long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them,
and then, they will fast.

Reflection:

Pope Benedict XVI opens his encyclical Deus Caritas Est
with this affirmation: “Being Christian is not the result of an
ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a
person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction”
(# 1). Consequently, what one does or does not do depends
on the relationship that unfolds within this encounter. The
disciples of John are a bit clueless as to why they ‘have to’ fast and
the disciples of Jesus do not, because they do not recognize
that the act of fasting is not an end in itself, but has meaning
only in relation to Christ, the bridegroom of human soul. In
his presence, the soul feasts; in his absence, it mourns. When
such relationality defines our interpersonal relations, God will
hear us and say, “I am here.”

© Copyright Bible Diary 2022