"The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink."
Compared to the disciples of other sects the disciples of Jesus seemed lax. The disciples of John and those of the Pharisees manifested the capability for rigorous discipline. But those who followed Jesus seemed to go to the opposite extreme. They willingly joined in on such feasts as the wedding at Cana. They gained infamy from sharing meals with sinners and from gleaning from the fields even on the Sabbath. They seemed to always be more ready for celebration than ascetic discipline. Even Jesus himself came to be known as a glutton and drinker of wine (see Matthew 11:19).
Jesus answered them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
It was appropriate to celebrate because wisdom had set her table (see Proverbs 9:2). What was happening was in fact the marriage feast of heaven and earth, the sacred union of God and man. Jesus was no mere prophet or teacher instructing his followers in discipline. He was himself the divine bridegroom, and the one in whom humanity and divinity were finally and irrevocably united. All of the preparation had led to this moment. The need to not become sated on the things of the world was precisely so that they would have the full capacity to enjoy this feast.
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days.
Now that Jesus has died and ascended does that mean we ought to move on from celebration to fasting full time? Not necessarily, because although he died he also rose. And although a cloud hid him from our sight he is nevertheless with us always until the end of the age. But Jesus did imply that his future disciples would sometimes fast. It wasn't as though there was only some short period before the resurrection when it was right to do so. It is true that we do experience the abundant presence of Jesus in his Church. But we also experience his absence. We are meant to desire the coming of his Kingdom into our world in concrete and visible ways. But our world still falls short of the Kingdom. His presence is still hidden in our brothers and sisters, especially those who are the most deprived and neglected. Until he is fully revealed as reigning, until his dignity is fully apparent even in the lowest and the least, until he is all in all, we are meant to desire him to be ever more present. At times we express this desire by fasting, which is a concrete way to demonstrate our long for Jesus and our love of him.
No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
Otherwise, he will tear the new
and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.
The old paradigms were no longer sufficient for one to understand how to live in the new reality that was then and forevermore changed by the coming of the bridegroom, Jesus himself. One could not and should not revert to modes that were merely designed to prepare for a feast in the distant future, and thereby act as though the feast had not yet come. To do so was to shun and ignore the gift of the bridegroom who came to invite everyone to share together at his table.
Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.
We tend to try to slot Jesus into our preexisting categories. But when we do so we fail to realize the massive transformation he brought about. In order to receive what Jesus taught we need minds renewed by the Holy Spirit, and a new, fresh, spiritual way of thinking. Jesus himself is the only key or paradigm that can explain Jesus. We must let him be the one to unlock the meaning of his revelation to us. But his presence among us is proof that he desires to do so. And the Gospel today reminds us that, whenever he does, it is cause for celebration.
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