Menu
Today, 6th of December, we celebrate
Saint Nicholas
First Reading: Isaiah 58:1-9a
Is this the manner of fasting I wish?
Thus says the Lord God:
Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,
lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;
Tell my people their wickedness,
and the house of Jacob their sins.
They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the law of their God;
They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God.
“Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?”
Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw.
Would that today you might fast
so as to make your voice heard on high!
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
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.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19
R./ A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R./ A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R./ A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
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.
R./ A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn
Gospel Reading: Matthew 9:14-15
When the bridegroom is taken from them, then they will fast
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.”
JOY
John the Baptist had an ascetic life and perhaps followed the austere lifestyle of the Qumran community which had its life in the desert, away from the contaminations of the outside world. They spent their time in study of the scriptures, preparing for the coming of the Messiah through rigorously discipline body and spirit by fasting and penance. Evidently, his followers followed the lifestyle of the master. The Gospels have also recorded that some of the disciples of John the Baptist later on became the disciples of Jesus. Hence, the disciples of the Baptist and Jesus must have been friends and knew what was happening each camp.
Now the Baptist camp perhaps must have been a little envious of the more relaxed lifestyle of Jesus’ disciples. Maybe there was even a bit of self-righteousness in this question, implying that it was high time for Jesus to make His followers shape up and follow the common practices of such religious groups.
We should not forget that the Gospel of Matthew which was written over 40 years after the death of Jesus, was trying to address certain issues that Community of Matthew was facing. The Judaisers in the early Church were perhaps making life complicated for the young community of believers by introducing all the rules and regulations and traditions of the Jewish religion. Matthew wants to make it clear for his community, that fasting or any other traditional religious practices have their value but not at the expense of faith in Jesus and in his teachings. He teaches us to be people of joy and – joy of being friends of the bridegroom – the friends of Jesus.
We all sometimes make our lives harder than they need to be, by taking on more than Jesus expects of us. We complicate what could be straightforward. Jesus taught us to love and God and Love God’s people. Every other regulation that goes against love and charity, is not from God. The prophet Micah put it this way: “Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously.”
May be we should avoid getting tied up in knots trying to figure out minor details of life. Otherwise, we could end up missing out on the fullness of joy and peace that comes from God. This is the Year of St. Joseph. Remember the statue of sleeping St. Joseph? Pope Francis had said he loves this statue. When confronted with complicated issues, he would write a note and place it under the statue of St. Joseph and go to bed for a peaceful sleep! Let us be joyous people of the resurrection!
Bible Claret
