"Fasting or feasting?"

Ebanghelyo subong nga Adlaw (Marcos 2:18-22)

Lunes (Enero 20)

Isa ka bes ang mga sumulunod ni Juan Bautista kag ang mga Fariseo nagapuasa. May mga tawo nga nagpalapit kay Jesus kag nagpamangkot sa iya, "Ngaa bala nga nagapuasa ang mga gintuton-an ni Juan Bautista kag ang mga gintuton-an sang mga Fariseo, pero ang imo mga gintuton-an wala nagapuasa?"

Si Jesus nagsabat, "Nagapaabot bala kamo nga ang mga inagda sa kasal magapuasa samtang yara pa ang nobyo kaupod nila? Indi sila makahimo sina!

Pero magaabot ang adlaw nga ang nobyo pagakuhaon sa ila, kag amo na yadto ang ila pagpuasa.

"Wala sing bisan sin-o nga nagagamit sing bag-o nga panapton sa pagtukap sa daan nga bayu. Kon himuon niya ini, ang bag-o nga tukap magagisi sang daan nga bayu kag mangindaku pa gid ang tulokapan.

Wala man sing bisan sin-o nga nagasulod sing bag-o nga bino sa daan nga suludlan nga panit. Kon himuon niya ini, ang bino magabusdik sang daan nga panit, kag ang bino kag ang panit nga sulodlan indi na mapuslan. Pero ang bag-o nga bino ginasulod sa bag-o nga sulodlan!" 

Prayers:

"Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit, that I may grow in the knowledge of your great love and truth. Help me to seek you earnestly in prayer and fasting that I may turn away from sin and wilfulness and conform my life more fully to your will. May I always find joy in knowing, loving, and serving you."

***

Reflection of the Daily Gospel:

Which comes first, fasting or feasting? The disciples of John the Baptist were upset with Jesus' disciples because they did not fast. Fasting was one of the three most important religious duties, along with prayer and almsgiving. Jesus gave a simple explanation. There's a time for fasting and a time for feasting (or celebrating). To walk as a disciple with Jesus is to experience a whole new joy of relationship akin to the joy of the wedding party in celebrating with the groom and bride their wedding bliss. But there also comes a time when the Lord's disciples must bear the cross of affliction and purification. For the disciple there is both a time for rejoicing in the Lord's presence and celebrating his goodness and a time for seeking the Lord with humility and fasting and for mourning over sin. Do you take joy in the Lord's presence with you and do you express sorrow and contrition for your sins? 

Jesus goes on to warn his disciples about the problem of the "closed mind" that refuses to learn new things. Jesus used an image familiar to his audience – new and old wineskins. In Jesus' times, wine was stored in wineskins, not bottles. New wine poured into skins was still fermenting. The gases exerted gave pressure. New wine skins were elastic enough to take the pressure, but old wine skins easily burst because they were hard. What did Jesus mean by this comparison? Are we to reject the old in place of the new? Just as there is a right place and a right time for fasting and for feasting, so there is a right place for the old as well as the new. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old (Matthew 13:52). How impoverished we would be if we only had the Old Testament or the New Testament, rather than both. The Lord gives us wisdom so we can make the best use of both the old and the new. He doesn't want us to hold rigidly to the past and to be resistant to the new work of his Holy Spirit in our lives. He wants our minds and hearts to be like new wine skins – open and ready to receive the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Are you eager to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God's word and plan for your life?