REFLECTIONS TODAY

Fasting was a recognized Jewish observance. On occasion, Jesus fasts, as in the temptation account (Mt 4:2). But Jesus regards fasting not as a required religious duty to be observed meticulously but as an expression of sorrow. He asserts the liberty of fasting when it is suitable. 

In the situation at hand—Jesus’ sojourn with his disciples— fasting is out of place. 

Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom is a time of joy, likened to a marriage feast, a well-known symbol of the joys of God’s Kingdom. 

The teaching on fasting in Mt 6:16-18 does not find fault with fasting as such, but only with doing it to attract attention and maintain a reputation for exceptional piety. Only when Jesus is “taken away” (at his death, and in the period before the Second Coming) will fasting become necessary. 

The disciples will fast until God’s Kingdom will be fully manifested. Pope Francis said, “For Lent this year (2021), I will not speak ill of others, I will not gossip and all of us can do this, everyone. This is a wonderful kind of fasting.” What will you fast from?

First Reading • Amos 9:11-15 
 

Thus says the Lord: On that day I will raise up the fallen hut of David; I will wall up its breaches, raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may conquer what is left of Edom and all the nations that shall bear my name, say I, the Lord, who will do this.
 

Yes, days are coming, says the Lord, when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the vintager, him who sows the seed; the juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains, and all the hills shall run with it. 

I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel; they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities, plant vineyards and drink the wine, set out gardens and eat the fruits. I will plant them upon their own ground; never again shall they be plucked from the land I have given them, say I, the Lord, your God.
 

Gospel • Matthew 9:14-17 
 

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” 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. No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. 

Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Source: “366 Days with the Lord 2024,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.