Our Feasting Lord: The Joyful Bridegroom
July 5, 2025 - Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 9:14-17
John the Baptist fasts, and so do his disciples. But Jesus of Nazareth feasts (Matt 11:18–19)—often in the company of tax collectors and sinners. Why the difference?
Jesus answers with a question of His own: “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?” (Matt 9:15). In other words, this is not a time for mourning, but for celebration. The arrival of Jesus is like a wedding—He is the Bridegroom, and His presence brings joy.
John the Baptist understood this. The Gospel of John describes him as “the friend of the Bridegroom” who rejoices at the sound of His voice (John 3:29). John was the voice crying out in the wilderness (Mark 1:3), preparing the way through a ministry of repentance, fasting, and mourning. His was the work of Elijah—calling hearts back to God in the desolate places (Mark 9:11–13).
But now, the Bridegroom has come. And His mission is to woo His bride—sinful humanity—back to Himself. Like the prophet Hosea, Jesus speaks tenderly to the unfaithful bride, offering a covenant not of condemnation, but of love: “I will betroth you to me forever... in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy” (Hos 2:21–22). His feasting with tax collectors and sinners (Mark 2:14–15; Luke 19:5–6) is no mere indulgence—it’s the joyful sign of this covenant being renewed.
Then Jesus offers two images: new cloth and new wine. These are not just metaphors—they are signs of the radical newness of the Gospel. As Paul says, “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor 3:6). The old cannot contain the new. The grace of Christ cannot be poured into old categories of law and ritual alone. Something deeper is happening. The Bridegroom leads His bride to the foot of the Cross, and there—through the waters of baptism—a new covenant is sealed. The law is now written not on stone, but on human hearts (Jer 31:33; 2 Cor 3:3). A new life begins—clothed in Christ, filled with the Spirit.
But what about fasting?
Jesus says, “The days will come...” (Matt 9:15). And indeed, they have come. When the Bridegroom is taken away, the Church enters into a fast—not of mourning without hope, but of remembrance and love. During Lent, we fast to remember what it cost Christ to win us back. It is a fast of participation—a journey with Him to the Cross, that we may rise with Him to the joy of Easter.
Fasting and feasting, sorrow and joy—they meet in Christ. He is the Bridegroom who came not to condemn the sinner, but to wed "her", redeem "her", and rejoice in "her" forever.