Meeting Friends and Scribes along the Way

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time Feb. 22, 2009 (Mk 2:1-12)

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Child, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?" Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, "Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, pick up your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth" - he said to the paralytic, "I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home." He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."

In the Gospel today, we see Jesus preaching in Capernaum. His fame was already spreading and the house he was in was soon crowded by people. Since there was no way to get to Jesus, four men carried a paralytic, most probably their friend, and made a hole in the roof of the house in order to let their paralytic friend meet Jesus. Jesus saw this as an act of great faith and he healed the man.

In this first part of the story, we see that infirmities and sufferings are not really that bad if we have friends with us. The paralytic in our Gospel was lucky to have four great friends who were concerned enough for his health that they even broke through a roof for him. Some friends today don't even care to exert effort to help their friends. They are only with you when there aren't any problems. When the storm comes, they are the first to abandon the ship and leave you alone. If you have friends who are loyal and always ready to help you no matter what it takes, then you're very lucky.

But let us also examine what kind of friends we are. It is better for us to have bad friends than to be bad friends ourselves. We should be like the four friends of the paralytic, ready to break through any roof for the well-being of the people we love, or even for the well-being of people whom we don't know, the people who need mercy the most. We, as Catholics, should have preferential love for the poor. If our neighbor, regardless of our relationship or the lack of a relationship with them, needs our help, by all means, we must help them. We must be the strength of the weak, the voice of the marginalized, and the eyes of the blind.

The act of loving and caring for our neighbor is not only for their temporal needs. In our spiritual journey towards God, we are all in need of others. Our relationship with God is not only two-way, between God and our individual selves. No. We journey towards Him with our neighbor and with a spiritual society, the Church. We need other people to help us come closer to God.

In the latter part of the Gospel, we see the scribes questioning Jesus' words. What Jesus first said to the paralytic were words of forgiveness. This, of course, raised an issue among the scribes. How could Jesus forgive sins? Only God can forgive sins! Of course, it was not given to the scribes to recognize Jesus as God. But that is not the issue. The issue is that the paralytic is being healed, yet all the scribes can think about is their theology. Could they not care about the paralytic who is finally going to be cured? Because of their theological discussions, the healing was delayed.

During that time, illness was considered a punishment due to sin. Therefore, we can understand why Jesus asked "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, pick up your mat and walk'?" If Jesus forgave the sins of the paralytic, then according to their notion of illness, the man should be healed. Jesus probably wanted to tell the people there that spiritual healing was more important than physical healing. He made the paralytic's need of His physical healing a symbol of a deeper need of being healed spiritually by God.

As we journey towards God, we meet a lot of problems, temporal or spiritual. We also meet a lot of people. These people may either help us get closer to God, as the paralytic's friends did to him, or they may delay our healing and journey towards God, as the scribes did to the paralytic. The challenge for us is to do everything within our power to make sure that our direction is towards God. The friends who may help us are just bonuses, and the scribes who may distract us are just tests. We must also make sure we become friends to others and be careful not to be scribes to them.

If You Wish

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Feb. 15, 2009 (Mk 1:40-45)

A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, "If you wish, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, "I do will it. Be made clean." The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.

He said to him, "See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."

The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

Lepers are considered as unclean people. In the Old Testament, when they pass the streets, they should shout, "Unclean! Unclean!" In the Gospel today, Jesus is approached by one of these unclean lepers. The leper knelt down before Him and said, "If you wish you, can make me clean."

The leper, more or less, has an idea of who Jesus was. He might not have known that Jesus was the Son of God. But he knew that the one before Him was greater than him, a man of God. He did not demand Jesus' healing as if he had all the right to receive it. Instead, he prayed to Jesus in a way similar to how Mary humbly said yes to God. The leper said, "If you wish..."

This man is suffering from leprosy and he obviously needs healing, yet he went to Jesus saying, "If you wish..."! It is very common for us to pray for things that we need or want. But how often do we start our prayer with "If you wish..."? We must not pray to God, demanding everything that we are praying for. We must surrender our will to His perfect will. We must let Him decide what's best for us. After all, our Father knows best!

