Sunday, February 19, 2006
7TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
FEBRUARY 19, 2006
7TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - B
ISAIAH 43:18-19, 21-22, 24B-25
Thus says the LORD: Remember not the events of the past, the things
of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it
springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert I make a way,
in the wasteland, rivers. The people I formed for myself, that they
might announce my praise. Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob, for
you grew weary of me, O Israel. You burdened me with your sins, and
wearied me with your crimes. It is I, I, who wipe out, for my own
sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more.
2 CORINTHIANS 1:18-22
Brothers and sisters: As God is faithful, our word to you is
not "yes" and "no." For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was
proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not "yes"
and "no," but "yes" has been in him. For however many are the
promises of God, their Yes is in him; therefore, the Amen from us
also goes through him to God for glory. But the one who gives us
security with you in Christ and who anointed us is God; he has also
put his seal upon us and given the Spirit in our hearts as a first
installment.
MARK 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."
REFLECTION
In the Gospel reading today, the four friends of the paralytic carry
him to be cured by Jesus. The normal approach through the entrance
is impossible because of the crowd. In desperation they do the
unthinkable - they remove part of the roof and lower the paralytic
to Jesus. Jesus stops his preaching and addresses the paralytic. He
not only cures the paralytic, but also heals his person of sins. He
first addresses the paralytic with the words. "Your sins are
forgiven." This shocks those who were present because they
think: "Who can forgive sins, but God alone?"
Jesus counters, "Which is easier to say to the paralytic, `Your sins
are forgiven,' or to say, `Stand up, take your mat and walk?'"
Jesus here asserts two things: His power to forgive sins, which he
communicated later to the Church, and His power to heal physical
sickness.
Jesus was aware that certain sins like drunkenness, overeating,
sexual promiscuity, vanity, envy, jealousy and sloth always affect
the body negatively. Although Jesus rejects, in the case of the man
born blind, a direct connection between the man's handicap and
personal sin, he hints at such a connection in the case of the
paralytic of the pool of Bethsaida, when he says to him, "Sin no
more, that nothing worse befall you." This is perhaps what he
senses in the case of the paralytic of today's Gospel.
Jesus goes first to the root cause of the paralysis, which is sin,
removes it by stating God's forgiveness, and only then heals the
man's physical illness.
All of us can relate to the feeling of being freed from something
that has held us bound and in pain. One place we have all
experienced freedom is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
But there's a price to pay for that freedom. A prerequisite for it
was that we humbly admit and confess our sins. This is the most
difficult part of the sacrament for most of us. It is also the part
of the Sacrament that contributes most to our sense of freedom and
to the experience of God that frequently accompanies it.
The word forgiveness - or its derivatives - appears about 150 times
in the Scriptures. This frequent use indicates the fact that
forgiveness is one of the major themes of the Scriptures. And as
you might expect, next to the theme of God's love, the theme of
forgiveness is the single most prominent theme of the Christian
Scriptures or the New Testament.
The theme of forgiveness fills the teaching of Jesus Christ. We
find it enshrined in the "Our Father," where Jesus teaches us to
open ourselves to God's forgiveness and to forgive others as
willingly as God forgives us. Jesus tells Peter and us to forgive
others not just seven times, but seventy times seven times.
And what Jesus teaches to others, he practices himself. Forgiveness
permeates his personal life. He forgives the paralyzed man. He
forgives the adulterous woman. He forgives the good thief. He
forgives his executioners.
Let's close with a prayer by Fr. Mark Link, S.J., which sums up both
the message and the invitation contained in today's readings:
"God our Father, do for us what you did for your people in the
Hebrew Scriptures, when you said to them, `You burdened me with
your sins, and wearied me with your crimes. [But I] wipe out... your
offenses; your sins I remember no more.' Jesus our Brother, says to
us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, what you said to the
paralytic in today's Gospel, `Your sins are forgiven... Stand up... and
walk again.'
Holy Spirit our Helper, give us the strength to extend forgiveness
to others as God the Father and Jesus have extended it to us.
Amen."
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- for the personal intentions and success of Antoniette Lao,
Catherine Librando, Alimar Nassaei, Joel Salahudin and the rest of
the examinees of the SWU-College of Medicine. May the Holy Spirit
guide them in their endeavors.
- for the speedy recovery of Gil Calimon.
- for the spiritual and physical healing of Beth.
- for the special intentions of Alyssa.
- for the personal intentions of Veronica Yap.
- for the healing, courage and strength of Theresa.
- for the physical and spiritual healing and strength of Teresita De
Leon Luz.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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� 2006 Daily-Homily
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