Today’s Gospel opens as people come to Jesus and ask Him: “why do your disciples not fast?” Everyone knew that the Pharisees fasted, as did the disciples of John. They are curious about the fact that Jesus and His disciples do not fast. Jesus doesn’t respond as they may have hoped He would. Rather, Jesus uses the example of a wedding feast.

He tells His listeners that as long as the bridegroom is at the reception, the guests will continue to celebrate this joyous occasion. The time to fast will be when the bridegroom is no longer with them. Jesus then uses the image of a cloak that is torn and needs to be patched. He tells His listeners that anyone with sense would not use a new piece of material to patch the cloak. Given the difference in the age of the cloths, it would simply make the tear worse. Jesus then uses the image of wineskins. He says that one should never put new wine into previously used wineskins because the skins would burst.

Today, perhaps is Jesus is inviting us to “do something new” rather than simply continuing to live out our old (and perhaps unhealthy) patterns. All of us probably have at least one pattern in our lives that we would like to change. Take a moment and ask : what is one small change would I like to make in my life? How serious am I about making this change?

Change is not easy or simple. It is easy to make a New Year’s resolution. However, it is much more difficult to keep that resolution.

Let us today try to involve the Lord in our daily routines, so that it becomes part of the routine and not a one-off event.

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