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.
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.
Good job, bro dean^_^
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