Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?

 

 Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as he was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  

 

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

 

- Mark 2:13–22 

 

Yesterday we read that again Jesus entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house of St. Peter and his family, Jesus' ministry headquarters.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."   Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

 

  Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as he was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."   My study Bible reminds us that Levi is also known as Matthew (Matthew 9:9).  Roman overlords would assign specific areas to Jewish tax collectors, who were then free to collect extra revenue for their own profit, my study Bible explains.  So, therefore, their collaboration with the occupying Romans, their fraud, and corruption turned other Jews against them and to consider them unclean (Matthew 11:9).  As Jesus dines with them and accepts a tax collector as a disciple ("Follow Me") this is offensive to the Pharisees.  But Christ's defense is simple:  He goes where the need of the physician is greatest.  

 

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."  My study Bible frames this discussion with the information that the Jews typically fasted twice a week (Luke 18:12), on Mondays and Thursdays.  Additionally, there were regularly observed public fasts as well as those which were occasionally proclaimed (2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21-23; Esther 4:16; Joel 2:15), particularly on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:31-34) and in times of mourning (Zechariah 7:5; 8:19).  But they saw the day of the Messiah as a wedding feast; that is, this was to be a time of joy and gladness.  Jesus is declaring that day here, referring to Himself as the Messiah/Bridegroom.  My study Bible says that for Christians, fasting (such as during the Lenten fast at this time) is not gloomy but desirable, a bright sadness, for by fasting we gain self-control and prepare ourselves for the Wedding Feast.  When we fast, we are looking forward.  The old garment and old wineskins stand for the Old Covenant and the Law, which are viewed as imperfect and temporary.  The new wineskins are the New covenant and those in Christ.  My study Bible adds that the new wine is the Holy Spirit dwelling within renewed people, who cannot be constrained by the old precepts of the Law.  

 

 In so many ways, the Church is all about the effects of Christ on the world.  Our symbol of salvation is the Cross precisely because the brutal and terrible instrument of crucifixion, when touched by Christ, became transformed into this life-giving instrument by which Christ conquered death for us and made it possible for us to follow Him in Resurrection (John 17:24).  Indeed, this touches upon the meaning of sacrament, whereby ordinary things of the world become transformed into something that carries both this world and the Kingdom with it for us, such as in the Eucharist, or in Holy Baptism.  In this sense, the things which are touched by Christ become the fullness of what the word symbol in its original sense is meant to convey:  through a particular form a connection is made with something else that it points to.  Moreover, whatever Christ has touched is transformed for us by holiness, by grace, and so, we also become transfigured into the identities and image Christ has for us.  In today's reading, we are given to wonder at the transformational power of Christ regarding fasting.  We do not fast merely to mourn or to repent of our sins before God.  In Christian tradition, fasting, as my study Bible describes it, is a "bright sadness."  Some call it a "joyful sorrow."  This is part of the new wine of Christ that needs a new wineskin.  We fast to develop ourselves in spiritual discipline so that we may grow closer to our Creator, and approach that divine wedding feast which we look forward to.  Fasting, in the transfiguring light of Christ, points to that day of joy and union with our Lord, so that we, in discipleship and just like the disciples who lived with the incarnate Jesus, grow to know Him and carry Him into the world.  In this sense, we fast to become, in His images and words given to us, salt and light (see Matthew 5:13-16).  We fast looking forward to something, preparing for it, joyfully growing closer to our Lord even as we cut out things that distract from this focus on the Lord, and "remember God."  Let us look to the light as we journey through Lent to Easter.  

 

 

 

 

 

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me"

 

 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.  No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.  Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

 

- Matthew 9:9–17 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.  Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you."  And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!"  But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?  For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  And he arose and departed to his house.  Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.   

 

  As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."   My study Bible tells us that Matthew is also named Levi (Mark 2:14).  It says that Roman overlords assigned specific areas to Jewish tax collectors, who were free to collect extra revenues for their own profit.  Their collaboration with the occupying Romans, their fraud, and their corruption caused other Jews to hate them and to consider them unclean (Matthew 11:19).  So, Jesus dining with them, and even accepting a tax collector as a disciple (let us note, with the command, "Follow Me") is offensive to the Pharisees.  But Christ teaches us His own defense:  He goes where the need of the physician is greatest.  "I desire mercy and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6) isn't a rejection of sacrifice per se, my study Bible comments, but rather shows that mercy is a higher priority (see Psalm 51).

