There are some people in our lives who we admire. Usually the people we look up to are the ones who model for us the kind of person we all want to be like. Usually, the ones we look up to are the ones who not only appear to possess the traits we admire, but the ones who somehow have managed to prove their level of sincerity. This is the gift that Jesus gave to his disciples, the gift he challenged everyone else to seek. To those who were content with external appearances, but whose behaviour demonstrated a lack of sincerity, his words always challenged.
When the scribes and Pharisees asked him about the fact that his disciples ate and drank while the disciples of John the Baptist fasted often and offered prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees did the same (Lk 5:33) he challenged them to see holiness in a different light.
Holiness is a matter of maintaining a relationship with God on a regular basis. Like other relationships we cultivate with friends and relatives, our relationship with God will be evident to those who witness the way we act and speak. The discipline of fasting is meant to make us more aware of the need for prayer: to make us more aware of our need to be in relationship with God, not simply to make us look pious.
How are things between me and God? Do I seek to fast from anything that will hinder my relationship with Jesus, or do I act piously in order to attract the attention of others?
Have a great day.
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