Trong cuộc sống yếu đuối của con người hầu như ai trong chúng ta cũng chỉ thấy những cái xấu trong mọi tình huống. Chúng ta có thể thấy những tin tức tiêu cực mà chúng ta đọc hàng ngày qua các báo chí, trên TV. Chúng ta cũng thấy những cái xấu trên Internet hay qua các tin đồn, bàn luận trên Facebook hay trên các trang sinh hoạt của các nhóm xã hội. Với cái nhìn vào trong những cái khía cạnh của sự xấu xa, chúng ta có lẽ hay thích chê bai hay phỉ báng người khác, có lẽ chúng ta muốn “hạ người khác càng xuống thấp hơn” càng tốt để chúng ta cảm thấy sung sướng và an toàn hơn.
Chúa Giêsu đã biết rõ rằng những cái khó chịu đó đang âm ỉ trong lòng của họ bởi vì cái thói đạo đức giả và cái niềm tự cao, tự đại của họ mà Ngài đã khẳng định quyền hạn và uy quyền của Ngài bằng cách chữa lành cho người bại liệt này trước những con mắt ngạc nhiên của đám đông. Chúa Giêsu đã cho chúng ta biết rằng là thành viên của Giáo Hội có nghĩa là chúng ta không được phép thách thức quyền năng của Thiên Chúa và những điều tốt đẹp mà Thiên Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta mỗi ngày. Chúng ta có thể có quyền tự do để chỉ trích những sai lầm mà chúng ta thấy thường xảy ra xung quanh chúng ta và trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng ta, nhưng chúng ta không nên đặt mình trên bệ giá cao và tin rằng mình hơn người khác bởi vì chúng ta đều là tạo vật do Thiên Chúa sáng tạo ra và chúng ta đều gọi nhau là Kitô hữu.
It seems inherent in our human nature to look for the bad in any situation. We can see that in the negative news stories we read in the papers or watch on TV. We also observe it in the gossip that circulates among social groups. By talking about the bad side of others, we perhaps try to bring down people to make ourselves feel good. The scribes at Capernaum in today's Gospel were doing just that. They belittled the faith of several men and brushed off their effort to bring a paralytic close to Jesus. They attempted to make Jesus look like a law-breaker or religious violator instead of the preacher of Good News, which he was doing.
Jesus was obviously annoyed by the hypocrisy and sky-high pride of the scribes that He asserted His authority and power by healing the paralytic in front of the astonished eyes of the crowd. Jesus gives notice that being members of His Church does not give us the license to challenge His authority and the many good things God provides every day. We may have the freedom to criticize the many wrongs we see happening around us in our daily lives but we should not place ourselves on pedestals and believe ourselves superior to others because we call ourselves Christians. Let us avoid the pitfalls of pride and instead work to be humble servants of God. Let us ask Jesus to remove the temptation of negative thinking and embrace the joy of His Good News.
"Lord Jesus, through your merciful love and forgiveness you bring healing and restoration to body, soul, and mind. May your healing power and love touch every area of my life -- my innermost thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and memories? Pardon my offences and transform me in the power of your Holy Spirit that I may walk confidently in your truth and righteousness.
“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.” Mark 2:9–11
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus began His ministry in Capernaum. Shortly after calling His first Apostles, Jesus preached in the synagogue, leaving many amazed. After healing a demoniac and Peter’s mother-in-law, the whole town gathered at the house where Jesus was staying, and “He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him” (Mark 1:34).
After this, Jesus withdrew to a deserted place to pray, despite the people’s growing fascination with His miracles. When the Apostles found Him, He revealed the essence of His mission: “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come” (Mark 1:38). From there, He and His Apostles traveled to other towns, fulfilling His primary mission: to preach the Good News of repentance and reconciliation with God.
In one of these towns, out of deep compassion, Jesus healed a leper. However, this miracle only intensified the people’s focus on His power to heal, overshadowing His preaching. When crowds pursued Him seeking miracles, He returned to Capernaum, which brings us to today’s Gospel.
In Capernaum, Jesus resumed His primary mission: “He preached the word to them” (Mark 2:2). Yet the people, who were focused more on His miraculous works, crowded around Him. As Jesus preached—likely in Peter’s house—some men arrived carrying a paralytic. They were unable to enter because of the crowd, so they climbed to the roof, opened it, and lowered the man down.
What happens next is profound: Jesus looks at the man and says, “Child, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5). Jesus does not first address the man’s physical paralysis. Instead, He speaks to the man’s deeper need—his spiritual healing. Jesus recognized the faith of the paralytic and that of those who brought him and forgave the man’s sins. Why does Jesus do this? Because spiritual healing takes precedence over physical healing. Jesus’ primary mission was to call sinners to repentance and bring about reconciliation with God. Physical healing was always secondary.
When the scribes question Jesus’ authority to forgive sins, they fail to recognize that Jesus is not just a miracle worker—He is the Son of God. To teach them about His authority to forgive sins, Jesus says: “‘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.’” The man did just that in full view of everyone, leaving the crowd astonished. The physical healing is a visible sign of Jesus’ invisible power to forgive sins. Hence, the miracle in today’s Gospel, which is of secondary importance, was performed to teach the people about Jesus’ primary mission.