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.  No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.  Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."  My study Bible explains that the Jews typically fasted twice a week (Luke 18:12), on Monday and Thursday.  Additionally, there were public fasts which were regularly observed or occasionally proclaimed (2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21; Esther 4:16; Joel 2:15), especially on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:31-34) and in times of mourning (Zechariah 7:5, 8:19).  But the day of the Messiah was something entirely different -- a wedding feast, a time of joy and gladness.  Jesus is proclaiming that day, and declaring Himself to be the Messiah/Bridegroom.  My study Bible comments here that for Christians, fasting is not gloomy but desirable, a bright sadness, for by fasting they gain self-control and prepare themselves for the Wedding Feast.  The old garment and old wineskins stand for the Old Covenant and the Law, viewed as imperfect and temporary; the new wineskins are the New Covenant and those in Christ.  The new wine is the Holy Spirit dwelling within renewed people, who cannot be constrained by the old precepts of the Law. 

Everything about Jesus' teaching and effect is renewal.  All that He does and teaching reflects the words spoken by the One who sat on the throne in Revelation 21:5:  "Behold, I am making all things new."  In the Greek, it means effectively, "I am [always making] all things new."  In today's reading we see this explicitly taught in these two encounters.  First, to draw Matthew, a hated tax collector, who, while he is a fellow Jew, is despised by the others for he works for the Romans.  Moreover, tax collectors were also notorious for using their position to collect extra revenues for themselves.  We can simply imagine the picture of tax collectors in the mind of the Jews at that time, in which they were seen not only as working for the oppressive Romans but against their own people.  Jesus orients us to the aim and meaning of this constant effect of renewal; it is healing and He is physician:  "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick."  These things are perfectly encapsulated when He says, "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance," implying both renewal and healing.  Both together, taken with Christ as physician, imply transformation.   In this context, we come to the question of fasting, which will also be transformed through the renewing effect of Christ, and the new wine that will come as a result of His ministry.   Neither the old garment nor the old wineskin will do, because with the expansive movement of renewal, a stretch is necessary.  There must be room for growth, a way to take in those who will be coming into this place of renewal.  So this is the power of Christ, exemplified in His Passion, death, and Resurrection, in which while the old passes, transformation and renewal bring something new.  His healing power as physician will even transform death for human beings into the promise of Resurrection.  What this story implies is that sometimes healing is not the predictable thing we expect; transformation implies a change that might be new for us.  But, like Matthew and the rest of His disciples, we "Follow Him." 

 

 

But new wine must be put into new wineskins

 

 Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jess heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

 

- Mark 2:13–22 

 

Yesterday we read that again Jesus entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

 

Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jess heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."   Levi the son of Alphaeus is also known to us as Matthew.  It is his name which borne on the Gospel that is placed first in the New Testament.  My study Bible explains that Roman overlords would assign specific areas to Jewish tax collectors, who were free to collect extra revenues for their own profit.  In their collaboration with the occupying Romans, their fraud, and their corruption, they were despised by fellow Jews, and considered to be unclean (see Matthew 11:19).  That Jesus would dine with tax collectors, and accept one of their number as a disciple is offensive to the Pharisees.  But Christ's defense is straightforward.  For Him, it matters where the need of the physician is greatest.  He heals by calling sinners to repentance.  

 

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days."  Fasting for the Jews typically took place twice a week (Leviticus 18:12), on Mondays and Thursdays.  Additionally there were public fasts which were regularly observed or occasionally proclaimed (2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21; Esther 4:16; Joel 2:15).  Especially of importance was the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:31-34) and times of mourning (Zechariah 7:5; 8:19).  But in the sight of the Jews, my study Bible explains, the day of the Messiah was a wedding feast -- a time of joy and gladness.  So here, Jesus is proclaiming that day to be present -- declaring Himself to be the Messiah/Bridegroom.  My study Bible comments that, for Christians, fasting is not gloomy but rather a desirable, calling it a "bright sadness."  For by fasting, it notes, we gain self-control and prepare ourselves for the Wedding Feast.  

