“Enjoy The Bridegroom!”

“Enjoy The Bridegroom!”(Luke 5:33-35).
They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”
Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”
Whichever additional interpretation we give to fasting today does not change the fact that fasting in both the Old and New Testaments means going without food and without drinking for a period of time for a spiritual purpose.
There is a contrast between John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ when it comes to eating and drinking within social contexts.
Jesus himself alluded to this contrast, stating, “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”(Mt.11:18-19).
Although Jesus’s ministry began with forty days and forty nights fasting, and although his ministry was characterised by occasional fasting, he did not recommend it to his disciples.
The closest he went to recommend fasting was by saying that when the disciples fast, they should not do as the hypocrites do.
However, in the text above, a recommendation for fasting is implied, which has to be observed after his departure from this world.
The question of the Pharisees was why Jesus’ disciples did not fast and pray like those of John and the Pharisees? Jesus’ response was limited to fasting, possibly because to his disciples, prayer was a “fait accompli.”
Taking the cue from Jesus’ response, his absence should be the reason for our fast. If that is so, there is a sense in which fasting is not a “sine qua non.”
Remember the children’s song: “God is always near me…?” If he is always near you, then the Bridegroom is still around!
Bottom line, my friend, it is an important choice you make when you choose to fast and pray for spiritual strengthening!
The Lord Jesus Christ has recommended prayers in several instances. Let us pray at all times. And let us fast when we feel the need, not because we are compelled by the example of others.
We have spent the week emphasising on the kind of fast that the LORD requires of us: Love and obedience to the LORD and a right relationship with others, whereby the welfare of others are placed at par with ours!
Weekend prayer: Holy Spirit, help us to do good and be good above religious practices. Amen!
Have a blessed weekend! Peace be with you! Happy Women’s Day!
Rev Babila Fochang.
08/03/2025.