Jesus said there'd be days like this

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisee’s were fasting; and people came and said to Jesus, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.”

We all want to get it right. And it shows. We want the promotion. We want to be able to put the “My Child is an Honor Roll Student” on our minivan. We want the date with that special someone. We (and by "we" I mean law students) want, even if we feel a bit self-conscious about it, to find our name on the scholar of merit lists. And we want to at least feel like we’ve gotten the spiritual things right as well. And so we ask the questions, the usual suspects: Which faith is right? Are they all right? Is Jesus the only way? If so, who is right? Catholics? Protestants? Which kind? Orthodox? Which Bible do you read? Were you baptized? Dunked or splashed? Infant or adult? The list gets absolutely dizzying. We look around ourselves at those who seem to have it together, and wonder if their apparent success is the harbinger of our own unsuspecting failure. And the good news is? Well, it is that this is nothing new.
In this passage of Mark’s Gospel, “people” come to Jesus with concerns. I like that. People. Not the disciples of John, not the disciples of the Pharisees, and not even Jesus’ disciples. People came, and they had a legitimate concern. Hey, if crazy old John’s disciples on the left and the dour Pharisees’ disciples on the right are BOTH fasting, why not Jesus’ disciples, and by inference, why not us? I mean, the people wanna get it right.
And I think we still do. Since we announced this service a little over a week ago, I’ve had a few more opportunities than I expected to discuss the meaning of Ash Wednesday, Lent, and fasting. Why do we fast during Lent? Nowhere in the Bible will you find the words Ash Wednesday, Lent, or Easter. Then again, you won’t find Christmas, either. So what does all this mean? In the nearly two thousand years of Christian history, believers have found numerous ways to celebrate, to mourn, to repent, to revive, to express their submission to the discipleship of Christ. And the fasting of the Lenten season has proven to be a durable form of this expression. It is not a universally observed discipline, but few are! So, who is right? The one who observes lent or the one who doesn’t? Um. Let’s get back to the text.
Jesus’ answer regarding fasting is illuminating. “Hey, this is not the time for fasting! I’m here!” Hmm. Good point. His answer really does point to the meaning of fasting. We fast as we mourn, recognizing our need of the forgiveness and grace of Christ. We fast as we hope. We look forward to the time when again Jesus will sit down together with his disciples in celebration and fellowship. And we fast as we pursue discipleship. We prepare ourselves not just for a season of reflection leading up to Easter, but for a life indicative of the eternity we profess to await. We fast not to draw attention to ourselves, but to draw ourselves to attention. We fast to remember. We are dust. To dust we will return. But the one who made us from dust will return for us. Until that time, these are the days Jesus told us about. May our fast proclaim the promise of forgiveness and the life eternal through the grace of Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Jesus said there'd be days like this

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisee’s were fasting; and people came and said to Jesus, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.”

We all want to get it right. And it shows. We want the promotion. We want to be able to put the “My Child is an Honor Roll Student” on our minivan. We want the date with that special someone. We (and by "we" I mean law students) want, even if we feel a bit self-conscious about it, to find our name on the scholar of merit lists. And we want to at least feel like we’ve gotten the spiritual things right as well. And so we ask the questions, the usual suspects: Which faith is right? Are they all right? Is Jesus the only way? If so, who is right? Catholics? Protestants? Which kind? Orthodox? Which Bible do you read? Were you baptized? Dunked or splashed? Infant or adult? The list gets absolutely dizzying. We look around ourselves at those who seem to have it together, and wonder if their apparent success is the harbinger of our own unsuspecting failure. And the good news is? Well, it is that this is nothing new.
In this passage of Mark’s Gospel, “people” come to Jesus with concerns. I like that. People. Not the disciples of John, not the disciples of the Pharisees, and not even Jesus’ disciples. People came, and they had a legitimate concern. Hey, if crazy old John’s disciples on the left and the dour Pharisees’ disciples on the right are BOTH fasting, why not Jesus’ disciples, and by inference, why not us? I mean, the people wanna get it right.
And I think we still do. Since we announced this service a little over a week ago, I’ve had a few more opportunities than I expected to discuss the meaning of Ash Wednesday, Lent, and fasting. Why do we fast during Lent? Nowhere in the Bible will you find the words Ash Wednesday, Lent, or Easter. Then again, you won’t find Christmas, either. So what does all this mean? In the nearly two thousand years of Christian history, believers have found numerous ways to celebrate, to mourn, to repent, to revive, to express their submission to the discipleship of Christ. And the fasting of the Lenten season has proven to be a durable form of this expression. It is not a universally observed discipline, but few are! So, who is right? The one who observes lent or the one who doesn’t? Um. Let’s get back to the text.
Jesus’ answer regarding fasting is illuminating. “Hey, this is not the time for fasting! I’m here!” Hmm. Good point. His answer really does point to the meaning of fasting. We fast as we mourn, recognizing our need of the forgiveness and grace of Christ. We fast as we hope. We look forward to the time when again Jesus will sit down together with his disciples in celebration and fellowship. And we fast as we pursue discipleship. We prepare ourselves not just for a season of reflection leading up to Easter, but for a life indicative of the eternity we profess to await. We fast not to draw attention to ourselves, but to draw ourselves to attention. We fast to remember. We are dust. To dust we will return. But the one who made us from dust will return for us. Until that time, these are the days Jesus told us about. May our fast proclaim the promise of forgiveness and the life eternal through the grace of Christ our Lord.
Amen.