Reading
Matthew 9:14-15
14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”
15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
Meditation
Some disciples of John together with the Pharisees are the protagonists of a discussion on fasting with Jesus. Shortly before they had turned to his disciples asking him why their teacher was having a meal with tax collectors and sinners. Now they turn to him to reprove his disciples. Before they had tried to turn the disciples against the teacher, now the teacher against the disciples. A way of acting that certainly cannot come from the Spirit, and that rather reveal the intention to divide and sow discord that characterizes the evil one.
Jesus responds by making his own the same similitude that John the Baptist had used, who had defined himself as a "friend of the bridegroom" (Jn 3:29). Fasting is a sign of mourning and in that moment of joy when Jesus is proclaiming the kingdom of heaven it would be inappropriate, just as it would be out of place at a wedding dinner. Fasting refers to the time when Jesus will no longer be with the disciples, which is the time of the church.
Jesus explained how to fast in his speech on the mountain (Mt 6:16-18): privately, perfuming the head and washing the face, so that only the Father who sees in secret can give his reward. This practice is thus internalized and loses the legalistic connotation it had assumed among the Pharisees. But what is the wedding of which Jesus speaks of defining himself as "the bridegroom"? It is the one between the Savior and sinners. Matthew, the converted tax collector, understood this personally, and organized a banquet for Jesus.
The prophet Isaiah tells us which fasting God values the most: "Is it not to share your food with the hungry" (Is 58:7). Christ is the one who satisfies our hunger for God, our deepest desire for love, which the world cannot satisfy with his "foods". If we fast at certain times it is not to gain merit and respect precepts in a pharisaic way, but to share our goods, our affection, our time with God and with our neighbor.
By saying a few "no" to ourselves, like the apostle Paul we treat our body and our spirit a little harshly, exercising ourselves not as one who runs aimlessly (1Cor 9:24-27), but knowing well that the purpose of every ascetic practice is to make room for God and the brothers in our heart.
Prayer
Our soul is hungry and thirsty for you, o Lord. Look at our poverty and come to visit us with your grace. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
