The Rituals

Luke 5:33-35

“33 Then they said to him, “John’s disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink.” 34 Jesus said to them, “You cannot make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”

The lives of the orthodox Jews were totally ritualized.  Ritual was religion to them.  They fasted on Mondays and Thursdays and whitened their faces so that people would know that they were in fast (the feast with Levi may have been one of thes fast days).  They offered prayers two or three times a day in the morning, at noon and in the evening.  

Jesus fasted and prayed and he taught his disciples these things, but he did not strictly observe the rituals associated with fasting and prayer.  To the Pharisees, this proved that they were not religious.  

Jesus taught that religion was more than rituals and that rituals themselves were useless if performed with a corrupted heart.

For Jesus, the most important aspect of religion was not rituals but the condition of one’s heart.  Praying, fasting, and all the other disciplines and rituals should flow from our love; our love for God, and our neighbor. 

There is a time and place for all disciples to pray, and to fast.  When these are practiced, they should not be done to reveal how holy and obedient we are, but practiced in a spirit of love, and humility.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)