“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?" Mk 2:1
There are some, citing church teaching that the Bridegroom is always with us, who suggest we should never fast, but they miss the point of this text. Jesus wants his disciples to celebrate life and uses the example of everyone eating and drinking at a Jewish wedding feast to help his adversaries understand his joyful spirit.
At the same time, Jesus reminds his followers that when they fast they should not do it in a hypocritical way so others are impressed with their devotion to the Torah. Rather, he wants them to fast as a way both to thank God for the food they have and to do penance for those times when they failed to be grateful.
Fasting can be a wonderful practice, especially when we forget to be grateful for all that God is and does for us. We breathe, we walk, we can hear and see, we laugh and we cry. How wonderful human life is. Only when we forget to thank God for all these simple gifts should be consider fasting since we have failed to remember that the Bridegroom is always with us.
Today, eat something slowly and with delight. Savor it.
What practices do you have that remind you of the bridegroom's presence?
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