 

 "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."   Jesus uses the terms old garment and old wineskins to represent the Old Covenant and the Law.  In this sense, they are viewed as imperfect and temporary.  The new wineskins then are the New Covenant and those in Christ.  The new wine, my Bible explains, then is seen as the Holy Spirit, dwelling within renewed people, who cannot be constrained by the old precepts of the Law.  

In what way does the term "new wineskin" appeal to you, or apply to you in your life?  This quality of newness is not simply something that was newly on offer 2,000 years ago when Christ engaged in this confrontation with the Pharisees.  For we understand that all of the ways that Christ described Himself, and the action of the Kingdom, were all about "making new" in some sense.  After all, what does a Physician do but heal, and what is healing but "making new"?  For that matter, to forgive sins is to let them go, to release people from their bondage to the sin, to "make new" in this freedom, in redemption.  When we practice repentance, literally "change of mind" in the Greek, we are becoming new people; our spirits change, our souls change, our perspective and outlook changes.  Jesus placed great emphasis on the ways in which we perceived life, the lens through which we looked -- our perspective.  He said that He came that we may have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches, "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"  Clearly, if our "eye" (our mind) can be made good, full of light, then we are renewed people, taken out of the great darkness of spiritual blindness and ignorance.  By cleansing the eye through repentance, and through the illumination of Christ, our outlook is renewed and thus our life.  In the Revelation 21:5, we read, "Then He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' And He said to me, 'Write, for these words are true and faithful.'"   These words are true and faithful in the of always being so, eternally, at every moment.  And in the literal sense of the Greek verbs, the words of the One who sat on the throne are better translated, "I am always making all things new."  For this is, after all, the truth of Resurrection, the power of Christ which is always present, always true, always faithful.  With the Cross comes Resurrection, and therefore the action of new wine which needs new wineskins.  We are those new wineskins, as Christ teaches us that we are always seeming to be works in progress, on our way somewhere, changing our view, ultimately pliable enough to move toward the fullness of the image in which we have been created, the image that Christ has for us.  For even fasting practices are meant to prepare us for the choices of such a journey, fasting from what's not really good, what doesn't feed that true image and integrity, helping us with the discipline to see new things around the corner, new ways through which to view and to approach life, new ways of thinking and being.  Matthew the tax collector sheds the old life of collecting taxes for the empire, and instead becomes one who serves the kingdom of God.  For we are stones, not existing to stand still but to be shaped into something beautiful.  "Living stones," as St. Peter tells us, "being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (see 1 Peter 2:4-6).   Therefore the life in Christ is to be a new wineskin filled with new wine that expands who we think we are, offering us a fullness we don't yet know.  Let us be grateful for this life in abundance.

 

But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved

 

 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.  

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.  No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.  Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

 

- Matthew 9:9-17 

 

Yesterday we read that, after healing two demon-possessed men in the country of the Gergesenes, Jesus got into a boat, crossed back over the Sea of Galilee, and came to His own city of Capernaum.  Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you."  And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!"  But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?  For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  And he arose and departed to his house.  Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

 

  As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Matthew (the author of the Gospel we are reading) is also named Levi (Mark 2:14).   As Israel was under the rule of Rome, Roman overlords assigned specific areas to Jewish tax collectors, and my study Bible explains that these tax collectors were free to collect extra revenues for their own profit.  Backed by the Roman state and power, they could practice extortion on their own people.  My study Bible says that their collaboration with the occupying Romans, their fraud, and their corruption caused other Jews to hate them and to consider them to be unclean (Matthew 11:19).  As Jesus both dines with them and accepts a tax collector as a disciple ("Follow Me") , this offends the Pharisees.  But Christ's defense is simple:  As our ultimate healer, He goes where the need of the physician is greatest.  My study Bible adds that Jesus' quotation from Hosea's prophecy (Hosea 6:6), "I desire mercy and not sacrifice," isn't a rejection of sacrifice per se, but rather shows that mercy is a higher priority (see Psalm 51).

 

 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.  No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.  Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."  My study Bible explains that the Jews typically fasted twice a week (Luke 18:12), on Monday and Thursday.  Additionally, there were regular public fasts which were observed and occasionally proclaimed (2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21; Esther 4:16; Joel 2:15), especially on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:31-34) and in times of mourning (Zechariah 7:5, 8:19).  But the day of the Messiah was seen as a wedding feast -- a time of joy and gladness.  Here Jesus is proclaiming that day, and declaring Himself to be the Messiah/Bridegroom.  My study Bible adds that for Christians, fasting is not gloomy but desirable, a "bright sadness," for by fasting we gain self-control and we prepare ourselves for the Wedding Feast.  The old garment and old wineskins stand for the Old Covenant and the Law, viewed as imperfect and temporary; the new wineskins are the New Covenant and those in Christ.  The new wine is the Holy Spirit dwelling within renewed people, who cannot be constrained by the old precepts of the Law.  

What is your new wine?  What does your new wineskin look like?  Our faith often seems to teach us that we live in a kind of fine tension between practices we know and honor, and which are always helpful to us, and the new exuberant life which is sudden and surprising and through which the Holy Spirit works in us.  Sitting in a liturgy that dates itself to centuries past, we find tremendous truths and beauty that is waiting for us to discover it, as the Holy Spirit, while we're in prayer, will open up our eyes to what is there, what has always been there, and yet is working in us now.  We might engage in fasting practices which don't find much popular favor necessarily in the Church worldwide, but we'll find that they do indeed teach us the kind of self-mastery that allows us to rise above our own habits and seeming limitations, teaching us that we have a power to aspire to the capacity to say "No" to what plagues and ails us.  These old practices are not meant to be restrictions in and of themselves, but rather platforms; they are meant to give us structure, rails within which we can move and live and move forward on the right track, so to speak.  Just like the stunned and offended Pharisees in today's reading, we might not necessarily like or expect what that surprising new wine will do, what the new wineskins look like.  But there is one thing we can be certain about, and that is that when we plant our faith where it belongs and do all we can to nurture it, we are calling on the Physician who knows what's best for us, who will call all of us beyond what we know and expect -- even through the practices that are meant to give us proper structure for that journey, which have served for many centuries, through the saints who came before us and helped to show us the way, God's power in that new wine revealing itself through those who came before us in faith.  Let us take on those new wineskins and become the new wine, and turn to the fasting that is in preparation for the Bridegroom, the resources ready to help make that happen, to a faith that is always surprisingly new.  The Bridegroom says, "I am always making all things new" (Revelation 21:5).  The tension between what is, what was, and is to come, is always there in His presence and in the Church, and it is there we dwell and practice our faith (Hebrews 13:8, Revelation 4:8).

 

 

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick

 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.

Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in that house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, often, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.  No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.  Now do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

- Matthew 9:9-17

Yesterday we read that after healing the Gergesene demoniacs, He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city of Capernaum.  Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you."  And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!"  But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?  For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  And he arose and departed to his house.  Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.   Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in that house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Matthew the tax collector is also called Levi (Mark 2:14).   Jewish tax collectors such as Matthew were assigned by Roman overlords to specific areas.  They were free to collect extra revenues for their own profit, backed by the Roman state.  They were widely despised and also considered unclean because of their collaboration with the occupying Romans, their fraud, and their corruption (11:19).  As Jesus is dining with them and has accepted a tax collector as a disciple ("Follow Me"), the Pharisees are offended.  But Jesus' defense is simple, and also central to our understanding of Christ and also of the Eucharist:  He goes where the need of the physician is is the greatest.  "I desire mercy and not sacrifice" is from Hosea 6:6.  My study bible says that this is not a rejection of sacrifice per se, but rather shows that mercy is a higher priority (see Psalm 51).

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, often, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.  No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.  Now do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."  Jews typically fasted twice a week (Luke 18:12) at Jesus' time and by tradition, on Monday and Thursday.  Additionally, there were public fasts which were regularly observed or occasionally proclaimed (2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21; Esther 4:16; Joel 2:15), especially on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:31-34) and in times of mourning (Zechariah 7:5, 8:19).  But Jesus presents the reality of His Presence, reflecting that the Jews saw the day of the Messiah as a wedding feast, which is a time of joy and gladness, a covenant which is the basis of life itself.  Jesus is proclaiming that day, and that He Himself is the Messiah/Bridegroom.   For Christians, then, fasting would be transformed.  My study bible says that it is not gloomy but desirable, a "bright sadness."   Fasting is viewed as a way to gain self-control and preparation for the Wedding Feast.  The old garment and old wineskins stand for the Old Covenant and the Law. My study bible says that in view of Christ these are imperfect and temporary; the new wineskins are the New Covenant and those who are in Christ.  The new wine is the Holy Spirit who dwells within renewed people, who cannot be constrained by the old precepts of the Law.

