The Bridegroom Invites You By Beth DeCristofaro
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.
(Isaiah 58:6-7)
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.” (Matthew 9:15)
Piety
Jesus,
accept my contrite heart and my sincere desire to deepen my love for you and my
neighbor. In this season of Lent, please
help me to deepen, widen and spread your Word within my being and those who,
like me, have been invited to Feast with you.
Study
During
a Cursillo, Fr. Joe McCloskey’s imaginative meditation on the Wedding Feast of
Cana immersed me in a prayer both profoundly personal and inspirational. He invited me – us – to enter the place of
the wedding feast in the company of Jesus and his friends. What did we see there? Who was there? What did we do? For me, it was family all about me! Many were my New Jersey and Staten Island
in-laws, many of the older folk who have already died. I danced again with great uncles who waltzed
with grace even though very elderly. The
scene blazed with light, delicious odors, great cheer, and, especially, the
holy joy of the bridegroom Jesus among us.
Jesus’
image of the bridegroom builds on Isaiah who challenged the Chosen People to
act not just fast as an end. God’s
covenant with the People was enacted with Abraham, a Father in Faith we share
with Jesus. God promised Abraham that
God would be both holder and principal enactor of the covenant. God knew that the covenant was being made with
very flawed beings. But God took responsibility for honoring the covenant even when humans broke it. And Jesus renewed that covenant in his person. The bridegroom came to humans embodying love
in his flesh, actions, teachings. His death
on the cross caused mourning; his Spirit descending and resting upon his
followers caused joy of his returned presence.
We are tasked to deepen that joy in our piety, widen that joy through
our study and spread that joy in the fasting Isaiah described.
Action
Lent’s forty days of wandering in place give us such a joyous
yet reflective season to turn again to a faithful God. Jesus’s own life and sacrifice is our vehicle
to turn again to our Baptismal and Confirmation vows. The bridegroom might feel far away but he is
with us now and will be tomorrow, at the end of Lent and at the end of our days
to welcome us to the Feast. What sin or
the heedlessness keeps our face turned from the bridegroom? What fasting can
turn us back? Place yourself in the Feast
and approach the bridegroom who is so pleased that you are in attendance. What will you say to him?
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