From: Mark 2:18-22

A Discussion on Fasting

[18] Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and
said to Him (Jesus): “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees
fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” [19] And Jesus said to them, “Can the wed-
ding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the
bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. [20] The days will come, when the bride-
groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. [21] No one
sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the patch tears
away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. [22] And no one
puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and
the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins.”

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Commentary:

18-22. Using a particular case, Christ’s reply tells about the connection between
the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament the Bridegroom has not yet
arrived; in the New Testament He is present, in the person of Christ. With Him
began the Messianic Times, a new era distinct from the previous one. The Jewish
fasts, therefore, together with their system of religious observances, must be seen
as a way of preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah. Christ shows the
difference between the spirit He has brought and that of the Judaism of His time.
This new spirit will not be something extra, added on to the old; it will bring to life
the perennial teachings contained in the older Revelation. The newness of the
Gospel—just like new wine—cannot fit within the molds of the Old Law.

But this passage says more: to receive Christ’s new teaching people must inward-
ly renew themselves and throw off the straight-jacket of old routines.

19-20. Jesus describes Himself as the Bridegroom (cf. also Luke 12:35; Matthew
25:1-13; John 3:29), thereby fulfilling what the Prophets had said about the relation-
ship between God and His people (cf. Hosea 2:18-22; Isaiah 54:5ff). The Apostles
are the guests at the wedding, invited to share in the wedding feast with the Bride-
groom, in the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Matthew 22:1-14).

In verse 20 Jesus announces that the Bridegroom will be taken away from them:
this is the first reference He makes to His passion and death (cf. Mark 8:31; John
2:19; 3:14). The vision of joy and sorrow we see here epitomizes our human
condition during our sojourn on earth.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Mass Readings

First reading	1 Samuel 15:16-23 ©

Samuel said to Saul, ‘Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.’ Saul said, ‘Tell me.’ Samuel continued, ‘Small as you may be in your own eyes, are you not head of the tribes of Israel? the Lord has anointed you king over Israel. The Lord sent you on a mission and said to you, “Go, put these sinners, the Amalekites, under the ban and make war on them until they are exterminated.” Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you fall on the booty and do what is displeasing to the Lord?’ Saul replied to Samuel, ‘But I did obey the voice of the Lord. I went on the mission which the Lord gave me; I brought back Agag king of the Amalekites; I put the Amalekites under the ban. From the booty the people took the best sheep and oxen of what was under the ban to sacrifice them to the Lord your God in Gilgal.’ But Samuel replied:

‘Is the pleasure of the Lord in holocausts and sacrifices

or in obedience to the voice of the Lord?

Yes, obedience is better than sacrifice,

submissiveness better than the fat of rams.

Rebellion is a sin of sorcery,

presumption a crime of teraphim.

‘Since you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.’

Psalm	Psalm 49:8-9,16-17,21,23

Gospel	Mark 2:18-22 ©

One day when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Why is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of fasting while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they could not think of fasting. But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then, on that day, they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak; if he does, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. And nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine, fresh skins!’