Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Paralytic



The paralytic has to brought to Jesus.

It is companions who go to all the effort the man does nothing.

When he is let down through the roof and lands in the presence of the Lord.

Jesus merely says, "Your sins are forgiven, you".

Nothing visible at all happens the paralytic continues to lie on his stretcher. That is it!

God has forgiven this man's sins, and he is just lying there not even a smile on his face, he continues to be paralysed, he feels nothing different. Christ has come and saved the man and everybody can go home now.


Except, there is a second part, the muttering scribes bring this about, "Who can forgive sins but God", they say. Their statement is one of disbelief, if he is forgiven they want a sign, they are not concerned with the deep goings on in the depths of soul. Mark exploits this to show who Jesus is, for it is indeed God himself who has forgiven. God is there amongst mankind forgiving.

Jesus tells the man to get up and walk, and he does, he walks away, proving Jesus is God, proving Jesus has the power to forgive.


We can forget that what takes place in Confession is really about God's relationship with us in the depths of our soul. Feelings or other outward signs might be nice but they are not of the essence of the sacrament nor of essence of forgiveness.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I picked up a Mass sheet from my local parish church. One of those pre-printed ones done by the Redemptorists in Dublin. Rather than Jesus having the power to forgive sins demonstrating His divinity the leaflet interpreted the reading as man can forgive sins too not only God (implicit assumption seems to be that Jesus was a man not God)! This leaflet goes out to 100,000's of people at Mass all over the country. Pray for the Irish Catholic Church.

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