Fasting for love

18 The disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting. They came and said to Jesus, "Why do the disciples of John and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not? 19 Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? 20 The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will go without food on that day. 21 No one sews a new piece of cloth on an old one; if he did, the new cloth would take away part of the old, and the tear would be worse. 22 And no one puts new wine into old skins; otherwise, the wine will break the skins, and the wine and the skins will be lost; but new wine must be put into new skins." (Mark 2:18-22 NEG)

The Pharisees, who fasted twice a week, were frustrated when they saw Jesus' disciples. Why weren't they fasting?

Behind this question was jealousy and frustration, a feeling of injustice.

Jesus multiplied the bread and the fish, turned water into excellent wine, and barbecued on the beach after his resurrection.

Our flesh doesn't like fasting, and when we don't understand its purpose, fasting feels like torture.

This text is also found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, associated with the wineskins and the new cloth. This is an important message for us to grasp.

Clothes in those days were made of hand-woven wool. The first time it was washed, the fabric would shrink. If a new piece of cloth was put over one that had already shrunk, the new piece would also shrink in the wash (or in the rain) and could tear the old cloth.

The wineskins were made from goatskin. New wineskins were flexible and expanded in response to the fermentation of the grape juice.

If you put fermenting new wine into a wineskin that had already expanded, it risked tearing under the pressure.

Jesus was, therefore, addressing the Pharisees to tell them that they were fasting in a way that was incompatible with the new life he had come to give us.

The life of God cannot be contained in the practices of religious fasting.

Jesus' conclusion with the image of the wineskins and the cloth shows that he has come to change things.

Jesus has come to change the established religious order.

Jesus is not saying that we should not fast or that he has come to abolish this Jewish practice.

He gave a new meaning to fasting.

Here is the logic of his explanation: there is no need to fast when the bridegroom is with his friends. But once he is away, they will fast.

For what purpose? To connect with him in the Spirit!

Jesus' disciples fast because they want to develop their intimacy with him.

So Jesus calls us to fast out of love for him.

And you, my friend, do you aspire to be closer to Jesus?

Tomorrow we'll see what old wineskins we need to get rid of in order to experience this intimacy.

David Théry