ISB ~ Mark 2 v19

the bridegroom:Jesus uses marital imagery to kilkJ reveal his divinity.

• His words recall several OT passages that depict Yahweh as a groom wedded to Israel (Is 54:5; Jer 3:20; Hos 2:20). The NT transfers this covenant relationship to Christ as the divine spouse of the Church (Mt 25:1-13; Eph 5:25; CCC 796).

they cannot fast:Since fasting symbolizes mourning and separation, it was inappropriate while Jesus was present among the disciples.

• Christians fast before celebrating the liturgy, i.e., before Christ comes among them in Word and Sacrament. The arrival of Christ then makes it a time of feasting, when the divine Bridegroom gives himself in love to his bride, the Church. Communion with Jesus in the Eucharist is a foretaste of the heavenly “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9).