After beginning his prayer with a complete surrender to the will of Jesus, the leper asked for cleansing. We might not be all leprous. But the truth is, everyone of us has an uncleanliness. This uncleanliness is due to the fact that all have sinned (Rom 3:23). Whatever personal sins we have committed, however small, they are still sins and are, thus, uncleanliness. We need to acknowledge this uncleanliness so that we might allow God to cleanse us. The proud people who think they have no need of cleansing are not going to be cleansed. God also respects our will. We need to ask for cleansing, and this presupposes that we acknowledge our uncleanliness due to sin.

In comparison, when we ask a doctor to heal us, we admit that there is something wrong with us. In the same way, we need to admit our sinfulness before God and ask for His spiritual healing in order for Him to act.

Jesus probably saw the humility and the great faith of this leper that He granted his prayer immediately. After healing the leper, Jesus warned Him not to tell anyone about it. Instead, He instructed him to do what Moses prescribed for the cleansing rites of a leper. Why doesn't Jesus want His miracles to be broadcasted? It's simple really. Jesus wanted followers who would come to Him because of faith, not because of the longing for a miracle. Jesus wanted not fame, but faith. He was more concerned with the healing of the body and soul of a person.

But, indeed, how can the joyful ex-leper not proclaim the great miracle done to Him? It is but natural for us to spread the great joy we feel. It cannot be controlled, sometimes. Nevertheless, we still need to follow what is proper. In the case of the leper, he should have obeyed Jesus. It was the least he can do to show gratefulness.

Nevertheless, like the leper, we are invited to pray with an "If you wish" attitude before God. We need to submit ourselves to His wisdom. We must also admit our need of God in order for Him to work in our lives. We must invoke His presence. We should acknowledge the fact that we failed as sons and daughters of God and, at the same time, promise to do a better job as a child of God.

Father, if You wish, you can make us clean!

Amplifying the Message of Love with a Touch

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Feb. 8, 2009 (Mk 1:29-39)

On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you." He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come." So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

Jesus' public ministry was not only pure preaching about God and His Kingdom. It was characterized by so many great miracles that people couldn't help but seek for Him always. Jesus' fame was indeed spreading. We read in our Gospel today that after Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, the whole town was gathered before the door where He was. He healed many people there and drove out many demons. This cannot happen, of course, without the faith of the people. The people of the town probably had great faith, a prerequisite for any miracle.

Jesus' healing miracles are not for fame. If Jesus wanted to be famous, he would have let the demons speak about who He was before He drove them away. But as was said in the Gospel, He did not permit them to speak because they knew Him. Jesus' healing has a great purpose. It is part of His mission. It accompanied the Word of God which He preached. His healing touch amplifies the message of God's love. Through healing, He made it easier for people to understand that God loves them and cares for them. This is why Jesus went to many synagogues; He wanted to proclaim God's message through healing.

Jesus wants us to know that God loves us very much. So much so that, to save us from our world of sin and suffering, God Himself, in the person of Jesus, shared our humanity and was subjected to suffering. Jesus is not alien to the sufferings we encounter. It is written, "We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin (Heb 4:15)." Jesus showed us the value of human weakness and suffering. He showed us that our sufferings can be an offering to God.

In the midst of all the illnesses and sufferings we encounter, let us always remember God who is loving and caring. Many people lose hope and even faith in God just because they experience suffering. The popular question these days goes like this, "If there is a God, why is there so much evil in the world?" Let us remember that all the sufferings and pain we experience today are caused by sin, not by God. God created everything good. We know this very well. It was sin that brought all the miseries and sufferings in this world. The first sin of our parents caused all the evils we face.

Let us remain faithful to our God of Love. Like Job, let us endure sufferings, offer them to God and pray that they be gone instead of cursing God for them. Let us also be sensitive to the sufferings of others. God loves all of us and He will heal all of us physically and spiritually in His time! Let us remind everyone of this Good News. Let us draw the sick towards God and show them that God cares through the Sacraments for the Sick. Let us bring back the sinners to the confessional and let God embrace them. Through our simple touch of love, we amplify the message of Jesus: God loves and cares!