March 7, 2025 // Friday after Ash Wednesday // Optional Memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 9:14-15
Reflect on the Word //
I will be the first to admit that fasting is not my favorite thing to do. I have complained and whined my way through many seasons of Lent and other fasting days throughout the liturgical year. My internal disposition is one of misery and pain rather than one of desire for growth in virtue. I have simply just avoided the concept of fasting.
In today’s Gospel, the disciples of John come to Jesus and ask why His disciples don't fast, so it seems evident that Jesus' disciples were not fasting while He was with them. Considering the importance of this tradition, it seems a bit peculiar. Jesus answers with a word picture. He says, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they?" (Matthew 9:15)
What was Jesus emphasizing? And what does He mean? He teaches us two things: one is that fasting was associated with mourning in that day. Most of all, it was meant to be an expression of an inner hunger for God. This is the second thing He teaches: The Messiah has come and His coming is like the coming of a bridegroom to a wedding feast. God has sent His Son, the Messiah, and He has come as the Bridegroom. They just can’t fast in this situation. The absence of fasting in the band of disciples was a witness to the presence of God in their midst.
As Jesus foretold, the days then came in which the Bridegroom was taken from them, and then they did fast and suffer—and many became martyrs.
We live in a time of both knowing the Bridegroom is with us and waiting to be with Him fully in Heaven. There is great joy and grace that comes from seasons of fasting, because we know He has the victory. But we cannot forget why we’re fasting. May our prayer and fasting reveal a sorrow for our sins and an inner hunger for Him. And in the times where we don’t fast, may that, too, be a witness of the presence of God to those around you.
Relate to the Lord // What fast has the Lord invited you into this Lent? How is it revealing your hunger for Him?
Mary Peach lives in Atlanta and is passionate about helping others encounter Jesus in a real and personal way. Born in Ethiopia and adopted at age eleven, she shares vulnerably about faith, healing, and redemption through every season of life. Through her work in ministry and her writing, she hopes others feel less alone in their stories and more deeply known by God. In her free time, she enjoys photography, travel, pickleball, and spending time with friends and family.
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