Mk 2:18-22
18The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to [Jesus] and objected, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. 20But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. 21No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. 22Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
JOY OF THE FEAST IN PLACE OF FASTING: Some scholars opine that if we use socio-cultural insights in reading the Bible, the passage “And the Word became flesh” (Jn 1:14) should really read “And the Word became a Jew.” This shows that when the Son of God took on our human nature, he became a man of a particular culture which became his second nature. Jesus therefore thought, dressed, ate, prayed, and acted like a Jew. He spoke Aramaic, attended the synagogue service, took a trade, and followed the customs of his people. But in a real sense, Jesus was also a “marginal Jew.” On many religious/cultural issues, he countered his culture: he rejected Mosaic purity on food, opposed the current understanding of the Sabbath, welcomed women to his group, and consorted with the outcasts of society. He ate while others fasted. In today’s Gospel, some people object that his disciples do not fast, which is really a criticism of his ways and teaching on matter of fasting.
Jesus’ ministry somehow continued John the Baptist’s. They both called for repentance to welcome the reign of God. But Jesus proclaims God’s love for his people and their salvation in him. Fasting (Hebrew ta’anit) is an act of humiliation. People humble themselves before God to move God to action in their behalf. But the reign of God already comes with Jesus and in him; there is no need of self-humiliation to persuade God to act.
This conviction about God’s pure grace and unmerited love makes Jesus compare the reign of God to a wedding banquet. He is the bridegroom and his followers are the guests at the wedding feast. In the wedding there is joy and communion, satisfaction of body and spirit. It would be an insult (to God who prepared the banquet) or an indication that they did not approve of the wedding if they refused to attend the wedding (that is, if they fasted).