Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Mark 2:18-20
The Question about Fasting
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, ‘Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ 19Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding-guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.
Jesus sees himself better than anyone else does. He knows he represents God and wherever Jesus is he brings the Kingdom of God; it’s as if he exudes, radiates, emits the Kingdom. This is good news. God has come close to us in Christ – the closest thing to God ever. How can we not rejoice!
Jesus is still with us today. Yes, we have trials. Yes, we feel the pain of political upheaval. Yes, we see despair and hunger and oppression. But as the bride of Jesus he, the bridegroom, is resurrected, alive, and with us to help us meet the pain and suffering of the word and to bravely face our own pain. Because if he can conquer death, what can we conquer in his strength?!
Lord Jesus, the Bible tells us that the same power that raised you from the dead dwells in us. Help us to use that power to rise above our trials and to meet the suffering of others, and exude your Kingdom. Amen!
