. First, he identified himself as the bridegroom, a title God used for himself in his relationship to Israel in the Old Testament.
As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you (see Isaiah 62:5).
Jesus was trying to help them see that fasting would have to be different now that he arrived on the scene. Perhaps previously it would have been enough to fast as a sign of preference to some amorphous and undefined spiritual good. But now, that goodness had been revealed and had a name: Jesus of Nazareth. It was therefore now the case that fasting and feasting could attain their true and fulfilled purpose only if they were done in reference to him. It was now insufficient to merely fast generically, pursuing some vague and undefined good, when the true good for which we were all made, the bridegroom of whom we are all meant together to be the bride, was standing before them. To fast in such a situation was an insult, and was if if one had something better to prefer than even Jesus himself.
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.
Jesus did not do away with fasting, he recast it with a new center rooted in the mysteries of his life. This news that the bridegroom would be "taken" must have seemed cryptic. But hindsight reveals to us that he spoke of his crucifixion and death, and that these specifically would be the mysteries that demanded fasting as a proper response. We might briefly wonder if, since that was an event in the past, we no longer need to fast. Yet we know that the Church in her wisdom calls us to enter afresh into these mysteries every year. We know too that Jesus called his disciples, past and present, to take up their crosses and follow him. Since the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus is still at working transforming ourselves and the world it is often still necessary and appropriate to fast. But the reason for this fasting is now nothing generic, it is instead a petition of our hearts longing for the bridegroom, enticing him back, telling him we will be satisfied with nothing less than he himself.
If we fast in the way that Jesus intends, centered around him, heightening our desires for him, we will not risk the selfish and superficial fasts condemned by God through the prophet Isaiah. Rather, we will experience the freedom of heart in our own lives that allows us to share that freedom with others. Self love will be tempered enough to let the love Jesus wants so show through us to others shine through. Every opportunity to show love to another is an opportunity to meet Jesus in a new way. Let us no longer allow our hunger for lesser things to distract us from such a great reward.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
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