Not so fast

Now the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast. And they came to Him saying, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't fast? (Mark 2:18).

Jesus answered them that fasting is appropriate for a time of mourning, not a time of celebration. That He is still with them is cause for rejoicing, not sorrow. Now the time will come when He will be taken from them, then they will fast. And He was taken from them on Good Friday. But Sunday, as Tony Compollo used to say, is surely coming. And then they would rejoice again. 

He was taken up to Heaven after 40 days, and the Holy Spirit came down 10 days after that. So is now the time to fast? He is with us, albeit in Spirit, not corporally. Is now a time for mourning? Or for celebration? I suppose both. Mourning over our sins, but celebrating the fact of our redemption, are appropriate. 

The Wrong Crowd

 "As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, 'Follow Me!'. And he got up and followed him. And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. 

Mark 2:15-16

Aesop once said, "you will know the character of a man by the company he keeps", and the Pharisees certainly agreed with the fabler. However, Jesus not only did not avoid the despised tax collectors, He went out of His way to invite them to his house, and called one of them, Levi, to be His disciple! Well, as a former "tax-man" myself, I am certainly glad for this! When the Pharisees called Him on this, He simply said, "well, it's not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick". 

Of course, in reality, the religious crowd had as much a need of Jesus as did those of low reputation. But they did not know their own need, so full of religious tradition that they could not see the Word of God even though He was right there in front of their face. Later, one of them came to Him by night with many questions, and Jesus showed him that he needed to be born again, as simple as ABC. 

But the first hurdle for any man to be born again is that he must admit that he is not right with God, A. Then he must believe that Jesus has made a way for him to be reconciled to God, B. Finally, he must confess with his mouth that he does believe, C. Have you done this, my friend?