THE TEXT BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE VIDEO COMMENTARY BY FR. FERNANDO ARMELLINI

Among all ancient peoples, fasting was a well-known practice. Plagues, natural disasters, and droughtwere the circumstances in which large collective fasts were organized. It was believed that torn clothes, severe penance, emaciated faces due to deprivation, abstaining from sexual pleasures, and vigils served to move the gods to pity, appease their anger, and convince the divinity to end his punishment.

This practice was also observed in Israel. Along with almsgiving and prayer, it became a hallmark of the Jewish religion. In Jesus’ time, there was only one day of obligatory fasting each year, on the Day of Atonement. However, the most devout added other days. The most austere people fasted twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays.

The Pharisees were the most zealous in observing this asceticism. They were convinced that, through fasting, they could accumulate merit before God, expiate the people’s sins, and secure Israel’s salvation.

Fasting also expressed the grief of those awaiting the Messiah. It was a sign of discontent with the present time and a call to hope for the coming of the Kingdom of God. The prophetess Anna, a widow, “had been continually about the temple, serving God night and day in fasting and prayer” (Lk 2:36-37). Like her,the aged Simeon and all pious people who “looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel”(Lk 2:25).

Like all the great men of the Old Testament who had to prepare to receive a great revelation from God(Moses, Elijah, Daniel…), Jesus fasted at the beginning of his public life, but no longer. Indeed, his opponents branded him as “a glutton and a drunkard” (Mt 11:19). It is no coincidence that, in the passageimmediately preceding our text, Jesus is presented as sitting at the table, eating and drinking, in the company of tax collectors and sinners (Mk 2:15-17). Neither the Baptist nor the Pharisees behaved so freelyand easily. How did Jesus and his disciples take a detached attitude toward this important practice of Jewish piety?

The conviction of power, with fasting, to accumulate merit before God, is certainly one of the reasonsJesus has distanced himself from this practice. He preached a God who gratuitously loves. His salvationcannot be earned in any way because it is a gift of his love. Who believes they can win or earn his lovethrough their good works turns God into a prostitute? For a very good reason, merit and prostitution share the same etymological root.

The deeper reason, however, is different and is indicated in the first part of today’s Gospel (vv. 18-20).The Pharisees and the disciples of the Baptist continued to fast because they were convinced that they were still living in the time of waiting for the Messiah. They had not yet realized that he was already present and that the Kingdom of God had come. 

To justify his disciples’ behavior, Jesus adopts the image of the groom used by the prophets. During the wedding party—he says—no one fasts. Whoever does not eat, drink, or wear the best outfit is still waiting forthe groom’s arrival. With these words, he presents himself as the groom. With him, the new timesannounced by the prophets have begun: the times of the “new falling in love” between the Lord and his people.

The second part of his answer seems to suggest that the party will not last long. The bridegroom shall soon be taken away, and then she will resume fasting (v. 20).

Not so. The “new marriage” is intended to have no end. The new alliance will be eternal, and the time of joy will last forever.

Which fasting does Jesus then speak of? He refers to the sadness the disciples will experience on the day of his death, when they will be deprived of his visible presence. The suffering of this separation will be their fasting.

In the early Christian communities, there was almost no discussion of the Jewish people’s fasts. All wereaware of having entered at the time of the wedding. Those who abstained from food and drink did so not to show their sorrow and pain, but for another reason: to save something for the needy brothers. The deprivation was no longer, as it was for the disciples of John and the Pharisees, a sign of dissatisfaction andof waiting for happy days, but a gesture of love and sharing.

Some apostles were still alive when, in some Christian communities, customs from Judaism were resumed. They began fasting twice a week again and, to distinguish themselves from the Pharisees, chose Tuesdays and Fridays. 

Today’s Christian practice of fasting does not contradict the behavior of the Master and the apostles; it is grounded in sound reasons.

First, it serves to save something for the poor. Therefore, it has value not for the suffering it entails, butfor the love it builds. It is not the abstinence from food that is pleasing to God, but the sharing of bread with the hungry. Then it tempers the will, training it in asceticism so as not to satisfy every whim and to rejectinsane cravings that lead to evil. Finally, it is also a sign that the wedding party’s joy is not yet complete or definitive. Christians live in the expectation that the Kingdom of God will manifest itself in fullness.

One may fast, but only to achieve the goals we have just indicated. Any form of sadness is always forbidden because the banquet of the kingdom has begun. When one fasts, one should wash the face andperfume the head, as one invited to the party does (Mt 6:17).

In the second part of the passage (vv. 21-22), two parables are inserted. In a sense, they are linked to the environment because they deal with wine—an indispensable element at any party—and with appropriate attire for the occasion. One does not go to a wedding in a worn dress with patches that cannot be applied. One has to wear a completely new dress.

The new cloth cannot be sewn onto an old garment because, as soon as it is immersed in water, itshrinks, ripping the seams and widening the tear. New wine cannot be put into old wineskins because it makes them burst.

The two images convey a single message: the new possesses an irresistible, explosive, unstoppable force. The old and the new are incompatible; one must necessarily give way to the other.

It would seem obvious that men prefer the new to the old, but it is not so. There is a prevailing tendency toward the old. For laziness or convenience, we become attached to what is usual. What is old is more reassuring, with no surprises. Newness always inspires a little fear. Even in the religious field, habit oftenplays a decisive role. It can serve a positive function, but it can also be a major obstacle to understandingand accepting the Gospel message, which contains the novelty of God. From this danger, Jesus warns with a reflection found only in Luke: “No one who has tasted old wine is eager to drink new wine, but says, ‘The old is good’” (Lk 5:39).

Whoever agrees to become a Christian should know that he is choosing something completely new andabsolutely irreconcilable with the old. This is not to become a bit better, to pray a bit more, to do some more charitable work, or to rigidly interpret some old commandment. The requirement is radical: one has to entirely change one’s way of life.

One does not fall in love with a person “in the middle.” One does not marry “for some time.” A relationshipbetween couples that anticipates betrayal makes no sense. The same holds for Christ: one either fully trusts him or places one’s trust in someone else. One cannot combine his beatitudes with those of the world, thenew knowledge of the ancient one.

The risk for the Christian community is to live a “domesticated paganism.” The danger is not “not believing at all in Christ,” but rather believing “also” in Christ, trusting in him a bit and a bit, and in the idols. The request of Jesus is paradoxical: it is to accept the new completely; otherwise, it is better to stay with the old.