Feasting with Jesus and Fasting with Judas

 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Jn 12: 3 (Jn 12: 1-11)

One of the trends of the last decade has been the rediscovery of the detox.  During a typical detox a person will only eat vegetables and drink water for a period of time.  It is seen as a time to cleanse the body from impurities.  It is hoped that after this short period of fasting that the body will once again be fit and healthy for the pounding of everyday life – a contemporary rediscovery of the importance of fasting.

This rediscovery of fasting can be contrasted with the estimates made by the University College of London that 13 million adults will be obese by the time of the 2012 Olympics.  As well as this overeating there is also the endemic problem of binge drinking in the UK with all the associated health complaints.  We also seem to enjoy a feast…

It appears that we have lost the balance between feasting and fasting.  The fast is either used as a confession of a past feast, or as a permission giver for a forthcoming feast.  The fast has become the servant of the feast rather than the opposite side of the same coin.

In the reading today Judas self-righteously scolds Mary’s extravagance.  We too can look at our contemporary situation and agree with Judas’ spoken justification: there can be no place for extravagance when we have the poor with us.  How can I feast when just a few miles away there will homeless people living on the streets of Manchester?  Judas calls for worship without extravagance or celebration; an austere faith where the feast has been removed.

If we agree, and act, on Judas’ argument then life for Christians will be a permanent fast and this is as equally unbalanced as life being a permanent feast.  The reading reminds us of the importance of balance; a life that includes both feast and fast.  Times where we can feast and celebrate but tempered by a time of fast.  Feasting and fasting are part of healthy spiritual discipleship.

This piece of writing is a contribution that I made to The Favourable Time get it here!