April Fenk was 36 years old when she was diagnosed with inoperable cervical cancer. She was given 4 months to live and would likely not see Thanksgiving or Christmas. Several years before the diagnosis, April was discussing funerals with a friend and she stated that she hated funerals because they were so morbid. She said that she would instead have a party before she died so that people could remember her as she was. Little did she realize at that time that she would be in this very position and, so, she followed through with the prophesy she had had years earlier. She gave herself a celebration of life while she was, in fact, alive. She organized a party. A true celebration. Rich foods, music, dancing, video and photographic memories. There would be plenty of time later for mourning and sadness but, for now, partying.
In today’s Gospel we hear the disciples, the followers of John the Baptist, ask Jesus:
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
In other words, we are out here denying ourselves while you are your followers essentially are living it up. What is the deal? Jesus responds with:
“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...”
It is generally felt that it was in Matthew Chapter 16 that Jesus first predicted His death. Right after He had fed the multitudes. But it seems clear here that He was alluding to His passing from this world here in Matthew Chapter 9. But before Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem He laughed, ate and drank with His friends. Examples include the Wedding Feast at Cana, bringing the children to Him, feasting so much that the scribes referred to him as a drunkard and a glutton. I can imagine Him smiling or laughing when telling the parable of a camel squeezing through the eye of a needle or removing a plank from your eye. Jesus fully enjoyed the life He assumed before that fateful week before His crucifixion.
We all have moments in our lives of sadness. When dealing with disappointment, frustration, illness and death. It is during these times that we fast in a sense. When our bridegroom has been taken away. But Jesus also calls us to joy. Yes, to celebrate our lives and the relationships that make life a gift. There will be plenty of time to mourn throughout our lives so take advantage of the times we have to live.
I don’t think it was an accident that this reading fell on today’s date. July 4th. For today in the United States we celebrate 250 years of Independence. Four times our founders referred to God in the Declaration of Independence. This experiment with freedom was founded on the knowledge that the rights we posses come from the God who created us. So, celebrate today. Definitely not a time for fasting…but of feasting. Happy Fourth to all.
Note: These last few reflections were written in late May and early June because I left for a motorcycle trip to the Yukon and Alaska with some friends. I return around mid-July when I will resume writing in “real time”
