Reflection for September 5 Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 5:33-39

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:

Could you truly discover the purity of a person’s heart by simply observing traditions or rituals such as fasting? The answer is no. These external acts, though visible, remain superficial, for what is outward does not always reveal the depths of the inner being.

Take for instance a person who is always present in church. Can we immediately conclude that he or she is holy? Of course not! Holiness is not measured by mere presence in sacred places but by the authenticity of one’s heart and actions. We need to look deeper to understand a person’s character.

The scribes and Pharisees once questioned Jesus about why His disciples were not fasting like them and the followers of John the Baptist. Jesus responded simply: “They cannot fast while the Bridegroom is with them.” In other words, the presence of Jesus among His disciples was more important than outward acts of ritual.

Fasting, by itself, is good. It disciplines the body and can purify the soul. But what is the use of fasting if sin still dominates our lives? What is the use of fasting if we use it to judge others who do not practice it? What is the use of fasting if it does not lead to inner transformation and true conversion of heart?

Life with God is not about legalistic observance of traditions but about genuine change from within. Inner conversion is greater than fasting. A humble heart is greater than fasting. Mercy, love, and forgiveness are greater than fasting. And most of all, a life rooted in Jesus is infinitely greater than fasting.

Let us then not focus merely on outward practices but on the inward renewal of our hearts. For only in Jesus do we find true holiness, true purity, and true life. — Marino J. Dasmarinas