2ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Why do . . . your disciples . . . not fast? 

The people asking this question might have been missing out on the most important reason for fasting: fasting is meant to draw us closer to God. As we choose to deny ourselves out of reverence for the Lord, it clears our minds and opens our hearts, making us freer to worship and follow him. Or to put it another way, fasting draws us closer to the Lord!

So why weren’t Jesus’ disciples fasting? Jesus told them it was because he was right there with them. They didn’t need to fast because they were about as close to him as they could get.

But what about us? We are in a kind of “now and not yet” time. Jesus, the Bridegroom, is truly with us by the power of his Spirit. But at the same time, he has been “taken away” (Mark 2:20). He’s not here with us in the same way he was with the disciples. Not only that, but our human weakness can cloud our ability to sense Jesus’ presence or his love. We can get distracted by the world or begin to look for satisfaction in things that pass away. And so we fast. We choose to deny ourselves because we want to satisfy the hunger in our hearts—a hunger that can only be filled by the Lord.

We fast on certain days of Lent so that we can rejoice with the risen Lord at Easter. We fast before Mass so that we can increase our hunger for Jesus in the Eucharist. Even in our normal everyday lives, there are ways we can “fast” that have nothing to do with food. Whether we turn off social media for a time or change what we listen to on our morning commute or try to avoid idle gossip, we are emptying ourselves out so that God can fill us.

Is fasting fun? Usually not. But just think about some of the blessings that fasting can bring to you. A passage from Scripture can come to life as you spend extra time pondering it. Feeling your physical emptiness can open you up to a deeper experience of the Lord’s consolation. You might just need to put aside a few comforts so that you can find him again. And when you do—oh, the joy you will feel!

“Lord, help me open myself to you. Give me a hunger for your presence!”

Hebrews 5:1-10
Psalm 110:1-4
Mark 2:18-22