All brides fast

Matthew 9:14-15

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.”

     How many of you have been to a wedding before?  What was the best part of the wedding for you?  Some people cry at weddings when the couple says their vows, other people love all the beautiful flowers, decorations, flowing dresses, everyone loves the party and punch and cake at the reception.  Everyone loves the loud music and dancing, except the priest who sits in the corner grumpy because he doesn’t have anyone to dance with.  If you see a priest at a wedding reception be sure to dance with him.  Now, a lot of work goes into making the wedding day picture perfect.  But do you know what the most important part of the preparation is?  The bride has to lose weight.  Why does she have to lose weight?  So she can fit into her wedding dress, so she can look pretty and perfect.  How do you lose weight?  You don’t eat.  What is another word for “not eating”?  That’s called “fasting.”  All brides fast before their wedding day!  Now, does she fast on the wedding day itself, at the reception?  Heck no!  One picture in all wedding albums is when the bride and groom cut the cake and each puts a small piece of cake in the other’s mouth.  On the wedding day, we don’t fast, we feast!

      This is what Jesus is talking about in the gospel today: when to fast and when to feast.  He says that while he is with his disciples, they don’t fast.  Why?  Well, because he is the Groom and they are the “Bride.”  When the Bride and Groom are together, it’s time to feast, not fast.  But Jesus, the Groom, will be taken away from the Bride, and then it will be time for them to fast.  At the end of time, however, Jesus will return in glory and do you know what will happen then?  It will be a huge, cosmic wedding!  It will literally be “the party to end all parties”!  You see, the last book of the Bible tells us what will happen at the end of time.  What is that book called?  Most people call it “Revelation.”  But there is a better title, and that is “Apocalypsis.”  That’s a Greek word and it means “unveiling.”  Now, I’ll give you one guess who is being “unveiled” at the end of time.  It’s the Bride on her wedding day.  A very important part of the wedding ceremony is when the Groom lifts the veil off the Bride’s face and kisses her. I know that sounds yucky, but some day you’ll appreciate that.  The end of time will be a huge wedding day, a day to stop fasting and to start feasting.  I hope you like weddings.

      Boys and girls, for a moment , think of someone who has died.  I now that’s very sad and we miss those people.  This past week Mrs. Betty Merrywell passed away.  She is the mother of one of our teachers, Mrs. Patty Frala.  I want you to look at death in another way.  The people who have died are closer than we are to the end of time, some are there already (like Mary and the saints), to that great and glorious wedding day!  They are not gone forever; we hope to see them again on the last day, the wedding day when the Bride and the Groom will be together forever.  On that day the Bride will not fast, she will feast; she will be pretty and perfect.  On that day, the Groom will take the veil off her face and he will kiss her and he will give her cake to eat forever and ever!  Of course, it will be chocolate cake.

Praised be Jesus Christ!