Lenten Reflection

Friday, February 27, 2009

Matthew 9:14-15

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."

Reflection

Jessica Kennedy
Class of 2012

In this passage, Jesus' disciples ask him why the Pharisees fast
more frequently than they do. Jesus answers them by saying:
"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."

This passage instantly takes me to Theology class my senior year of high school. One of the things that we studied was Christ's relationship to the Church through the metaphor of marriage between a bride and a groom. The Church served as the bride of Christ, and their marital union made the whole Church and its community conjoined as the body of Christ.

Correspondingly, when Christ refers to the bridegroom being taken away from the disciples, I thought of this as a foreshadow of Christ's crucifixion, when he would no longer be in the disciples' presence until he resurrected. Once Christ left the disciples for those couple of days prior to his resurrection, they would then realize the importance and true meaning behind fasting- the act of sacrifice.

I know that fasting can be a very difficult thing to do, as I have trouble with it myself. However, although I may not be able to always physically fast, I try to remember why we are called to fast. I see fasting as an act of sacrifice in remembrance of Christ's sacrifice for the human race. Aside from fasting, I really push myself every year during Lent to give up the hardest things possible so that I might be able to rememberall that Christ gave up for me, so that I am able to live forever with him after I die.

Finally, I think that this passage is an excellent reminder to all of us that sacrifice is essential in our faith life, and that no reward for our sacrifices could be greater than eternal life with Christ.