Missing the Point?

Saturday, July 4, 2026

Amos 9: 11-15; Mt 9: 14-17

Today’s Gospel highlights the newness of Jesus’ mission. 

The disciples of John come to Jesus with a sincere question: ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’ While the question of John’s disciples is tied to the question of fasting, Jesus takes them beyond. 

In his answer, Jesus does not undermine fasting or diminish its value as a religious practice. Instead, he wants his disciples to understand how to fast sincerely and not for public admiration, as it was often the case with religious leaders like Pharisees. Thus, Jesus is not only taking the conversation much deeper but also wants his disciples to understand that he has inaugurated a new era of God’s work in and through him. Using household images like sewing and winemaking, Jesus explains the newness that his ministry has instantiated. Thus, Jesus turns the discussion towards his presence as the Bridegroom and shows that it changes everything. As such, his presence calls for celebration, not for mourning. 

Secondly, when Jesus says that no one patches an old garment with new cloth or no one pours new wine into old wineskins, he highlights the nature of his mission. If John the Baptist came to prepare people through repentance, Jesus’ mission was intended to establish God’s Kingdom through himself. Thus, he came not to patch up an old system but to build something entirely new. The Kingdom that Jesus came to announce is not founded on legal observance or following meaningless religious traditions. For Jesus, external observations are meaningful only when they point to interior conversion. Hence, the worthy preparation to be part of Jesus’ Kingdom is only inner transformation. Indeed, Christianity is not an improved version of older traditions but a new creation of Christ himself. 

If we want to team up with Jesus, we must not wonder if he would fit into our expectations. Instead, it is about whether we are willing to reshape our lives around him.

Let us pray that we may joyfully partake of the newness that Jesus brings about.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar