8 March 2019
Friday after Ash Wednesday
At face value, today’s Gospel may seem to be making an about-face; after all our previous readings on detachment and self-denial, we read that the disciples of Jesus did not fast. This was because the Son of God was in their midst, and this is cause for celebration, which is true! So what about us, who celebrate the Risen Lord dwelling in our midst?
We fast, but we do not mourn. Just as His disciples did not fast because the One for whom they longed was there among them, we fast in anticipation of His return. Our fasting and self-denial creates a space in our hearts and in our lives for Him to fill here and now, but also spurs our souls to a spiritual hunger that can only be satisfied at the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). We do not mourn, as the disciples did, for Jesus will never be taken from us; if we find ourselves estranged from the Lord, it is because we have chosen to estrange Him from us by our sins. Even in the midst of suffering, even when enduring sacrifice and fasting, we rejoice for though we never forget the death of Jesus, we cling to the Resurrection that is the brilliant blossom that rose from the seed of His death. Though we do not see Him, the perfume of that Rose wafts over everything we do, everything we experience in the Christian life, if we would but cleanse the air from anything that might overpower it.
Indeed we know how the story ends; the apostles did not. We may be tempted to think that in light of this knowledge we ought to be like the followers of Jesus, turning away from fasting, from discipline, because the bridegroom is yet in our midst. But that wedding feast at which we find ourselves at table with the Bridegroom Himself is yet to come; it is not here-and-now. It occurs at the consummation of all things, when “…his bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7). Our fasting and discipline in this life, our struggle to detach ourselves from anything—anything!—that competes with Jesus for our love and loyalty, is all a part of preparing for this feast, this celebration, where “he will wipe every tear from [our] eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain…” (Revelation 21:4).
So let us fast! Let us pray! Let us share what we have with those who need it! Let us prepare for this great feast, for this glorious eternity that awaits us. Just as we save room for dessert, just as we eat a small lunch in anticipation of a great dinner, just as the young person lives chastely awaiting their future spouse, let us live with Christian restraint, not seeking to feast on the things of this world that leave us yet hungry, but awaiting the true feast which will satisfy for eternity!