The question is put to Jesus, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” The Pharisees liked to question Jesus, often to test him or trip him up but this time he made things too simple, too different for their legal minds to understand. And it drove them crazy.
Sometimes we behave like them. At times we do not look for the truth behind someone we disagree with? What we often do is put people down, dismiss them or ridicule them, all the while feeling quite smug, even superior.
This time they are given an answer in several short “wisdom sayings” about practical human experiences that they could understand. To make sure they get the point, Jesus gives three examples:
- “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them …” There is a time for everything: now may be a time to celebrate, not to fast. - “No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak …” Jesus suggests that his message, his mission, is to show that God’s love is always alive, fresh and new. It can’t simply fit into our “old ways”. - “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins…” I can’t expect to live my life “in the past”, only according to the way things were. I need to be open to the gifts that God is offering me today.
Today, let us pray that we may experience God’s love today and share it. Blessings. Fr. Brian