Proper 15 (GA)

Matthew 9:14-17

¹⁴ Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵ And Jesus said to 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. ¹⁶ No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. ¹⁷ Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

I think it is time to start fasting! The Bride Groom has died, and thus it is time to Fast. Oh wait, the Bridegroom rose from the dead so we should not fast. But he did ascend into Heaven, so he is taken away from us, so we should fast. Jesus did promise to be with us always even to the end of the age, thus we should not fast. This Fasting stuff could give you a headache.

The disciples of John come with traditions and old garments and old wine skins. The people come with the rules and guidelines they have developed through the centuries to help them keep the Law. How do you keep the Law? What do you do to make yourself righteous? How to you keep yourself pretty? How do you prepare for the coming of the Bridegroom?

Sadly, I do not care what your answer is, it is not enough. The Bridegroom came and ate and drank with men teaching that these ways are never enough. You need to be prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom, and yet whatever you do is corrupted by sin. Thus, the Bridegroom comes to prepare the way for you. He clothes you for the wedding feast. He washes you clean. The Bridegroom prepares his royal banquet for you to eat. God has forgiven you. He has claimed you to be new wine skins and a new cloth.