Christ as Physician is perhaps the most central image to the Gospels that we can think about.  His entire ministry and, indeed, the impact of the Incarnation, is to heal.  This is His mission.   Reconciliation is much more than a restoration of covenant between God and God's people.  It is rather a mission to heal and to restore a world in the image of its creation and through the sacrifice and love of Creator.  In this light, everything that Christ does is designed for healing, as medicine.  The Eucharist -- Giving Thanks -- is medicine for all of us in this perspective.   It is a way of drawing us closer to Creator, to the image in which we are created, unifying and linking us to Creator through what He has declared is His Body and Blood.   The ultimate unification is the wedding feast which we await, the return of the Bridegroom.  All of this is both declared and implied in today's text, as Jesus dines with those who are despised by the community for what they do to earn a good living -- often accompanied by extortion and seen as traitorous to the community.   Matthew is overjoyed to find that the Messiah is His Lord as well, and we know him as the author of this first Gospel.  This celebratory feast in His home is to introduce His friends to Christ, the Physician, the One who has come to those who need Him the most, whose medicine is mercy. 

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick

 Then He went out by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it  happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

- Mark 2:13-22

Yesterday, we read that Jesus had again entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

 Then He went out by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it  happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Levi is also Matthew, the Evangelist (see Matthew 9:9-13).   Jewish tax collectors were assigned by Roman overlords to specific areas.  These men, backed by the Roman military, were then free to also extract extra revenues for their own profit.  In addition to collaboration with the Romans, their corruption and fraud meant other Jews hated them and considered them unclean (Matthew 11:19).   So, it's really quite startling, to say the least, that Jesus would choose a tax collector as disciple, and it's offensive to the Pharisees that He dines with them also.  But Jesus' response is simple and also startlingly clear:  He goes where there is need of healing, of physician.  He makes it clear that repentance is a kind of healing medicine, correcting ailments and afflictions.

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."  My study bible says that Jews typically fasted twice a week (see Luke 18:12), on Monday and Thursday.  Public fasts were observed regularly or occasionally proclaimed, particularly on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:31-34) and in times of mourning (Zechariah 7:5; 8:19).  However, the time of the Messiah is a wedding feast -- a time of joy, gladness, and celebration.  Jesus is proclaiming that day here, and declaring Himself to be Messiah/Bridegroom.  For Christians, fasting would become a time of preparation for the Wedding Feast.  My study bible suggests that the old garment and old wineskins are the Old Covenant and the Law -- imperfect and temporary.  The new wineskins are the New Covenant and those in Christ.  It says, "The new wine is the Holy Spirit dwelling within renewed people, who cannot be constrained by the old precepts of the Law."

Today's reading gives us a focus on change; how Christ's coming into the world changes the focus and the prescription.  We have observed earlier in Mark's Gospel how all things are framed in a focus of healing.  A right-relationship to God creates a healing, sets right, is a correction to the Fall.  Jesus begins His ministry with preaching in the synagogues, but the preaching has an immediate effect:  "unclean spirits" are cast out of ailing human beings, and all kinds of healings take place.  In today's reading we take this a step further, so that we can see truly the power of this ministry.  Sin is a form of sickness, an ailment that needs healing.  Repentance is a cure, it's the medicine for the ailment.  But repentance why and for whom?  This is the real question.  Jesus' identity as Christ or Messiah is the clue we have to just how and why repentance works:  it's to turn us back to the author of our creation.  It returns us to the perspective of the One who truly knows who we are and can set us on the right path to true identity:  who we are and who we need to be, how we can live a "healthy" life in the sense that we return to the state which is "whole" for us.  We return to our true selves in Him.  He is the Physician who corrects the ailment of fallenness.  Yesterday's reading was about the paralytic let down through the roof, brought to Christ by His friends, and we commented on how Tradition sees paralysis as a metaphor for sin.  We can be "stuck" in sin, unable to move forward.  We may be so used to one way of thinking or another that keeps us "stuck" in one place, that we can't really see how to change to go forward and into a more whole or healed place.  This is Christ's place as Physician, to help us to be set aright, to heal what ails us and give us the prescription for health, the medicine we need.  Repentance is a turning back to the One who has given us life, the real Physician we need.  In this way the new garments, new wineskins, with room to stretch into and to grow and expand are the appropriate ones for this startling ministry.  We may think of a new garment as one that shrinks, but what it does is come to fit us properly, to show true identity, who we really are.  Each one is an image created and given by Christ, living in Christ, and it's to that image that we return in real health.  This becomes the true "picture" of health, the icon within us, to which we seek restoration by the Physician.  You can't get there without an understanding of health, a concept which seeks to redeem.  But we must cooperate, we must accept.  We take the medicine, even at the times when we don't know what "health" really looks like.  We exchange the old for the new in this sense.  Can we accept who we are in Him, in His sight?

