Memorial of Saint Anthony the Abbot
January 17, 2022
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Mark 2:18-22
Fasting was a devotional practice for religious Jews. It was preparation for the final coming of God’s kingdom. When Jesus is asked why he and his disciples don’t fast, he answers that there’s no need. God’s kingdom is already here.
He’s suggesting that he himself is the kingdom. He is what everybody has been waiting for. The time may come when he’s not with them any longer, and they will fast. But even then, their fasting will have a different significance than the fasting practices of the present, because Jesus will be part of it, and it just won’t be more of the same.
It’s not hard to see why some people were upset with Jesus. The message he brought seemed wild and beyond belief.