Scripture: Mathew 9:14-17
This particular passage starts with a crucial question and a complaint to Jesus by the disciples of John the Baptist. Their accusation is very serious that is, the disciple of Jesus did not fast like them and the disciples of Pharisees. This same incident we can also see in gospels of Mark. 2:18-22 and Luke. 5:33-39. So the synoptic gospels give much importance in this particular question that was raised by people. But Mathean narrative only tells us that the disciples of John came to Jesus with complaints. Marken and Luken narratives says that some people came to Jesus and reported that both the disciples of pharasies and john the Baptist ware fasting and why your disciple deny the very importent Jewish rituals like fasting?. Instead of fasting they are always feasting and resting with you.
Let me tell a story.
There was a pujari in a village temple. He used to do all the activities of the temple. He had pet cat with him. The cat accompanied him wherever he goes and whatever he does, including pooja’s time. The little cat used to sit silently with him when he conducted the Pooja in the temple. This became a normal practice and people thought that a cat is necessary to conduct the Pooja . After the death of this pujari and the little cat pujari’s son took charge of the temple. He believed that the cat is an essential part of the Pooja. So he tried to bring a street cat with him for the daily Puja . But the innocent cat tried to escape from him and destroyed all the elements of the pooja. He thought that the Pooja will be incomplete without the cat. Finally he tiedup the cat in a basket and kept the basket in the pooja room and continued his ritual.
Dear friends, in our Christian life we do a lot of actions and activities without knowing the meaning and the essence of it.
So, I would like to begin this devotion with 3 questions?
1) Is Jesus a law breaker or anti-fasting propagator?
2) What was the intention behind the people’s blaming?
3) For Jesus, What was the theological base for fasting?
There for I entitled my first point as :
FASTING: A RITUAL OR RIGHTS.
This pericope is a controversy passage which has two parts. First part is that, the disciple of john raised question about non-fasting. Second part is that the threefold answer of Jesus with two analogies. Jesus’s response was an invitation to the idea of Messianic Jubilation expressed specifically in the imagery of the bridegroom and his attendants.
The bride groom imagery in the O.T refers to God the father.(Isai 54: 5-6 and 62:5). In N.T, this bridegroom imagery is applied to Christ Jesus,(11cori.11:2 and Rev.19:7). So the answer through the imagery is that, only fasting will be justifiable when ‘the days are coming, the bridegroom will be taken away from them’, ie., after the earthly ministry and death of Jesus.
Mathew thus, advice the Church about the need of Jewish practice of fasting, but in a new perception and perspective. He instructed in new regulations for fasting and prayer, that is entirely different from their old ritualistic understanding. In Mat.6:5 &7, Jesus teaches about the attitude of prayer. Before he taught the model prayer to his disciple, he taught them about the hazardous of artificial and fake prayer. Prayer is nothing but thanksgiving, submission and supplication before God from the depth of our heart. In Mat.6:16, he taught about the rules of Fasting with new vision. Pharisees were a ritual oriented Jewish sect who was often took fasting as a ritual. But Jesus publically called them as hypocrites because of their self-boasting and self-righteousness. Their fasting and practices are for self –justification and not for a praxis oriented nature. (Lk.18:11-12). So Jesus vigorously answer that he is not the law breaker but fulfiller and re-establishes of Laws.
Fasting is not something new that brought by Jesus but it is a custom of Jewish tradition and the commands of O.T and it was only re-introduced by Jesus. But at the same time he strongly condemns and discourages the hypocritical attitude of fasting. Our lord Jesus is the foremost and the best example and the role-model of our fasting and prayer. His earthly ministry was started with 40 days and nights of fasting. He realised the dynamic power of fasting. The supreme secret of the victory of his earthly ministry was nothing but the vibrant authority and passion that was received through the fasting. Jesus instructed his disciple that, only by the paranormal power of fasting and prayer that satanic power and all the manifestation of evil spirit will cast out (Mt.17:21).
The Biblical notion of fasting is not the absents of feasting but seating the presence of God, and if we boasting about your fasting that did not be lasting but losteing the values and wasting the time and if we tasting the power of fasting that will be arrest our lust and correct the rest of life. The Church as the bride and the body of Christ have the bounded obligation and rights that we should obey our bridegroom’s commands.
Newness of Gospel must be experienced with in new perspective.
Vrs. 16 -17. Jesus replied to the disciple of John with two analogies vividly that the new things cannot simply be superimposed upon within the frame work of the old. The new wine is the newness of the gospel and the old wineskins are the established pattern of righteousness and conduct of the Torah. Both analogies pointed out that no one combine new with old. If they do, certain undesirable consequence will follow. Here Jesus proposes not to combine the two and preserve the two good patterns. But the new reality of the gospel requires new skins. That is the new patterns of conduct based on the ethical teaching of Jesus Christ.
Here the view point of Mathew is crystal clear that both are preserved, that is new wine and old wineskin. In other words, the newness of the gospel and the Jesus’ new interpretation of the Torah. For Mathew, gospel and law are held together in the church but the standard of the interpretation of the law and traditional ritual should be seen only through the frame work of the teaching of Jesus. But from the Marken narrative it could be understood that both new wine and new skins should preserve and not like Mathean intention. Through the answer, Jesus attacked the attitude of wearing any kinds of traditional spiritual masks. The external practices and appearance without internal spiritual formation was condemned by him.
Dear beloved, this is the exact time for our self-examination. We Christians are called by God as an instrument for fulfilling his mission in the world. This is our training episode and formation era for the entire realm of our life. Many times we proudly boast and highlight our bold theological vision and traditions but unfortunately and unknowingly deny and disobey the very fundamental teachings which are taught by our Lord. Fasting is not something an utopian teaching by the church but it is very profound biblical and theological oriented doctrine. Are we put on the spiritual masks like Pharisees, and then the Bible will brand us as hypocrites. We nourished and cherished by the traditions and theologies but if we perished ourselves in the basic doctrinal matters, what is the use of our Christian ministry and life.?
This is the high time to evaluate our life. According to the church calendar the lent is coming soon. So this is the right time to prepare our mind and thoughts according to the word of God. The biblical understanding of fasting aims that not for the perishing material prosperities but a spiritual and physical nearness with God and accumulates the everlasting power that equip us for facing tomorrow. In short, “fasting is not a vacant belly but an unblemished abundant heart, it’s an experience of Breaking, melting, mourning, and moulding”. Not only for this lent season but each of the days and throughout our life we must experience the newness of the Gospel,that is new wine in new wineskin. Serve the Lord and to witness in our society with this newness. For me, “Christianity is not a religion with bundle of rituals like others but it is a precious culture and a ‘uncomplicated simple way of life’ that was taught by Jesus Christ”. Amen
[Prasad V Abraham, Valanjavattom, the preacher of this sermon, is a first year MTh. Student (Missiology) in Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute. Chennai, India.]