New wine must be put into new wineskins

 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house.  And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.  And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"  And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."  Then He spoke a parable to them:  "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.  And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"

- Luke 5:27-39

Yesterday we read that when Jesus was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."   Immediately the leprosy left him.  And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.  Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.   And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.  When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"    But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"

After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.   My study bible says that Levi (or Matthew) answers Christ's call, "Follow Me," and leaves his occupation to become a disciple.  It says that from the beginning of His ministry Christ has been a friend of tax collectors and sinners, which is one of the Pharisees' complaints against Him (see later verses in today's reading).  It's possible that Levi may also have been one of the tax collectors prepared for Christ by the ministry of John the Baptist (see the reading for April 16th, Make His paths straight).

Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house.  And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.  And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."   This feast, says my study bible, expresses the joy and gratitude of Matthew.  It tells us, "The guest register is a stirring demonstration of the fruit of Jesus' love and forgiveness."   This gives us a sense of Jesus' mission, and it's another admission by Jesus about the purposes for which He's here.  He's already declared that He had to preach in many cities, "because for this purpose I have been sent."  Although His revelation as Christ isn't in the cards yet, we do get statements about purpose and mission.  He is here to call sinners to repentance, to collect what is "His" and not to lose any of them, to reclaim souls for the Kingdom.

Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"  And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."  Then He spoke a parable to them:  "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.  And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"  My study bible says that Jesus' earthly life is a time of joyous blessings.  But there will come a time when His followers will fast.  Jesus introduces a new sort of image, a paradigm, of what faith is and does.  It saves.  Thus, the new wine that needs new wineskins.

Jesus defines His mission.  Everything He does is revealing His purpose, what He is doing here.  Here's here to save.  He's come to claim those who were otherwise lost to Him.  And let's not forget, the image of the Church is a hospital; saving means healing:  "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."    In addition to what He does, He is always teaching, the first thing He said was His purpose (Luke 4:43).    Redemption and forgiveness bring salvation.   It's a new paradigm, in a sense.  This isn't just about what side of the Law you may fall on, but it's about relationship and love.  Forgiveness and repentance also go hand in hand.  We need to be aware of the ways in which we harm that relationship to God and thereby in community.  God's love doesn't exempt us from that; rather it helps us to come to terms with it.  I read a story once about a polar explorer.  It was meant to teach about heroism.  This particular man had to turn back his expedition, just when he was close to his stated goal.  When asked why, he said, "I had to bring my men in out of the cold."  We could link this notion of heroism to Christ, to the new wineskins He's talking about.  A hero is the one who thinks about his men.  Christ comes to bring all of us in out of the cold, to find a way to bring us closer to Him and to never let us go -- not to lose a single one of us.  That's the new, true paradigm, the new wineskin needed for new wine.  This covenant is about love, love that claims and redeems, love that brings us to take a closer look at ourselves and to live with that truth, not to hide in the glorious achievements of our ancestors no matter how illustrious.  Christ's love doesn't leave anything out.  It's not a love that shies away from calling something a sickness; how else could we heal?  It's a love that reclaims and redeems and heals, that saves and restores.  We need a new paradigm for this love.  We need to understand how it works in our lives.  We need to know how our own restoration happens.  We can't live in denial with this kind of love.  It overrides everything, but we bring everything to it.  Whatever Christ's love assumes, it redeems, even as we bring ourselves, "all in," to Him.  There's also an introduction in Jesus' words about the notions of paradox we discussed yesterday.  We're all used to the old wine.  Our reactions at first are for what we know.  But He brings a Kingdom with Him that's "not of this world," and pulls us into its awareness.  That is the power of the new, the "good news."