This passage brings up an aspect of our faith that can often be difficult to understand, that of fasting. In today’s Gospel, we are presented with a strange scenario: when asked why they are not fasting as the Pharisees do, Jesus replies that as the Bridegroom (Christ) is with them. They should be celebrating instead of fasting. What does this mean for us? Christ is risen, death has been vanquished, and he is alive in us. Then why must we fast? 

The answer comes later in the passage, when Jesus adds that “The days will come when the Bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” As people alive in Christ we have many reasons to celebrate. However, now is the time to remember how we have sinned and separated ourselves from Christ through our own faults, in our thoughts and in our words, in what we have done and what we have failed to do. Fasting and prayer are to remind us of this reality, to bring us closer to Christ and recognize the agony he went through to give us eternal life. 

May we this Lenten season continue to fast and recognize what Christ has done for our salvation. Our hearts may be separated from the Bridegroom, but soon we will return in celebration.