In each of our lives, Jesus wants to fulfill His primary mission. He wants to forgive our sins and reconcile us with the Father and with Himself. First and foremost, this takes place through the powerful and transforming Sacrament of Reconciliation. It’s amazing that even though that Sacrament fulfills the essence of Jesus’ mission, many fail to take advantage of that grace, preferring instead to seek other favors from God of their own choosing.
Reflect today on your approach to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Do you regularly bring your sins to Jesus in faith, allowing Him to heal and reconcile you to the Father? As you ponder today’s Gospel, place yourself in the shoes of the paralytic. See yourself as Jesus sees you—someone in need of His mercy and grace. Though He may grant us many blessings, the greatest gift He desires to bestow is the forgiveness of our sins. Yearn to hear His words echo in your heart in the Sacrament of Reconciliation: “Child, your sins are forgiven.”
Most merciful Lord, You came to preach the Good News of forgiveness and to reconcile us with the Father. This was Your mission long ago, and it remains so today. Grant me the grace to long for this gift always and to make it the focus of my life, so that Your mission may be fulfilled in me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I praise you for who you are and thank you for all that you have done for me. I entrust myself to your care and guidance. Strengthen me so that I may always walk in your ways and seek your holy will.
1. Five Conflicts: The Gospel begins a new section in Mark’s Gospel (Mark 2:1-3:35), a section that begins with a series of five conflicts between Jesus and the religious authorities. It ends with Jesus appointing new leaders for Israel (Mark 3:13-19) and with Jesus identifying what makes someone a member of his new family (Mark 3:31-35). In the first conflict, narrated in today’s Gospel, Jesus saw the faith of those who brought the paralytic to him and forgave the paralytic’s sins before healing him. A first moral lesson that we can learn from today’s Gospel is to approach Jesus with faith and trust. The doorway to Jesus was blocked, but a more difficult way, through the roof, was possible with a little effort. A second moral lesson is that we can, like the four men who lowered the paralytic into the house, work to bring people to Jesus. Often, our actions speak louder than words, so true examples of charity, merciful love, and generous self-giving are what we should strive for.
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. Mark 2:3–4
This paralytic is a symbol of certain people in our lives who seem to be incapable of turning to our Lord by their own effort. It’s clear that the paralytic wanted healing, but he was unable to come to our Lord by his own effort. Therefore, the friends of this paralytic carried him to Jesus, opened the roof (since there was such a large crowd), and lowered the man down before Jesus.
The paralysis of this man is a symbol of a certain type of sin. It’s a sin for which someone desires forgiveness but is incapable of turning to our Lord by their own effort. For example, a serious addiction is something that can so dominate a person’s life that they cannot overcome this addiction by their own effort. They need the help of others to even be able to turn to our Lord for help.
We each must see ourselves as the friends of this paralytic. Too often when we see someone who is trapped in a life of sin, we simply judge them and turn away from them. But one of the greatest acts of charity we can offer another is to help provide them with the means they need to overcome their sin. This can be done by our counsel, our unwavering compassion, a listening ear, and by any act of fidelity to that person during their time of need and despair.
How do you treat people who are caught in the cycle of manifest sin? Do you roll your eyes at them and turn away? Or do you firmly determine to be there for them to give them hope and to assist them when they have little or no hope in life to overcome their sin? One of the greatest gifts you can give to another is the gift of hope by being there for them to help them turn fully to our Lord.
Reflect, today, upon a person you know who seems to be not only caught in the cycle of sin but has also lost hope to overcome that sin. Prayerfully surrender yourself over to our Lord and commit yourself to the charitable act of doing anything and everything you can so as to help them fully turn to our divine Lord.
My precious Jesus, fill my heart with charity toward those who need You the most but seem incapable of overcoming the sin in their lives that keep them from You. May my unwavering commitment to them be an act of charity that gives them the hope they need to surrender their life to You. Use me, dear Lord. My life is in Your hands. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, allow me to experience again the newness of what you have done through the sending of your Son into the world. Do not let me take the grace received in baptism for granted, or be indifferent to the communion I experience with you in the Eucharist.
1. The First Conflict: Chapter Two in Mark’s Gospel signals a change in the narrative. The “bad guys,” so to speak, are introduced. Chapter One was breathless in narrating one success after another. Jesus taught, healed, and exorcised demons and the people responded to him with faith in his authority and power. Today, we hear of the first opposition to Jesus and his ministry. Jesus returned to Capernaum, to the house of Simon and Andrew, after having traveled around all of Galilee, having preached in the synagogues, and having driven out demons. Many gathered in and around the house in Capernaum to hear Jesus’ preaching. Four men brought a paralytic to Jesus and had to break through the roof of the house to get to Jesus. On seeing the faith of the four men, Jesus responds first not by healing the physical paralysis but by forgiving the spiritual paralysis caused by sin.
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