And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”
My mind races back to that song in Fiddler on the Roof where Tevya, the Jewish patriarch, regales "Tradition". To be sure, the ideas encased in the word sometimes get a bad rap by forward thinking Christians. And sometimes people certainly take the word to extremes. There is something in a tradition that is both binding and freeing.
Yet in this passage Jesus seems to be telling us that it is not the tradition (i.e. fasting) that it is the issue but the way in which it is applied. He seems to be speaking to us about the difference between a tradition controlling us and us controlling the tradition. When led by the Holy Spirit the use of a tradition can be a very freeing thing.
Help me to feel your heart today Lord. Cause me to embrace your traditions.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to get comments and usually respond. So come back to see my reply.
You can click here to see my comment policy.