Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 4, 2022
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.”
I am a checklist-lover. Daily, weekly, and monthly checklists ensure that I submit articles for review on time, don’t run out of dish soap, and make time for runs that bring me joy amidst the chaos of daily life. Lent caters to my checklist passion as I plan how to pray, fast, and give in a manner that will prepare my heart to journey with Christ to the resurrection.
As organized as the lists help me to be, my love of checklists can obscure Lent’s context of mercy, which Jesus warns us about in today’s gospel.
In the line before today’s reading, Jesus calls us to learn what it means to say that God desires mercy, not sacrifice and that Jesus himself came to call sinners, not the righteous. Mercy is the context of Jesus’ response to John’s disciples’ question about fasting. This passage also comes after Matthew describes Jesus healing, calming a storm at sea, and calling Matthew to dine with him amongst other sinners—all distinct reminders of God’s love and mercy.
Focusing on completing my Lenten checklist, as prayerfully composed as it might be, makes it easy to forget that God isn’t tracking my Lenten progress with a list. Like John’s disciples, it’s easy for me to forget that Jesus did not come to call the righteous; forty days of checkmarks does not and can not make me worthy of God’s love.
Context is key.
While we are called to fast and pray during this liturgical season, we do so to facilitate opportunities to receive God’s mercy so that we might extend it to others, as Jesus did. We must encounter God in prayer, in the people we interact with, and the poor we are called to know and serve–all things that cannot be reduced to items on a checklist.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, in Christ’s presence is endless joy. He is the bridegroom and the Church his bride. Though the risen Christ is with us always, we live in that age before his final manifestation and coming in glory. Give us faith and hope as our hearts yearn with spousal love for the bridegroom for when he will come in glory and we partake of the heavenly wedding feast. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Adrian is a martyr from Scotland who was killed by maurading Vikings during the Dark Ages.
The historical record is not clear as to Adrian’s origins. Some say he was an Irish monk and bishop who established the Church at St. Andrews. Other accounts state that he was a Hungarian monk with royal lineage who set out to evangelize Scotland.
In either case, Adrian and some companions established a number of monasteries and hermitages on the Isle lf May, which is five miles out to sea from the mainland. In 875, Vikings landed on the island and slaughtered everyone there. Adrian was killed with hundreds of other monks, and their bodies were thrown into a large, ancient burial pit.
Hundreds of years later, the island and former monastery became a pilgrimage site. The relics of a St. Adrian, martyr, rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, but it is unclear if these belong to this St. Adrian or another, whose feast day is tomorrow.
St. Adrian, you evangelized Scotland and gave your life for the faith, pray for us!