Gospel: Luke
5:33-39
The
scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast
often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but
yours eat and drink.” Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests
fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the
bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” And he
also told them a parable. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an
old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match
the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise,
the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will
be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. And no one who
has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.
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Reflection:
Can we
discover the purity of a person heart by mere observance of tradition or ritual
such as fasting? No because that is only an external show of one’s faith and
what is external does not totally represent the inner being of an individual.
For example if a person is always at church could we now say that he/she is holy?
Of course not! We still need to know more about the person so that we could
discover more about his/her character.
Jesus was
questioned by the scribes and Pharisees, why His disciples were not fasting
like them and the followers of John the Baptist. The simple answer of Jesus was
they can’t fast yet because He is still with them.
Fasting
is actually good because it cleans and purifies our bodies but what is the use
of fasting if we continue to sin? What is the use of fasting if we just use it
as our standard to judge others who are not fasting? What is the use the of
fasting if there’s no inner transformation and conversion?
There is
more to life than mere observance of self-serving laws and traditions such as
fasting. Inner conversion is better than fasting, not having a self-righteous
mindset is better than fasting.
Understanding those who commit mistakes is better than fasting. Forgiving those who ask for our forgiveness is better than fasting. And most of all, a life spent together with Jesus is far better than fasting.- Marino J. Dasmarinas
Understanding those who commit mistakes is better than fasting. Forgiving those who ask for our forgiveness is better than fasting. And most of all, a life spent together with Jesus is far better than fasting.- Marino J. Dasmarinas
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