Friday of the First Week of Lent

Mark 2:13-22

13 Jesus went out again beside the lake; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. 14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

15 And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax-collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples—for there were many who followed him. 16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax-collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ 17 When Jesus heard this, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, ‘Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ 19 Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding-guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom

with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.

21 ‘No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.’

Reflection:

Mark tells how Jesus was walking by the sea when he saw Levi sitting at his tax booth. Jesus called out to him, not after Levi had changed his ways or become respectable, but right in the middle of his complicated life. Jesus says, “Follow me,” and Levi responds right away. In the same way, Lent starts not with our perfection, but with God inviting us.

Next, Jesus does something that still makes some religious people uncomfortable: he sits and eats with “tax collectors and sinners.” In the Bible, sharing a table is more than just eating together; it means belonging. Jesus acknowledges sin, but he never treats anyone as untouchable. Like a doctor who goes to those who are sick, he meets us in our hunger and honors our desire to change.

People then ask, “Why aren’t your disciples fasting?” Jesus replies by comparing it to a wedding: when the bridegroom is present, it’s time to celebrate. There will be a time for fasting, but fasting itself isn’t the main thing. It’s meant to help us make space in our lives for love.

Jesus talks about new cloth, new wine, and new wineskins. He isn’t just trying to fix old religious practices or keep things the same. Instead, he brings something truly new: mercy that changes us, joy that grows, and grace that goes beyond old limits.

This Lent, how might Jesus be inviting you to grow, welcome others, and make room for renewal?

By Grace,

Scott+