The Question about Fasting

Today's Reflections

The Question about Fasting

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Lk 5:33-39

³³[The scribes and Pharisees] said to [Jesus], “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” ³⁴Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? ³⁵But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” ³⁶And he also told them a parable. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. ³⁷Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. ³⁹[And] no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’ ”

Reflection:

New wine. Wine has been associated with fellowship and celebration and is a fitting symbol of messianic joy. Indeed, for us, Christians, Jesus is our joy, our new wine. To experience Jesus is to know the true meaning of joy, the coming of divine blessings, the end of darkness in our life, the assurance of the gift of eternal life.

In fact, Jesus is also our life. All forces of death among us are gone with his coming. He comes with the freshness of the new creation. Thus, in response to Jesus being our new wine, we must let go of all our old ways, old habits, old selfish practices and manners. As we take in the newness of Jesus, we become converted and transformed creatures. We leave behind our old sinful selves and live in the new path set by the Lord. If we still cling to our old ways, then Jesus is not yet in our life. We may be using him as a cosmetic, a covering for our old self. We should be new persons if Jesus is with us and we are completely with him.

Do you appreciate

the newness of Christian values in your life?

Savor the new wine of Jesus

by a renewal of Christian practices,

frequent reception of the sacraments,

and the practice of Christian charity.