Then They Will Fast

February 24, 2012

Friday after Ash Wednesday

By Melanie Rigney

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. (James 2:18-26)

For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. (Psalms 51:18-19)

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." (Mark 9:14-15)

Piety

Lord, help me to find the strength to be truly contrite and change my ways that are displeasing to You.

Study

I recently became a Facebook friend of a woman with whom I worked in Chicago for about five years. While our boss was challenging, overall, those were halcyon days, especially for about a dozen of us women who ranged in age from mid twenties to late thirties. We went to lunch, all together or in smaller groups. We camped together. With our husbands, boyfriends, or significant others, we went to dinner and plays together. We went on vacations together. We helped each other move or redecorate. We belonged to the same book clubs. We shopped together.

At times, this particular woman would stand a bit of a distance from us and say something like this: “Treasure these days. They won’t last, and we may never be in jobs like this again. But we’ll always have these memories.” Most of us smiled and were impressed what a deep thinker she was, and moved on to the next event.

She was right, of course. Things changed. She left for a dream job, and a few years later lost her beloved husband far too young. The boss got fired and a few months later died in a skiing accident. We got married or divorced, had kids, got new jobs, moved out of town. I suspect I’m not the only one who thinks of her words from time to time… and treasures those days, not necessarily because I want to go back to them, but because those friendship helped make me who I am today. They showed me that I could be one of the “cool kids” (though we excluded no one from our group) and that people liked spending time with me.

I thought about this woman when I prayed over today’s Gospel reading. Jesus isn’t being a spoilsport or raining on the disciples’ parade. Rather, I think he’s advising what my very wise friend said fifteen years ago: “Enjoy what you have now, for it will change. Let it carry you when times aren’t so good.” And just as e smile and draw strength from our past glory days, so do the joyful, confident parts of our journey with Christ feed and sustain us when we come up against tragedy and pain.

Action

Think about a happy time when Christ showed Himself abundantly in the faces of your family and friends and you were lifted up. What did you learn from that experience that can support you in a challenge you’re experiencing today?